All about Sally-Ann Creed Collagen

Bovine and chicken collagen are the 2 superior forms of collagen to use. Type 1 collagen is the most abundant ‘type’ found in the body which is also found in bovine collagen – we are seldom short of this kind.  The chicken ‘type’ (type 2) is usually depleted in the body, and this is safer than porcine collagen as porcine collagen is cheap and could be full of hormones.  A good chicken collagen will be free of hormones and is not cheap.  Porcine collagen is also considered to be not nearly as effective as other forms such as bovine and chicken collagen.  One also needs to consider the country the collagen comes from, whether grass-fed or not and the quality of the animals.  This is not possible with fish in polluted oceans, which is why I chose to avoid fish/marine collagen for a long time until I found one from wild-caught, MSC-certified source that I could trust. You can find it here. Regarding the pork collagen, pigs are often fed sweets, plastic, pellets, fecal matter etc, and I’m concerned about this. It’s also not as effective as the bovine kind, so I would rather stick with the bovine and chicken varieties as I can verify their sources, purity and overall quality.

Bovine Collagen (Type 1 & Type 3)

Naturally occurring in the skin, bones and muscles of cattle, this one is the closest to what our bodies make – providing types 1 and 3 collagen. These types are the major components of skin, nails, hair, ligaments, tendons, bone, teeth, gums, eyes, arteries and blood vessels and make up over 90% of the collagen in our bodies, so it makes sense to start with this kind of collagen.  There is an enormous amount of precious glycine in bovine collagen, which promotes cellular health, and it’s one of the 3 amino acids needed to form creatine which supports healthy muscles and energy levels post-workout.

The other impressive amino acid present which is thin on the ground in nature, is proline – this plays a truly critical role in the body’s own ability to produce collagen, and it’s a very heart-healthy amino acid too.

Collagen can supply all the above benefits and a few more as follows:

• Prevent or repair broken capillaries
• Improve damaged skin (from sun, chemicals, heat exposure)
• Treat lack of collagen causing skin to loose it’s elasticity
• Improve ageing skin losing its firmness and suppleness
• Acne responds very well when combined with dietary changes
• Psoriasis, eczema and flaky skin
• Skin pigmentation
• Strong teeth and healthy gums
• General skin imbalances
• Nails that are brittle and flaky
• Lack lustre hair, thinning hair, hair loss
• Dry brittle hair
• Promotes restful sleep
• Liver detoxifier
• Excellent for gut health
• Improved metabolism
• Bone density
• Cognitive ability improves
• Banishes cellulite and removes the dimpling effect on the skin
• Prevents and reduces existing stretch marks

Chicken Collagen (Type 2)

We now stock chicken collagen, which is really exciting as it’s very hard to get hold of a quality chicken collagen.  It works by causing your body to produce substances that fight inflammation and pain (inflammation causes ageing). It also contains chondroitin and glucosamine, two powerful compounds which help rebuild cartilage. Chicken collagen can also provide some amazing benefits for your gut, immune system, skin and more.  It has been said to be valuable in stopping autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in its tracks or at the least greatly improve RA. The naturally-occurring glucosamine and chondroitin make this the obvious choice for addressing joint problems – whether to heal them or keep them from breaking down in sports. It also naturally contains hyaluronic acid which many of you know is close to an elixir of youth for the skin.  Chicken collagen has the richest source of hyaluronic acid – known for bringing youthfulness, plumpness and moisture to the skin, while doing the same in the joints to keep them moving freely.

Pure chicken collagen has been shown to retrain the immune system to correctly recognize exposed cartilage proteins as the body’s own tissues, rather than incorrectly seeing them as foreign invaders. This prevents the inflammatory and destructive attack that causes osteoarthritic joint stiffness and pain and other diseases of ageing.  Research continues to provide proof that collagen can help seal openings in the gut lining and support gut integrity (avoiding leaky gut) and this directly boosts immunity too.  Please make sure the collagen is pure, without any chemical additives or sweeteners.

 Both bovine and chicken collagen help form elastin and other compounds within skin that are responsible for maintaining skin’s youthful tone, texture and appearance. Nutrition is key when it comes to skin health and appearance. The more collagen you have in your body, the less likely you will be to have one of the most visible signs of aging — wrinkles. While many face creams claim to revitalize skin by including collagen in their ingredients, the molecules in these topical products are way too large for your skin to absorb – it is an impossible task topically – this needs to be taken as food.

Chicken collagen reduces pain and inflammation, improves joint function and slows progression of osteoarthritis (OA).

What we know from studies on chicken collagen:

• Believed to enhance the shock-absorbing properties of collagen and block enzymes that break down cartilage
• Helps cartilage retain water and may reverse cartilage loss Research shows that oral collagen supplementation effectively improves the common signs of skin ageing
• One study found that skin hydration improved after eight weeks of collagen supplementation while collagen density in the dermis significantly increased after just four weeks of supplementation.

