The surprising collagen mental health benefits

The surprising collagen mental health benefits

Collagen supplements are not a new thing. Their benefits for beauty, joint health and muscle development are well documented. There is a ton of buzz about them as a game-changing way to hold onto your youthful looks and fight the signs of ageing. But one area that is less known to the general public is the potential collagen mental health benefits.

One of the key reasons collagen may be helpful for mental health and wellbeing is that it plays a role in supporting the overall health of your brain. There is research that indicates collagen has the capacity to protect brain cells against amyloid-beta proteins – those nasty things that are widely believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease. Studies into this are ongoing, but there is plenty of evidence that collagen has various brain-supporting benefits and some of the other health benefits it offers could be advantageous to your mental wellbeing.

Let’s dive in and take a look at the details.

What is collagen?

Collagen is a protein that is abundant in the connective tissues of our bodies. It is composed of amino acids, and collagen supplements contain collagen that has been broken down via hydrolysis into collagen peptides; small amino acids chains that are easily absorbed by our bodies. Among these amino acids, there are large volumes of those that are specifically used by our bodies to synthesise new collagen – more than you would find in other protein supplements.

One of these amino acids is glycine, which has been strongly linked to brain health. In fact, there have even been studies into links between glycine and schizophrenia that found treatment with the amino acid had various positive effects on the patients’ symptoms. Glycine is known to be a factor in our cognitive performance and may even offer benefits to our sleep. It goes without saying that a healthier brain can lead to a healthier mind, so anything that benefits the physiological health of our brain is a plus for protecting and nurturing good mental health.

Remember, mental wellbeing is not simply the absence of a mental illness; it is about being in a state of mental and emotional wellness whereby you can cope with life’s stresses, realise your potential, take care of yourself and contribute to your community. If you want some more specific ways collagen supplements can be beneficial to mental health, consider the following:

Anti-ageing benefits

When exploring collagen mental health benefits, you can’t ignore the importance of confidence for mental wellbeing. With more youthful-looking hair, skin and nails, you will feel less self-conscious about any perceived flaws in your appearance. Furthermore, the reduction of soreness and stiffness in your joints may make you feel more active and younger, breathing a new lease of life into your days to help boost your confidence further. Feeling our age can be a drag on our confidence, so the anti-ageing effects of collagen supplements could help us to feel more positive and confident in daily life.

Digestive health

A troubled intestine can send negative signals to the brain, and vice versa. Ever wondered why you feel butterflies in your stomach when you are nervous or anxious about something? The links between gut health and mental health are well documented, and intestinal distress can be a cause of depression, anxiety and stress. Collagen supplements are known to be helpful in healing connective tissues, and this includes the lining of the stomach and intestines. By helping improve the health of your gut, the collagen mental health benefits could follow.

Liver health

An unhealthy liver can cause symptoms like lethargy, forgetfulness and a general decline in cognitive function. These things are problems in themselves and may lead a person to believe they could be suffering from a neurological condition. They can also lead to issues with depression as the function of the brain declines and your feelings about your health become a source of stress. Collagen supplements can help to reduce the load on our livers and even repair liver damage in some cases, and these improvements might lead to benefits to our mental health.

Cardiovascular health

Heart disease and arterial conditions are often accompanied by mental health issues. It usually comes from the feelings of ill health or the knowledge of having a cardiovascular condition resulting in fear, anxiety and depression. By guarding yourself against these types of conditions, you can further protect your mental wellbeing, and collagen supplements can be beneficial in strengthening arteries to avoid the development of cardiovascular conditions.

Dealing with anxiety

There are many proponents of collagen supplements who advocate for its beneficial effects on their anxiety. Anyone who suffers with anxiety to any degree can attest that it reduces the quality of life and can lead to depression. It is a common cause of social isolation, loneliness, feelings of inadequacy and low confidence. 

Collagen supplements have been helpful to many sufferers because of certain specific benefits it provides. A lot of this starts with the benefits it offers to brain health, but also some of the ways it contributes to healthy bodily functions make a difference. Improved neurological health leads to:

• Better sleep quality, removing toxins from the body and enabling the mind to deal with stress whilst ensuring you restore your energy levels to be able to function properly when awake. Poor sleep quality is a known contributor to symptoms of anxiety.

• Improved energy levels thanks to better joint comfort, a boost in your metabolism and lean muscle mass and, of course, the benefits of high-quality sleep as mentioned in the previous point.

• Overall mood is better, due to the myriad ways that collagen contributes to positive gains in your confidence and overall mindset in day-to-day life.

• Alertness can be enhanced as cognitive function improves, meaning you are more tuned in to what is happening around you. This can help boost confidence and hold back those feeling of anxiety that can creep in when you feel overwhelmed or overstimulated.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health complaints and a leading contributor to poor mental wellbeing. For people who suffer from anxiety, the issues can spiral as one negative feeling leads to another, so it is important to break the cycle in any way you can. A collagen supplement that also contains antioxidants and other nutrients like lysine can be effective at fighting against some of the issues that exacerbate anxiety, and this could be a piece of the puzzle in improving overall mental wellness.

Collagen mental health improvements: exercise

There is a strong consensus in the mental health community that getting active and engaging in exercise is fundamental to good mental wellbeing. People who suffer from depression, anxiety and various mental illnesses often share the common thread of being less physically active than they could be. For many, this is down to issues like stiff or sore joints, low energy levels, poor gut/heart health and more. One of the widely reported benefits of collagen supplements is that they help people in being more active.

How does this work?

Benefits already mentioned

We have already discussed how collagen helps with:

• Improved sleep
• Increased energy levels
• Enhanced cognitive function
• Reduction in joint pain
• Healthier gut and heart

All these benefits can make a person feel more ready to be active. Whether that is something like going for walks or getting to work in the garden, or perhaps joining in with sport, going for a run or working out at the gym, there are so many benefits. If you are being held back from exercising by any of the issues that collagen can help with, you owe it to yourself to give collagen supplements a try.

Faster recovery

As collagen is a protein, it can provide fuel for your muscles to repair and grow. This means that if you exercise whilst taking collagen daily, you are likely to recover quicker and gain more lean muscle mass than you would without a supplement. These kinds of gains can raise your motivation to exercise and also boost your confidence as you see and feel the improvements to your health and fitness, all of which can lead to better mental health and wellbeing.

Kollo: your key to the collagen mental health benefits

Kollo is a liquid collagen supplement that can be easily incorporated into your daily routine. Simply open your daily sachet, add the contents to water and drink it, and those powerful marine collagen peptides will be in your bloodstream in minutes. There are also various complementary nutrients in the formula that offer additional health benefits alongside boosting collagen production. Kollo tastes great thanks to its natural tropical fruit flavourings and contains a daily dose of 10 grams of premium grade collagen peptides.

Our customers come from all walks of life and their reviews tell us of improvements to their sleep, energy levels, joint health, confidence and more – all sorts of things that are important for mental wellbeing. If you want to make some positive life changes that benefit your mental wellness, taking Kollo is a good place to start. It’s a very small addition to your daily life that could be the catalyst that triggers more changes by making you feel ready to take on bigger challenges, one step at a time.