When you look into the mirror, do you like what you see or do you long for a more vibrant and youthful-looking reflection?
It’s no secret that time can be hard on your body, especially your skin, hair and nails. With each passing year, fine lines and sags become more pronounced. Hair thins and grows limp while nails become increasing brittle. Your reflection looks more tired.
These physical changes are your first visible clues of the cellular aging taking place throughout your body.
No one wants to look or feel like they’re getting older, but the changes happening inside your body may be even more concerning.
The tissues that provide structure for your bones, muscles, tendons, joint cartilage, blood vessels and organs are also aging and breaking down on a cellular level – which is exactly why you may not feel as youthful as you once did...
Collagen is an essential protein that plays a crucial role in your appearance and greatly influences how you look and feel. It can even determine how well your body moves and functions as you age.
However, collagen doesn’t act alone – it requires other ‘helper’ nutrients to do its work, and they can all be impacted by normal aging.
What Happens to Your Body as You Age
When you’re young, your body makes plenty of collagen to keep skin and tissues pliable and youthful. Once you pass your mid-20s, however, that changes.
By the time you reach 40, your body’s ability to produce its own collagen drops about 25%. Your production drops to about half of youthful levels by age 60.
After the third or fourth decade of life, your body’s production of collagen loses the race as your skin can no longer repair or replace what’s lost with aging.
The most profound change occurs after menopause. Women typically lose about 30% of the collagen in their skin during the first five years and skin elasticity also declines 0.55% each year. Bone mineral density tends to follow a similar pattern in women after menopause.
As you can see in the photo on the left below, elastin and collagen work together to keep skin looking youthful. Collagen provides the strength and firmness to support your skin’s structure while elastin contributes softness and elasticity.
As skin ages (above photo on the right), the skin structure begins to sag and develop fine lines as it loses its healthy support from hyaluronic acid, collagen and elastin.
The collagen in aging skin weakens and loses its tensile strength in the dermis, or second layer of your skin. Older skin not only takes on a lined appearance, it’s actually thinner. It contains less collagen and less elastin.
So, how do these elements of healthy skin work together to keep you looking and feeling youthful?
- Keratin is a major component of your epidermis, your skin’s outermost layer, and provides rigidity to the skin, as well as barrier protection.*
- Hyaluronic acid provides natural support for your dermis, your skin’s “plump” second layer, and helps keep skin moist, strong, smooth and tight by delivering nutrients and pulling water from other areas of your body.*
- Collagen keeps skin looking smooth and firm, and it forms a scaffold-like, fibrous network of collagen-producing cells called fibroblasts that provide strength and elasticity to your skin.
- Elastin contributes softness and elasticity, and works together with collagen to keep your skin looking youthful.
The Cellular ‘Glue’ That Holds Your Tissues Together
Collagen makes up as much as 80% of the protein in your skin and between 25 and 30% of the total proteins in your body. It’s the most common protein – and the most abundant substance – in your body, second only to water.
When you have high levels of collagen, your skin is perky, smooth, moist and firm. Skin cells renew and repair themselves. Hair and nails are strong and healthy. Collagen works by helping to:
- Rejuvenate your skin by nourishing and renewing collagen and elastin fibers as well as reshaping your skin’s firmness, thereby helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines.*
- Make your hair feel thicker, fuller and more lustrous through its effects on your hair follicles and hair strength.*
- Keep your nails looking and feeling stronger by feeding the nail bed with vital nutrients and supporting optimal calcium absorption throughout your body.*
- Build and maintain strong, dense bones, especially as you age, as it helps maintain bone thickness and elasticity.*
- Promote healthy joints, cartilage, ligaments and tendons, all of which are primarily composed of collagen.*
- Support heart health, the integrity of your blood vessel walls and healthy blood pressure already in the normal range.*
- Promote a healthy liver and optimal digestion by aiding in the removal of unwanted substances from your tissues.*
While advancing age plays a role in declining levels of collagen, it’s not the only factor.
Environmental, lifestyle and nutritional factors can also affect your body’s production of collagen and speed up losses.
