RESTORING BEAUTY - MOVING BEYOND COLLAGEN SUPPLEMENTS!

Restoring Beauty - moving beyond collagen supplements!

‘Beauty is just skin deep’. Well, isn’t that deep enough? For most people, factors like looks, appearance, skin tone and quality of hair matter a lot. In fact, these factors play a subtle but a significant role in forming your first impressions too. Especially for women, staying beautiful forever is a wish that’s usually on top of their secret wish list. Nevertheless, not many know that your natural beauty is governed by beauty proteins produced by your body. Collagen being the chief of them, the others are Elastin and Keratin; and they together determine the health of your skin, hair and nails. But as we age, the rate at which these beauty proteins are produced decline. After a particular age, the ‘signs of ageing’ start becoming visible. This is when most people resort to various beauty treatments – from consuming more pocket friendly ‘supplements’ to even undergoing much costlier, invasive beauty procedures. 

For adopting an effective way to stay beautiful, let’s get to know collagen a little better!

• COLLAGEN is the most abundantly found protein in all mammals and humans. It is a vital structural protein; and is a
• main component of various tissues of the body. In fact, it is the substance that holds the body together.
• There are at least 16 types of collagen in the body; and they’re a part of skin, hair, bones, blood vessels and other connective tissues.
  
• Collagens have molecules packed together to form long thin fibrils. They act as supporting structures to give shape and strength to tissues. 
  
• Endogenous collagen is the collagen that is generated naturally by the body. Exogenous collagen is synthetic and is taken externally as a supplement.

How important is collagen to the skin?

• Collagen accounts for about 75% of the dry weight of the skin. It keeps the skin taut, supple and youthful. 
• The richer the skin is in collagen; the more youthful it will be.
• The natural production of collagen declines with age. Women are likely to lose about 30% of their body’s total collagen within the first five years of menopause. 
• Other factors such as smoking and excessive exposure to sun or UV light also affect collagen levels adversely. These may make the skin age much faster than the natural ageing time.

What are collagen supplements?

Collagen supplements usually contain hydrolyzed (broken down) form of collagen (also called as collagen peptides). As collagen is a very large molecule, taking it in a broken form makes it easy for the body to absorb them. These smaller portions of collagen then help in building up the collagen in the body.

• Taking collagen supplements can have various health benefits such as – improving skin health, relieving joint pain, preventing bone loss, improving heart health, boosting muscle mass and improving the health of nails and hair. 
• Collagen rich foods such as chicken, beef, pork and fish; and those rich in gelatin (such as bone broth) are believed to increase the collagen levels in the body. Nonetheless, there is not much evidence to prove that such collagen rich foods work better than supplements. 
• How long do collagen supplements take to show desired results depends on several factors like age, dosage, diet and lifestyle; and individual collagen needs. 
• People with significantly low collagen levels may see visible results with collagen supplements in a matter of weeks. On the other hand, people who already have good collagen levels may not see apparent benefits upon starting a collagen supplement. 
• Likewise, people taking collagen supplements at a young age may not see any significant benefit, as the body is already producing what is needed. An exception to this could be an auto-immune disorder that interferes with natural collagen production. 
• Collagen supplements work best when the body’s natural production of collagen starts to decline. Generally, most people will see benefits from daily collagen supplementation in about 4-12 weeks. 
• 
  

What is ch-OSA and how is it different from collagen supplements?

Ch-OSA stands for Choline-stabilized Ortho Silicic Acid. To generate collagen, the body needs Silicon. Silicon is an essential trace element that works as a vital co-factor to stimulate enzymes that produce endogenous collagen. 

• Silicon is found in foods like green beans, raisins, whole grain breads, bran cereal, barley, oats, bananas, dried fruit, spinach, seafood and organ meats.
• When silicon is naturally consumed as food, the body converts it into Ortho-silicic acid (OSA) to be absorbed in the blood stream. Hence OSA is the ‘bioavailable’ form of silicon.
• OSA cannot be directly taken as a supplement. It is unstable and rapidly self-polymerizes, thus becoming unabsorbable. Therefore, it needs to be stabilized before it is consumd.
• A vitamin complex called Choline is used to stabilize OSA, for it to be absorbable. Choline not only makes OSA stable but also acts as a vehicle to enhance its absorption. OSA that is stabilized with Choline is called as ‘choline-stabilized Ortho Silicic Acid, or ch-OSA.
• Also, choline stabilization is the most advanced technique to make OSA stable.
  

• Ch-OSA is a highly bioavailable form of Silicon. By increasing silicon levels, it stimulates various enzymes responsible for natural collagen generation in the body. 
• Thus, unlike a collagen supplement, ch-OSA ‘generates’ the body’s own beauty proteins viz. collagen, elastin and keratin. 
• Ch-OSA acts an anti-ageing supplement that exerts significant positive effects on skin, nails, hair and bone health.
• Thus, Ch-OSA is an endogenous collagen generator; and not a collagen supplement.
• With its unique mechanism, ch-OSA offers a holistic anti-ageing effect. When the body starts generating its own collagen naturally, its effects are seen on skin, nails, hair and even on bones.  

Ch-OSA is clinically proven to reduce skin fine-lines and wrinkles, reduce wrinkle depth, increase hair thickness and tensile strength, reduce nail brittleness and support bone health. Further, it is devoid of any side effects. In fact, it is the only form of silicon that has safety approval from EFSA. 

Thus, ch-OSA is a highly effective and safe alternative to usual collagen supplements

REFERENCES
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262881#overview
https://www.verywellhealth.com/collagen-supplements-for-skin-89940
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/collagen-benefits
https://nakednutrition.com/blogs/protein/how-long-does-it-take-for-collagen-to-work#how-long-does-it-take-for-collagen-to-work
https://www.livestrong.com/article/170903-what-food-is-silicon-found-in/
https://www.thehealthsite.com/photo-gallery/fitness-common-food-sources-of-silica-you-must-know-b0716-416314/silica-rich-foods-416333/

Disclaimer :
All images, visuals are used for representation purpose. We do not claim any copyright over these images. 

Content Credit: Vikrant Bhola

  Buy Now