If there was a miracle medication that could enhance digestion and gut health, remove wrinkles, prevent weight gain, reduce joint pain, and give you healthy hair and nails that were thick and full, I would purchase it by the truckload. After all, improving my general health is one of my top priorities, but having brighter hair and less crow’s feet is a significant added benefit. Even while there is no such thing as a miracle pill, there is a supplement known as collagen peptides that claims all of these effects and more. https://direct-peptides.com/product-category/hgh-fragment-176-191/
Collagen is a kind of protein that may be found throughout the human body, including the gastrointestinal tract, muscles, bones, skin, and tendons. However, as we get older, our bodies produce less collagen, which is a contributing factor in wrinkling and skin laxity.
What are some of the advantages of using collagen?
It is believed that taking a collagen supplement can improve the elasticity of your skin. In fact, a study that was conducted and published in the journal Skin Pharmacology and Physiology discovered that participants who took collagen peptides once daily for a period of eight weeks found a significant improvement in their skin’s elasticity.
As someone who is getting close to the age of 30 and is often worrying about getting wrinkles on their forehead and around their eyes, I had been hopeful that collagen might help smooth out some of these indications of ageing.
There is some evidence that collagen can alleviate the discomfort of joint pain.
Since I ran a half marathon a few years ago, I’ve noticed that my knees seem to give me trouble on occasion, despite the fact that I don’t suffer from ongoing joint discomfort (which is a blessing). I also have some discomfort in my legs a couple of times a week, generally after a run or a hard session of cardiovascular exercise. It feels like the bones in my legs are aching. If consuming collagen could make this discomfort go away, then I would definitely do that.
There is some evidence that collagen might help prevent weight gain.
Peptides derived from collagen have a low number of calories but a high protein content. This one-two combination is the winning formula for successful weight loss. Gelatin, which is the cooked form of collagen, was investigated in a study that was conducted in 2008 and shown to boost levels of the hormone ghrelin, which is associated with fullness.
This indicates that participants were better able to sustain a state of fullness for longer periods of time and had less symptoms of hunger, which in turn indicates that they were more likely to stick to their weight-loss programmes. There haven’t been many research done particularly on collagen peptides, but the premise is the same: consuming low-calorie protein boosts levels of the hormone that suppresses hunger, which in turn decreases the amount of food that is consumed.
The configuration of the experiment:
I committed to consuming collagen peptides on a daily basis for fourteen days so that I could accurately evaluate the positive effects that they have on one’s health.
The unsalted grass-fed collagen peptides sold by Direct Peptides came in a blue container and were my go-to source of collagen powder. I went ahead and purchased both the 20-ounce container as well as a box of the stick packs because I knew they would come in handy whenever I travelled.
I did not deviate from the recommended serving amount of one scoop from the container, which had 35 calories, 9 grammes of protein, and 10 grammes of collagen .
My evaluation of the collagen peptide supplement follows more than a fortnight’s worth of use of the powdered supplement.
When I began this experiment, one of the questions I wanted to answer was how long it takes for collagen supplements to start having an effect. My scepticism led me to believe that there was no way I would be able to observe discernible changes between my “before” and “after” photos after only two weeks. I sure was mistaken about that!
At the conclusion of my experiment, I observed a number of major changes, which I will detail here. I also discuss certain outcomes that have received a lot of attention but which I did not notice after doing my experiment for two weeks. (So it seems that collagen supplements do require a bit more time before they reach their full potential in terms of effectiveness.)
I felt full all morning.
I discovered that I was able to avoid feeling hungry until noon after taking my peptide supplement in the morning with my coffee (about 9:30). As a rule, I don’t have lunch until close to 2:30, so to tide me over until then, I munch on something light in the middle of the morning. After taking collagen, I discovered that I did not require the morning snack that I normally had. It was also helpful to match my collagen coffee with breakfast, particularly if the food I ate wasn’t very heavy in protein, like avocado toast. As a result of the collagen’s 9 grammes of protein, I was able to avoid feeling hungry between meals.
During the course of the experiment, I did not weigh myself; nonetheless, I was able to comprehend why some individuals take collagen to aid in weight reduction. My regular morning snack of 200 to 300 calories, which I skipped because I was full, unquestionably contributed to the reduction in my daily calorie intake; this was especially true considering that I replaced it with a powder that had only 35 calories. Taking collagen peptides over an extended period of time might, in theory, mean that collagen power may assist with weight reduction.
My nails were stronger.
After taking collagen for approximately a week, I observed that my nails were becoming thicker and stronger, and that they were growing at a quicker rate. After they have finished growing, my nails usually split and fall off, but after I started taking my collagen supplement, I noticed that they were growing much more quickly and healthily than usual. How could I possibly know? I had a gel manicure, which is intended to last for up to two weeks, but after approximately eight or nine days, my natural nails started growing out. My nail beds at the bottom were exposed as a result of it. Even though it was inconvenient for me to have to get my nails repaired, it wasn’t such a terrible problem to have!
My overall complexion has improved.
It’s possible that my perception was influenced by the placebo effect, but I definitely had the impression that my skin was more radiant. In spite of the fact that I still deal with acne and dry areas, I noticed that my cheeks were a bit pinker and that my skin was smoother overall. Even though it wasn’t intended to be a substitute for my tinted moisturiser, I’ll accept it!
My wrinkles did not go gone.
However, I still had creases on my forehead and the beginnings of crow’s feet around my eyes. My skin was also starting to lose its elasticity. Because these are two problem areas that I always focus on, I had the hope that consuming collagen on a daily basis would assist smooth out these regions. Even though I only participated in the challenge for a period of two weeks, I did not observe any discernible improvement in the suppleness of my skin or the appearance of my wrinkles.
I’m going to maintain drinking collagen first thing in the morning in the hopes that it may reduce the appearance of my fine wrinkles. If nothing else, I discovered that consuming collagen has additional great effects on my health, and as a result, I will most certainly incorporate this into my day-to-day routine.
There was no discernible change in the way my joints felt.
I was interested about whether or not the collagen may assist alleviate the discomfort that I feel in my knees on sometimes because they tend to get sore. But other than that, there wasn’t much of a difference; my knees continued to hurt on a regular basis a couple of times a week.
Collagen powder doesn’t dissolve well in cold solutions.
According to the manufacturer, the Important Proteins Collagen Peptides that I used may be dissolved in either warm or cold beverages. On the other hand, I discovered that it dissolved considerably more quickly when I added part of it to hot tea or mixed it into a smoothie. The bulk of the time throughout the course of the two weeks, I mixed my peptide supplement with my iced coffee in the morning.
However, rather of dissolving smoothly, it ended up coagulating into gelatinous bits that were distributed throughout my coffee. Even though the peptides dissolved in the end after I stirred the mixture quite frequently, I still found myself occasionally gagging on fragments of the peptides