Excessive free radicals produced from factors such as stress, smoking, air pollution, Wi-Fi and cellular radiation can attack your skin’s collagen, leading to the early onset of fine lines, dryness and saggy skin.
Rebuilding Collagen Is an “Inside Job”
There’s no shortage of collagen-containing products formulated for the outside of your body – your skin. But do they work?
Collagen-enhanced creams, ointments and moisturizers can only do so much to help bring out your inner beauty and meet your body’s needs for collagen.
The collagen molecules in products formulated for external use are typically too large to cross your skin barrier into the deeper layers of your skin – much less your body’s inner tissues and organs, where your need for collagen may be just as great.
Rather, rebuilding collagen is an “inside job.” Vibrantly glowing skin, healthy hair and nails – as well as strong joints and connective tissues – start inside your body.
By focusing on the inside, you can switch your attention to safeguarding the collagen you have and supporting healthy collagen production.
Regular exercise and movement stimulates collagen production and diet, clean water, sleep and sensible sun exposure all play important roles in supporting healthy levels of collagen throughout your body.
At some point, however, your needs may exceed what your body can produce on its own. And your body can’t make collagen if it doesn’t have the necessary elements, such as all the essential amino acids and nutrients supplied by a healthy diet.
How Collagen Supplements Can Help Meet Your Needs
Supplemental collagen can help you turn back the years in your appearance and bring out your inner beauty.*
While there are nearly two dozen different types of collagen, three types make up 80 to 90% of the collagen in your body: Types I, II, and III.
Types I and III are found mainly in your skin, bones, ligaments and tendons. Joint cartilage is mostly type II collagen.
Collagen supplements vary immensely in quality, so when choosing a product, always consider the:
- Source of the collagen. Is it from a factory-farmed animal?
- Amount or dose of collagen you’re actually getting. Is the dose standardized?
- Bioavailability of the collagen. How easily can your body use it?
- Processing methods used to obtain the collagen. Are there any remaining traces of harsh chemicals and toxic compounds?
When purchasing any collagen product, the first thing you want to find out is where the collagen came from. The vast majority of bone broth and collagen products on the market are not from organically raised animals, especially chicken bone broths.
Factory-farmed animals, or those raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), are typically fed a genetically engineered diet and given antibiotics as well as growth hormones.
The Consumer Wellness Center (CWC) tested eight of the most popular non-organic poultry-based collagen products sold online and found contaminants associated with CAFOs, suggesting that factory-farmed animal byproducts are routinely used to make non-organic collagen.
The Advantages of Collagen From Bone Broth
While animal protein is an excellent source of collagen, it’s concentrated mostly in the parts we don’t typically eat – the bones, skin and tougher cuts of meat with a lot of connective tissue, including tendons and ligaments.
One way to extract the collagen is to create a nutrient-dense, flavorful bone broth or stock. The amino acids and other compounds in bone broth have been shown in studies to help not only your skin, but your entire body in the following ways:
- Help form elastin and other compounds in your skin to maintain youthful tone and texture as well as reduce the appearance of fine lines*
- Support digestion by increasing stomach acid in addition to attracting and holding liquids, including digestive juices in your gut*
- Help restore and maintain gut health as well as support your immune function*
- Support your body’s normal detoxification processes as a precursor amino acid for glutathione*
- Support muscle growth and energy production during exercise by forming creatine along with two other amino acids*
- Promote the building of DNA and RNA, the genetic building blocks for healthy cells*
- Support your body’s normal healthy inflammatory response*
- Promote a feeling of calmness and may even help you sleep*
Organic Collagen From Bone Broth in Your Choice of Two Delicious Powders or Convenient Tablets
Our Organic Collagen from Grass Fed Beef Bone Broth products are made with the finest Certified Organic Beef Bone Broth Concentrate Powder from grass-fed, organically raised cows born and raised in the U.S., without the addition of hormones and antibiotics to their diet.
To accommodate your busy lifestyle, we offer Organic Collagen in convenient tablets and delicious, easy-to-mix powders in vanilla and chocolate flavors.
