Collagen

Why aren't we making good collagen?  
​You might remember the trend a few years ago, everyone was taking collagen in all kinds of forms.  It's not quite as popular as it was, but collagen remains a common supplement because of the outcomes people notice when they take it:  smoother skin, less joint pain, fewer injuries, stronger hair and nails, and improved gut health.  What's really going on?

What is collagen?
Collagen provides structure, strength, protection, elasticity and support within our bodies.  It is the main building block for skin, bone, ligaments, muscles/tendons, and connective tissue, and its also a part of blood vessels, gut lining and organs.  Your total body protein is made up of 35% collagen, it's pretty important.  There are three main amino acids that make up collagen:  proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline.  Together, these strands form together in a triple helix structure which, to put more simply, is kind of like a hair braid.  Vitamin C, Manganese, Zinc, and Copper are also required to produce this structure.

What impacts collagen?
Over time, the quality of collagen slowly declines and the turnover increases.  This particularly happens as hormones dip, but is also influenced by sugar and processed/inflammatory foods, smoking, and direct impacts of collagen damaging conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma and other connective tissue diseases.

These changes show up as these common concerns:  wrinkles, smaller muscles, muscle weakness, stiffness, osteoarthritis, joint pain, lack of mobility, changes with hair and nails, gut issues, blood flow or clotting issues.

Ok, now that we're through the nitty gritty science of collagen, let's talk about what's going on.

When I looked through some of the mainstream medicine info about collagen protection and support, the suggestions were to use sunscreen to limit UV damage, eat a Mediterranean diet to provide good nutritional elements and antioxidants, to consider facial filler injections, and not to bother with collagen supplements since there's insufficient data.

There's so much more to think about.  We can do better.

We are seeing more and more kids, teens and young adults showing signs of collagen issues.  They are prone to injuries, have hypermobile joints, are in pain, have POTS (postural orthostatic hypotension) which creates challenges with dizziness, anxiety and heart rate, or have chronic constipation.  This age group could be struggling from poor nutrition, but their collagen issues are not from age or lifetime UV exposure.  These issues could also happen in adults, especially when there are concerns that have been persistent for decades.

What else is going on?

• Vitamins & Minerals:  As soil quality continues to decline from our agricultural practices, so does the nutrient content of our food.  Minerals like zinc may not be available in adequate quantities in our food without effort, and processed foods contain even less.  Picky eaters may not be getting enough vegetables or fruits, so their vitamin C is also lacking (we can't make our own vitamin C).  On top of that, digestive issues and food sensitivities contribute to difficulty absorbing nutrients from food.  The fact remains, may of us are overfed but undernourished.
  
  
• Fortified Foods:  On the same thread of food quality, processed and boxed foods are often fortified with vitamins like folic acid.  Folic acid, a B vitamin, is commonly added to packaged breads.  In the body it needs to be converted into a different form called 5-MTHF in order to be used.  Unfortunately, due to genetic variants in methylation and other pathways, up to 40% of people have trouble converting folic acid to 5-MTHF and this creates a backlog.  The extra folic acid will even bind up the receptors so that the blockage leads to folate deficiency at the cellular level. (1). Folate is another important component of collagen formation.
  
  
• Glyphosate:  An MIT researcher named Dr Stephanie Seneff has spent much of her career investigating the effects of glyphosate on human health.  Everyone is exposed to glyphosate regularly, whether you prioritize organic food or not.  Through her work and others it's been shown that glyphosate, the active ingredient in certain herbicides, will actually bump glycine out of proteins.  Collagen that has less glycine is not healthy collagen.  Glyphosate also binds manganese, one of the many important collagen nutrients.  The main way that glyphosate impacts health though, is through its effects on the Shikimate pathway of plants (which is the way it acts as a herbicide).  The Shikimate pathway is also needed for the beneficial bacteria in our gut.  When the microbiome is impacted, so are a multitude of other aspects of our health from immunity to metabolism.
  
  
• Genetics:  Genetic conditions like Ehlors Danlos Syndrome (EDS) can cause errors in making collagen.  EDS is getting a lot more attention than it used to.  These are often the people who claim to be "double jointed" and you will often see them be excellent dancers and gymnasts, until they become injured.  I suspect the genetics are amplified by the other environmental factors mentioned above.
  
  
• Light & EMF:  I haven't delved into this research too much yet but I do know that natural vs artificial or blue light, and proximity to cell towers and other EMFs can drastically impact fascia and I'm sure collagen too.  Light pathways also influence the structure of water, energy production, charge and repair mechanisms.  For example, there were reports of several athletic injuries at a US university soon after installing 5G towers (I won't go deeper into that today).

Making Better Collagen
I've already explained why we are struggling to make collagen as well as we used to, and why supplementation might be helpful.  Of course, the next question is what we can do about it.

• Collagen - as powder or liquid supplement, or from bone broth and chewier cuts of meat
  
  
• Glycine - on its own, or bound to minerals -> this is one reason I like to use Magnesium bisglycinate, eating adequate protein is also important
  
  
• Digestion - we can't take in what we can't absorb, so make sure that digestion is dialed in, protein breakdown requires adequate stomach acid levels
  
  
• Vitamin C and other required nutrients - we should be able to get from our food, but keep in mind the quality of the food, the health of the soil, and digestive capabilities too
  
  
• 5-MTHF - instead of folic acid, and eat leafy green veggies and organ meats for folate 
  
  
• Consider genetics - EDS clinics may offer testing or there's a screening tool we can use to assess likelihood of collagen disorders
  
  
• Light - more natural light, less blue and artificial light
  
  
• Hydration - keep the cells plump and fresh, no swamp water!

There are also a number of symptoms specific supports, like using salt for POTS, that can be considered.  There are many nuances to the way that collagen disruption will present itself, and so it's best to look for an individualized approach.

I am seeing a lot more people with "weird" injuries lately, which are so disruptive to everyday life.  Looking at health from a different lens and focusing on prevention is a wonderful way to approach your health.  As our health evolves, we must move with it.

See you soon,
Dr Christa


1.  https://careyanngeorge.substack.com/p/synthetic-folic-acid-vs-natural-folate