Collagen Smoothies

I’m fascinated by the topic of healing your body from the inside out. The more I read and learn, the more I become convinced that many ailments that bother us on the outside can be treated by what we put inside our body.

I think I’ve mentioned before that my skin is very dry all year round. During the winter it is especially bad. I’ve always had dry skin but I do wonder if my hormone imbalance exaggerated the problem (if you missed this post, I talk about diagnosing my hormone balance in detail here). In addition to using topical serums to keep my skin hydrated, I really wanted to experiment with dietary changes to see if that would help.

The most obvious way to combat dry skin is to drink a lot of water. Because I already drink water throughout the day I began looking at implementing other dietary changes. I’d read that daily consumption of collagen supplements can make a difference in skin elasticity and moisture in as little as eight weeks. It can also help support healthy thyroid function. I was willing to give it a try. So a few months ago, in the thick of dry winter skin, I began using Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides.

Collagen is the protein structure that holds your body together — it’s basically scaffolding for your entire body. It’s most prominently in your skin, bones, and joints. As you age, your body produces less collagen. After age twenty-five your body loses collagen at a rate of one percent per year and it increases to up to two percent when you are in your forties. Gulp. That explains why as we age our faces become more hollow (especially pronounced around the eyes and cheeks) and less plump compared to our younger years.

Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides is a powder that dissolves into any liquid. I throw it into my smoothies and homemade acai bowls. Fair warning: it changes the taste of my smoothies and acai bowls a little but not so much that it makes me not want to throw it out. I chose Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides because it is not as processed as other collagen supplements.  Another benefit is that it is a great source of pure protein: two scoops of Vital Proteins collagen provides 18 grams of protein!

Since I started using the collagen powder I’ve noticed that my skin is not as perpetually dry and scaly than it used to be. I’m only just at the two month mark now so I’ll be curious over time to see what other visible changes I notice. But, for now, I’m giving a collagen supplement a try. If you’ve been using one let me know what you think about it in the comments below.

Krisztina Kovacs Photography

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