The tablets are perfect for everyday use and to take along on trips, to work or to school.
Three Organic Collagen tablets daily provide 1.8 grams of collagen, largely Types I, II and III, for supporting your healthy skin, hair, nails, bones, joints, gut, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels.*
Fast dissolving, our vanilla and chocolate powders are delicious served hot or cold. Simply add to water or your choice or beverage and shake for about 20 to 30 seconds for the smoothest, creamiest consistency without any lumps.
Lightly sweetened with monk fruit and stevia leaf extract, each one-scoop serving of Organic Collagen Powder provides 5 grams of collagen and 0 grams of sugar per serving, without the bone broth taste.
Sustainable and Eco-Harvested Wild Caught Marine Collagen
Looking for a high-quality collagen supplement that doesn’t come from chicken or beef?
Wild Caught Marine Collagen is made from the skin of wild-caught, deep-sea cod (Gadus morhua), collected from the world’s largest cod stock in the crystal clear, cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean in Norway.
Codfish are typically processed into fillets, leaving behind more than 30 thousand tons of fish skin annually, which would otherwise be discarded.
Truly a resourceful and sustainable product, Wild Caught Marine Collagen is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to ensure quality, traceability and sustainability.
The collagen-rich skin used for Marine Collagen offers several unique qualities compared to other sources of collagen:
- The protein-containing scales on fish skin contains 18 different amino acids, a high proportion of which have a strong calcium-binding affinity, adding to your calcium intake and possibly improving how your body utilizes calcium.*
- Cod skin collagen is rich in beneficial amino acids like glycine, alanine, proline and hydroxyproline, with small traces of cysteine and tyrosine to support your skin, joint and bone health.*
- Provides a pure source of high-quality collagen peptides, a form of collagen that is easily digested and utilized by your body. Peptides’ high protein content (more than 90%), smaller particle size and lower molecular weight make them an exceptional source of collagen.
Marine collagen is essential for the elasticity, flexibility and strength of your skin, tendons and ligaments as well as your cornea, cartilage, bones, blood vessels and gut.*
Shown to Help Restore a Youthful Appearance
Three tablets daily of Wild Caught Marine Collagen, ideally taken on an empty stomach, provide a standardized dose of 1.5 grams of Type I collagen peptides from cod.
Collagen from marine sources is Type I – the main type of collagen in the human body. Type I collagen is produced and stored in the cells in the skin and connective tissues.
Studies show a wide range of potential benefits from oral fish-derived collagen peptides, as in Marine Collagen, including these major ones:
- Youthful looking skin – Marine collagen hydrolysate promotes a youthful skin appearance and feel, helping to reduce the signs of premature cellular aging, especially from environmental assaults. A study of women aged 35 to 55 years showed a significant increase in skin elasticity and reduced appearance of fine lines.*
- Increased skin moisture – A comprehensive study with fish collagen peptides showed a positive effect on skin moisturization. Skin moisture levels rose by 12% over an eight-week period and skin collagen density increased, attributed to an increase in water-binding glycosaminoglycans and collagen content in the skin.*
- Positive effects on the musculoskeletal system – Many studies show positive effects on tendon flexibility, ligament stability, bone metabolism, bone matrix mineralization, muscle and bone integrity, as well as increased collagen synthesis and positive effects on collagen quality.
Don’t Forget Your Hair, Skin and Nails
Many people equate strong, lustrous hair, soft, glowing skin, and smooth, strong nails with optimal health and youthfulness.
Healthy hair, skin and nails depend on three main structural proteins to keep them looking healthy: collagen peptides, solubilized keratin and elastin peptides.
Aging affects the levels of all three structural proteins, and inflammatory and blood sugar issues can also impact the production of proteins in your hair, skin and nails.
