Britt Jones
If you take collagen to give your skin that youthful glow, a doctor has come out to reveal the truth about the popular supplement.
It’s only natural to want to keep your skin younger for longer, and when you feel like your collagen production is lacking, turning to a pill or capsule is what most of us do.
But for Dr Asif Ahmed, a GP in the UK, there are some side effects people might not be aware of.
Collagen is the naturally occurring substance that keeps our skin elasticated, free from wrinkles, and plump looking.
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However, as we age, our collagen levels dip and that’s when you can feel like your face starts to look more hollow, wrinkly, and prone to sagging.
While some turn to things like derma rolling - the act of pricking yourself to force the body to create collagen - others prefer to simply eat more collagen to boost it from within.
But here’s the thing, Dr Ahmed, who has reviewed scientific summaries about the advantages of collagen supplements and found something very interesting.
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Yes, while supplements can improve skin elasticity and also the skin’s hydration, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
In fact, he spoke of the types of collagens, and how you need to be choosing the right thing to ingest.
He explained to the Express that some can contain very dangerous compounds that can impact your health - something explored in a study published in the National Institute of Medicine this year.
He said: "There was a large-scale investigation done looking at 20 to 30 companies. They were all found to have heavy metals like lead, arsenic and mercury.
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"Now, this in itself is not dangerous, there are normal foods out that have these [in them] - but they have to be at a certain level.”
He went on to say that the industry isn’t regulated, meaning that you can’t know how much of those heavy metals are in the supplements.
The doctor shared: "However, the supplement industry is not regulated. Therefore, these heavy metals, if they are in a supplement, there's no way you'll find out unless the company does third-party testing to state that they're clear of any contaminants and their product has what it says it should have in it.”
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While noting that supplementing can ‘help’, you need to find the right supplement that is free of ‘contaminants in it and is pure’.
As of right now, you can choose your collagen source - bovine or marine.
Bovine will be sourced from beef, and even eating bone broth and bone marrow can give you a lot of collagens through your diet.
When it comes to marine collagen, this comes from the skin of fish.
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According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are actually some things we do in our day-to-day that impacts our collagen production, such as exposing ourselves to UV rays, smoking and eating too much sugar and carbohydrates.
You might even be able to tell when your collagen declines, as it can present as wrinkled and sagging skin, hollowing around your eyes and face, shrinking or weakened muscles, stiff joints, pain, gastrointestinal problems and even blood flow issues.
However, it’s important to look for ‘clean’ collagen, or collagen with ‘low’ heavy metals from reputable companies, if you wish to supplement.