It is oftentimes said that when making decisions one must trust his or her gut. And while gut instinct may or may not have helped in certain situations, it is a well-known fact that it is of great importance to keep our digestive system healthy and well-functioning at all times. Poor gut health, which is oftentimes arising from stress and unhealthy lifestyle, including junk food, may first manifest itself as an upset stomach, weight changes, and inflammations and may ultimately lead to a range of severe conditions including mood and mental health problems, autoimmune diseases and endocrine disorders.
Therefore a healthy gut will ultimately lead to increased overall health. And while collagen, often called the “protein of youth”, is usually associated purely with its beauty benefits, a number of studies have also suggested that collagen may help in improving gut health. Therefore a healthy and balanced diet and lifestyle together with collagen supplementation may lead to an overall increase in gut health.
Here is a summary of the 3 main areas where research has shown collagen’s positive effect on improving gut health:
1) Glycine in marine collagen may help in the protection of the intestinal lining and bolster the tight junctions.
One of the largest compounding amino acids in collagen, including marine collagen, is glycine. In turn, glycine is one of the abundant amino acids in the human body and has a vital role in metabolism and nutrition. Of the total amino acid content in the human body, 11.5% is represented by glycine and 20% of the total amino acid nitrogen in body proteins is from glycine. A number of medical studies have shown that glycine can provide protection to the intestinal lining, namely that glycine exhibits some anti-inflammatory effects during the healing process following previous intestinal disorders. Studies have also indicated that collagen production increases in the intestine when smooth muscle cells are generated during the healing of the inflammations of the intestinal wall, meaning that supplementing with collagen could help to repair the stomach lining.
Studies have also suggested that marine collagen may help in increasing the integrity of tight junctions.
2) Collagen can help to protect the stomach
Several studies have demonstrated that collagen – and in particular its primary amino acids glycine and glutamine – may inhibit anti-ulcer and anti-inflammatory properties. Glycine can inhibit gastric secretion in the stomach and protect the mucus from ulcers. Glutamine can also help with treating gut inflammation. Additionally, glutamine, among other amino acids, is also necessary for repairing and healing the gut wall in cases of occurrence of irritable bowel syndrome. Collagen can also participate in the regulation of the secretion of gastric juices, contributing to the prevention of the excess, which can ultimately lead to heartburn, ulcers, and other digestive problems.
3) Collagen helps with digestion
Another collagen health benefit is its ability to help with digestion. Collagen has an attraction to water, meaning that when it moves through the gastrointestinal tract it attracts water and acidic molecules, assisting the absorption of other carbohydrates and proteins. Thus, collagen contributes to helping food flow more easily through the digestive system.
Habits that can help keeping gut health in check
There are a number of ways to help improving gut health. New healthy habits may focus on reducing stress levels in daily life, getting enough quality sleep, balancing hydration levels, and taking supplements among others.
A healthy, well-balanced diet and gut health are tightly interlinked. Changes in the daily diet can contribute to the overall increase in gut health. That can start by limiting the intake of processed foods, foods containing high levels of fats, and refined sugars, which are necessary for promoting a healthy microbiome. It might be helpful to increase the intake of high-fiber foods, such as bananas, berries, oats to name a few. It might also be helpful to increase the ingestion of collagen-rich foods, such as bone broth and salmon.
Col Du Marine™ is the specific form of collagen in which the protein has been hydrolyzed and which is, therefore, able to dissolve in liquids, and it is a convenient way of supplementing our bodies with more collagen it needs to, among others, ensure a healthy gut. While collagen can benefit the gut in a variety of forms, implementing collagen peptides in our daily diets is easy to do.
Col Du Marine™ marine collagen peptides can be taken with any drink or food and can be incorporated easily into any daily diet. Moreover, our marine collagen peptides have neutral taste and smell.
References:
1. Brown, K., DeCoffe, D., Molcan, E., & Gibson, D. L. (2012). Diet-induced dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota and the effects on immunity and disease. Nutrients, 4(8), 1095–1119. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu4081095.
2. Razak, M. A., Begum, P. S., Viswanath, B., & Rajagopal, S. (2017). Multifarious Beneficial Effect of Nonessential Amino Acid, Glycine: A Review. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, 2017, 1716701. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1716701
3. Graham, M. F., Drucker, D. E., Diegelmann, R. F., & Elson, C. O. (1987). Collagen synthesis by human intestinal smooth muscle cells in culture. Gastroenterology, 92(2), 400–405. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-5085(87)90134-x
4. Chen, Q., Chen, O., Martins, I. M., Hou, H., Zhao, X., Blumberg, J. B., & Li, B. (2017). Collagen peptides ameliorate intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction in immunostimulatory Caco-2 cell monolayers via enhancing tight junctions. Food & function, 8(3), 1144–1151. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6fo01347c
5. Tariq, M., Al Moutaery, AR. (1997). Studies on the antisecretory, gastric anti-ulcer and cytoprotective properties of glycine. Research Communications in Molecular Pathology and Pharmacology, 97(2),185-198.