The new year has successfully gotten underway and you no doubt overindulged during the holiday seasons eating your favorite fried foods and desserts with refined sugar. Now is a good time to think about boosting your collagen production because this definitely affects your skin.

Boosting Your Collagen Production

What exactly is collagen? Collagen is essentially the glue that holds us together. Without it, we would look like a floppy mess. It’s been known for keep the skin looking youthful and firm, but collagen can also be found in joints, hair and nails. If you compare a baby’s face to that of a 90 year old man’s face – the baby’s face is plump, firm and elastic whereas the 90 year old man’s face is wrinkled, and skin is thin due to the loss of collagen.

Scientifically speaking, collagen is a nutrient (protein) that consist of the main structural part of the lower layer of the skin and enables your skin to stretch and bend without it cracking or breaking. Without collagen, your skin would look old, tired and saggy.

Collagen Decreases with Age

Collagen is produced regularly when we are young. Sadly, as we age, the amount of collage produced naturally is decreased. We lose about 1.5% of natural collagen by the age of 30 and a whopping 15% by the age of 40. This loss is fast-tracked by lifestyle choices such as smoking, alcohol consumption and pollution and stress factors.

Collagen and Vitamin C Supplements

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that stabilizes the collagen molecule which is a another reason to use cosmeceutical grade skin care products that contain ample amounts of stabilized, effective Vitamin C in your daily routine. Having collagen stimulating treatments such as chemical peels and laser skin tightening are excellent at reducing the collagen loss as well as stimulating the production of it.

In order to get the best results from having collagen stimulating treatments, you must first have enough collagen in your diet. Otherwise, collagen production is going to be an uphill battle.

Foods and Food Ingredients High in Collagen

While dermal fillers, Botox and supplements do indeed work to stimulate collage and offer you a more youthful appearance, good health and skin care starts from within. There are many foods found in nature that contain the nutrients required to form collagen. Here are a few foods that you can eat to boost collagen naturally:

  • Wild Salmon
  • Leafy Green Vegetables
  • Chlorella
  • Bone Broth
  • Citrus Fruit
  • Tomatos
  • Eggs
  • Berries
  • Chia Seeds
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Garlic
  • Avocados

In Conclusion

While we do offer a range of aesthetic treatments that stimulate collagen production, we also advocate food as medicine when it comes to boosting your collagen intake. To find out more about our collagen stimulating treatments or our additional treatments, call us today at (919) 557-6400 or contact us online.