Chicken collagen helps support a healthy mucosal layer in the gut. Studies have found that in individuals with digestive imbalances, serum concentrations of collagen are decreased. Because the amino acids in collagen build the tissue that lines the colon and entire GI tract, supplementing with collagen can support healthy digestive function. By keeping the mucosal layer of your gut healthy, you can avoid leaky gut syndrome, which is often the root cause of food allergies, low energy, joint pain, thyroid disease, autoimmune diseases, ageing and slow metabolism.  Bovine collagen will also have these effects on the gut.

Chicken vs Bovine

While almost all kinds will do much the same thing, chicken collagen is best known for its ability to target joint issues and cellulite, while bovine is better for skin and weight issues.  However they will both be beneficial, if taken at different times of the day.  My suggestion is instead of taking 2 scoops of bovine in the morning, take 1-2 scoops of bovine in coffee in the morning and one scoop of chicken in the evening on an empty stomach for the best results in all body systems. Collagen (Bovine and Chicken) assist with the prevention of protein glycation (ageing) and the further breakdown of collagen structures inside the body.  The older we get, the more we lose the ability to produce collagen, which means we need to supplement it.  Supplementing it significantly helps the body to continue to produce more of its own collagen naturally for longer.

Hyaluronic Acid is something of a buzzword today in the beauty arena, and known as ‘nature’s moisturiser’.  Dry eyes have been known to benefit from it, wrinkles are delayed or smoothed out and joints benefit from the extra water it brings for increased mobility.  It is one of the most hydrophilic (water-loving) molecules in nature.  It helps plump lips and skin but it is also highly concentrated in the eyeball.  In fact vitreous humour – the fluid in the eyeball – is composed almost completely of hyaluronic acid, acting as a shock absorber and transporting nutrients to the eye.  After the age of 50 the body stops producing hyaluronic acid it’s said, and this is why so many eye problems surface after this time. And wonderfully, hyaluronic acid acts as a ‘space filler’ by binding to water and keeping skin wrinkle-free.

Types of Collagen

Did you know there are 28 types of collagen which have been identified?  But only 3 are necessary as these are the most common ones in the human body.  Bovine collagen has type 1 and 3, and is the most amazing collagen.  It does absolutely everything – and if you are looking for a way to improve your health and physical appearance, bovine collagen will do that admirably.  My Pure Hydrolysed Collagen is bovine, so look out for that one.  The chicken collagen is under Collagen Type 2, and is a wonderful adjunct to the bovine one.  Taken together, yet at different times of the day – yields a far more powerful effect on all body systems, than taking just one.

Both bovine and chicken will help to support and heal leaky gut, improve fat-burning and delay wrinkles.  When buying collagen be careful it’s not only type 1 – you want type 1 & 3 TOGETHER.  You also want Type 2 to be SEPARATE – the three must not be in one mixture or you will not absorb them properly.  Types 1 & 3 are supposed to be together, taken in the morning, and then take Type 2 separately in the evening in water on an empty stomach just before bed.  This way your body gets the most AMAZING collagen boost!

Why I won’t use other collagen supplements available:

Here are just some of the ingredients I’ve seen in the collagen supplements out there (I’ve only named a few here remember!) and why I decided I wanted pure products for my own body, and so brought in my own pure bovine and chicken collagens:

• Glycerin (extremely drying to the skin – why add it to an anti-ageing product where dryness is the last thing you want in skin, hair, bones and joints?)
• Citric Acid (can be harmful – side effects of citric acid could include nausea or vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pain. More serious side effects may include severe muscle twitches, cramps or pain, seizure, numbness of the hands or feet, weakness, difficulty breathing, dizziness, restlessness, irritability and black or bloody stools)
• Sodium Benzoate (very nasty unnecessary chemical preservative, ESPECIALLY dangerous when taken WITH citric acid as it forms benzene, a carcinogen linked to leukemia and other blood cancers, plus can induce asthma and hypertension)
• Potassium Sorbate (chemical preservative – not necessary in collagen at all! It also can induce migraines, causes allergies, affect the immune system, itching in mouth, throat, eyes, may cause sinus and nasal congestion.)
• Maltodextrin (this is plain old SUGAR which ages you, inflames you and dries you up)
• Soy extract (Soy is toxic to the thyroid and has a host of serious problems attached, should not be eaten by man nor beast in my opinion)
• Natural Orange Flavour and other E numbers (this is not natural at all! If it has ‘flavour’ in the title, it is a chemical)
• Talc (linked to ovarian & lung cancer. In its natural form, some talc contains asbestos)
• Glycerol (used as a sugar for sweetening the taste of the powder/liquid)
• Vegetable oil (damaged, artery-clogging, inflammatory seed oil – ugh)
• Shellac (basically plastic coating on the tablet)
• Colours (could be anything at all! But some include Ammonia Caramel and Titanium Dioxide – these are usually all chemicals, not natural colourings)

And the worst is that some of these products exceed well over R1000 for the teeny tiniest amounts in tablet form with very little collagen present, plus a bunch of chemicals; it’s called clever advertising. Collagen is best in powder form, mixes easily and costs less for a better product. Now do you see why I’m so passionate about my pure powder collagen products?

For bovine collagen click here

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Originally published on Facebook on 26 January 2018.