Youthful skin retains its suppleness and pliability because of its natural high water content. By helping to maintain proper hydration from the inside out, you end up with more youthful-looking skin that’s radiant and smooth to the touch.*
Hair, Skin and Nails contains three special research-backed ingredients that work from within to significantly improve the appearance of your hair, skin and nails:*
- Biotin (also known as vitamin H or B7) is considered the “Beauty Vitamin” for the role it plays in maintaining the infrastructure of keratin, one of the crucial structural proteins for healthy skin, hair and nails.*
- Solubilized Keratin, extracted from premium quality pure New Zealand wool using a unique patented process, is a natural bioactive keratin to help maintain healthy hair growth, skin elasticity and strong nails.*
- Low Density Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is a special form of highly bioactive HA that provides natural support for your skin’s proper hydration, helping to keep it youthful looking and radiant and smooth to the touch.*
Hair, Skin and Nails contains a premium sourced solubilized keratin – and not a by-product from the animal rendering industry like the denaturalized keratin found in many other formulas.
The solubilized keratin in Hair, Skin and Nails acts four ways to fight the visible signs of aging in skin. It’s been shown to reduce the appearance of fine lines, promote skin firmness and elasticity, and improve skin brightness and radiance.*
Because of its unique bioavailability, solubilized keratin binds to the natural keratin in your hair, improving its strength and health. This can lead to less breakage, improved shine and brilliance.*
Solubilized keratin also supports healthy nails. Like with hair, it binds with nails for improved strength, elasticity and moisture retention.*
The Missing Ingredient for Building Beauty From Within
We know that collagen is what makes your skin, hair and nails look radiant and youthful – and it’s the glue that holds all your connective tissues together.
However, to produce collagen, your body requires the trace mineral silica or silicon dioxide.
Silica is the missing ingredient for you to look and feel your best – and to build beauty from within, as it unlocks your body’s ability to produce collagen.
How can you be sure you’re getting enough?
There are a few reasons why you may need more silica than you’re getting now. If you limit carbs or gluten-containing foods, you may not be getting enough dietary silica. A gluten-free diet supplies about 30% less silica than the average American diet.
Food sources may not be fully reliable either. Silica exists in certain foods in an insoluble form, or a form that you cannot easily absorb in your gastrointestinal tract.
Age can also be a factor… Your gastric pH increases with age and production of stomach acid declines. With less stomach acid, it’s more difficult to convert silica into the right form for your body to absorb and utilize.
By optimizing your intake of silica, you not only enhance your body’s production of collagen, but you also may maximize the effectiveness and bioavailability of collagen supplements.*
Silica Collagen Builder Provides Highly-Absorbable Silica
There’s a tremendous difference between silica supplements in their absorption rates, ranging from below 1% up to an extraordinary 64%.
Horsetail and bamboo are popular choices for silica supplements, but both have absorption rates of only 3%. In addition, they can come with a number of unwanted side effects.
Four other popular silica supplements – Colloidal Silica, Ionic Silica, Choline OSA and Silica OSA – have absorption rates of only 7%, 7%, 17% and 30%, respectively.
Our Silica Collagen Builder formula contains Living Silica™ with monomethylsilanetriol (MMST).
MMST has long been used as an outstanding silica source around the world, especially in Europe. The MMST in Living Silica™:
- Provides the raw materials needed for your body to make more collagen.*
- Activates collagen-producing fibroblasts and the enzymes that help form the collagen network for skin strength and elasticity.*
- Delivers orthosilicic acid, an important compound in silica for strong nails.*
- Is fully utilized by your body and reaches the cells, activating them to produce collagen.*
Silica Collagen Builder has an absorption rate of 64% – or two to four times more than the leading supplemental sources of silica.
And it’s been shown to boost collagen production and help regenerate and restore collagen levels which naturally decline with age.*
Build Beauty From Within Using Nature’s Building Blocks
What’s taking a toll on your appearance? Normal aging can do it, and so can the daily wear and tear from stress, diet, poor gut health and a hectic lifestyle.
However, when given the right components, your body can do its job as nature intended – rebuilding and restoring its collagen levels for a youthful-looking appearance as well as comfortable, easy movement.
Allow our outstanding selection of collagen and collagen-enhancing formulas to be your personal tools for helping to turn back the years in your appearance and provide the necessary support for a strong, healthy body.*
Start building, restoring and replenishing your beauty from within, and order your supply today.