How Does Collagen Help With Weight Loss?

Collagen is a protein which is found naturally inside the body. However, recently, it has become a pretty famous natural supplement.

As a matter of fact, Collagen supplements are mainly known for their skin health benefits. However, if you want to lose weight, it’s guaranteed that you might have heard that collagen supplements can help a lot.

You need to understand that there’s not much research that has been done on collagen supplements and weight loss. But, there has been some evidence that collagen can indirectly be a catalyst in your weight loss journey.

In this blog post, you’ll learn about does collagen help with weight loss in a scientific manner. Alongside this, you’ll also get the knowledge regarding the safety precautions that you must take before using collagen. So, let’s get going!

What Is Collagen?

Collagen is basically one of the most crucial structural proteins, and it makes up roughly 25 to 30 percent of the proteins in your body. It provides a stable structure to connective tissues such as skin, cartilage, blood vessels, muscles, ligaments, and bone.

Natural Collagen

Collagen consists of amino acids, which are known to be the building blocks of protein. Some of the amino acids, such as glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, make up almost 60% of the total amino acids in collagen.

Amino acids have the shape of a chain. In fact, the amino acids are twisted in the form of a rope, and that’s what makes collagen so strong and stable.

Collagen is naturally produced in the body by cells that are known as fibroblasts. If you want the best kind of collagen formation, you need to increase the intake of high-quality protein and vitamin C in every meal. If you want to get collagen directly, you should eat particular foods or even consider consuming supplements.

Collagen Supplements

Did you know that collagen supplements are made from the bones of different types of animals? Some of those animals are cows, fish, pigs, and even horses. The main purpose of these supplements is to help your body rebuild collagen. Some of the types of collagen supplements are as follows:-

• Gelatin: It is a cooked collagen on a fundamental level and is made by heating collagen for a considerable amount of time. The heat degrades collagen, which forms smaller proteins.
• Hydrolyzed: In case the proteins are broken down further into amino acids, they are known as hydrolyzed collagen. You would be surprised to know that this form is also known as hydrolyzed gelatin or collagen hydrolysate.
• Undenatured: This collagen is intact and doesn’t get degraded.

Collagen supplements can be found in different forms, such as:-

• Packaged foods or drinks
• Liquid
• Powders
• Gummies
• Pills

Does Collagen Help With Weight Loss?

There hasn’t been a considerable amount of research on the direct link between weight loss and collagen supplements. Some of the studies that have been carried out are quite small, irrelevant, and included animals.

You need to know that there must be a lot more research that needs to be carried out. The existing studies on the comprehensive advantages show how these supplements can help in your weight loss journey in an indirect manner.

Help You Feel Full

Collagen supplements have been found to make you feel fuller or feel satiety. This can help you in weight loss and even management, as it will reduce hunger and the calories you consumer in a day.

Collagen can have this effect because it’s a protein. There have been studies which signify that high-protein diets can increase satiety hormones and suppress the hunger hormone.

In a different study, increased protein intake can increase thermogenesis, which will influence not just satiety but energy expenditure as well. In this study, it was also found that higher protein diets might stimulate protein anabolism that favours lean muscle retention, along with improving the metabolic profile.

There was a study in 2009, in which it was found that gelatin can reduce hunger significantly. However, you must understand that gelatin is an incomplete protein, which means that it lacks all of the amino acids that your body requires. However, supplements can boost your overall protein intake, which can improve satiety significantly.

Much More Muscle Mass

Building a good amount of muscle mass is quite important when you are trying to lose weight. The reason behind this is that muscle burns more calories when it is at rest, which will increase the overall calorie expenditure.

When you take collagen supplements, it can help you significantly by increasing muscle mass. You need to remember that collagen is the most important structural protein in your muscles.

In a 2015 study that involved older adults, participants suffering from age-related muscle loss completed 12 weeks of weight training. In fact, half of the participants took collagen peptide supplements, whereas the others took a placebo. The ones who took collagen peptides had a much greater improvement in muscle mass and strength. They also loss more fat mass than the placebo group.

These results mean that collagen supplements can support a significant loss of body fat by improving the effects of weight training on muscle mass.

Lessen The Fat Accumulation

There has been a good amount of evidence which suggests that collagen can reduce the development and accumulation of fat cells.

In a 2019 study, it was found that collagen from skate, a type of fish, reduced body fat in humans. The fat loss is relatively small, but there can be many benefits for weight loss.

In a 2018 animal study, collagen peptides from skate had a great anti-obesity effect in mice. In fact, the researchers have linked this with improved fat metabolism and less fat accumulation.

In another study, the collagen hydrolysate reduced the fat cell size and weight gain in rats.

Decrease In Joint Pain

Collagen supplements can also help in weight loss by reducing joint pain. The healthy joints need to move comfortably during exercise and while carrying out daily activities. When you engage regularly in physical activity, it could substantially support weight management.

In a 2015 study, it was found that collagen peptides are able to manage osteoarthritis. This happens when your joint cartilage wears down, which can cause pain and even stiffness.

In another study, which involved athletes, collagen peptides played a crucial role in decreasing knee joint pain that is related to physical activity. In case the joint pain prevents you from working out, these advantages of collagen might help.

Other Advantages Of Collagen

Collagen supplements have many other health benefits. It can:-

• Boosts skin elasticity
• Lessen the appearance of skin wrinkles
• Improve the skin hydration
• Reduce bone loss
• Better the condition of brittle nails
• Improve hair health
• Support heart health

Is Consuming Collagen Supplements Safe?

There has been some research on the negative side effects of collagen supplements. However, dependent on several anecdotal reports, collagen supplements can cause some of the following side effects such as:-

• Feeling full
• Heartburn
• Bad taste in the mouth

Just like the other supplements, collagen supplements aren’t regulated. So, this clearly means you can’t really know how safe or effective these supplements are.

On the other hand, it’s very difficult to know, for sure, whether the collagen supplements contain the ingredients that they claim to have. It’s also a possibility that collagen supplements might contain

• Heavy metals
• Allergens
• Microbial contaminants
• Distinct doses from those listed on the label

When you’re purchasing supplements, you need to look for and opt for products which contain a USP Verified Mark on the label. This mark will indicate that the product:-

• Have the ingredients listed on the label.
• Don’t have harmful contaminants.
• It is going to break down and even be absorbed by the body within a particular amount of time.

Final Words

Collagen supplements can indirectly promote weight loss by increasing the feeling of fullness, regulating fat metabolism. The best part is that it will even increase the impact of resistance training on muscle mass. Collagen supplements can also help in relieving joint pain, which will make it a lot more comfortable to exercise.

However, you need to understand that collagen supplements aren’t a quick fix or an alternative to healthy habits. In case you are serious about sustainable weight loss, you should understand that it’s crucial to eat healthy. Exercising on a regular basis is even more important, along with getting a good amount of sleep.

However, if you are determined to take collagen supplements to boost your weight loss, you should use them as part of your holistic health regimen. But do not use it as a substitute for healthy habits. You can even talk with a doctor to make sure that the collagen supplements are a safe option for you, as per your biology. It will ensure that you don’t get to face any side effects later on that might harm you.

The positive side of this approach is that you will get all of the benefits of this collagen supplement, and it might also play a role in your weight loss journey. So, we truly hope that you have found the answer to the million-dollar question: Does collagen help with weight loss? It’s time to build upon that and use collagen as a catalyst in your weight-loss journey.