If you know anything about collagen, you’re aware that it has taken the beauty industry by storm.
It’s also a MUST amongst workout enthusiasts, thanks to how it helps build muscle and supports joint health.
But collagen has even more tricks up its sleeve. For instance, collagen can help with the health of your brain.
Through many aspects, big and small, this fibrous protein can support the mind. That’s right! Collagen helps you with beauty AND brains!
I know this may seem surprising or even unbelievable, but once you read the details in this blog, it will all make sense. Trust me!
Keep reading to find out what I mean!
While collagen supports the structural integrity of much of your body, it isn’t what makes up your brain. In fact, collagen makes up only 0.1% of the protein in your brain. But it still helps your brain. This is both directly and indirectly.
Before I get into the top 5 ways collagen directly supports your brain’s health, it helps to know another important thing about collagen:
Collagen is 33% glycine.
Glycine is an amino acid. Within the brain, this amino acid acts as a neurotransmitter. As such, it regulates cognition, mood, appetite and digestion, immune function, pain perception, and sleep. Glycine is also involved in the production of other biochemicals that influence these body functions.
In particular, glycine helps the body make serotonin – a hormone and neurotransmitter that has a major impact on sleep and mood. It also influences key receptors in the brain that affect learning and memory. So when you’re giving your body collagen… You’re also providing it with glycine that it can use as needed.
That being said, let’s learn the specific brain benefits your body gets when collagen levels are high and healthy!
Now that we’ve learned more about collagen and its main component, glycine, let’s jump into the top ways it can help promote the health of your brain!
Research has found collagen to exhibit certain neuroprotective abilities.
For example, scientists from Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND), UCSF, and Stanford looked at collagen and its relationship with amyloid-beta (Aβ) proteins. [1]
See, Aβ proteins attack neurons through oxidative stress and inflammation. This leads to the death of brain cells and, ultimately, cognitive decline.
But what the scientists found blew them away. Collagen actually protects the brain against these Aβ proteins, blocking them from attacking neurons. What’s more interesting, however, is that the researchers found that collagen levels were naturally increased in the brains of those experiencing cognitive decline.
Why?
Because the body was doing its best to create as much collagen as possible to fight off the attacking Aβ proteins.
So, what do I say?
Help a brain out and send more collagen in!
Remember how I mentioned that collagen is 33% glycine?
Well, the body can take that glycine and boost the function of the brain through various mechanisms.
Studies show glycine benefits cognitive performance – like memory and learning – along with the function of the central nervous system. This is because of how it plays a role in the metabolic synthesis of certain nutrients that the brain and nerves use for energy. [2, 3]
One example is how it helps regulate nerve impulses throughout the body by balancing electrolyte levels, such as calcium, chloride, and potassium.
Additionally, due to its role in both nerve and neurotransmitter functions, glycine can improve sleep, mental performance, bodily sensations, mood, memory, and behavior.
All in all, your brain NEEDS glycine to function properly.
As such, maintaining adequate levels can positively impact cognitive processes.
Just like collagen can be used for healing and repairing degeneration in skin and joints, it can have regenerative capabilities in the brain.
For example, one of the markers of brain health is the integrity of the brain’s white and grey matter. A pilot trial on 30 participants aged 49-63 years determined that 5g of collagen daily over a four-week period showed measurable, significant improvements in the structure of the brain and contributed to improved cognitive function! [4]
Due to some of the processes discussed above, glycine can help reduce the symptoms of mental illness.
See, in the brain, glycine is what’s referred to as an “inhibitor.” All this means is that when the brain becomes too excited or overstimulated – and with everything that comes at us on a day-to-day basis, our brains are always overexcited – glycine can help calm things down.
It can reduce hyperactivity in the brain and even play a role in the treatment or prevention of certain mental disorders.
In this way, it’s a crucial component of maintaining homeostasis within the brain, allowing things to stay balanced. Not too excited, not too relaxed.
As such, it can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, along with a range of hyperactive mental health disorders.
With the support of collagen, you can help calm your brain.
And speaking of calming down…
Thanks to the calming effects of glycine, the glycine in collagen can help you achieve better sleep.
Studies show that glycine can help you fall asleep more quickly, increase your sleep efficiency, reduce symptoms of insomnia, improve sleep quality, and promote a deeper, more restful sleep.
One reason for this is that glycine actually helps regulate your body’s temperature. When you sleep, your body temperature drops to a certain level, and it can be difficult to achieve a restful sleep if this temperature is not reached.
Another reason has to do with serotonin – a neurotransmitter. Research has shown that serotonin stimulates the production of melatonin. This is the hormone which regulates your sleep-wake cycle – telling your body when it’s time for bed and when it’s time to wake up.
So, if you’re having difficulty not just finding sleep but staying asleep, a boost of glycine-rich collagen may be just what you need!
So now you know how collagen can help you on the outside AND the inside!
But if you’re looking for a collagen supplement to help replace what your body is losing with every passing year… You’re going to want to make sure you get one that your body can take in and use.
See, collagen is notoriously difficult for the body to absorb. Thankfully, EverBella utilizes a patented micelle liposomal formula. This means that the collagen is wrapped in natural lipids so that they don’t break down in the stomach and completely pass through you unabsorbed.
This way, your body can actually take in and use the collagen protein, delivering it to where it’s needed most – whether that’s the skin, hair, or brain!
If you’re spending money on collagen, you want it to actually do its job.
That’s why you can try EverBella’s Complete Collagen Plus for SIX months.
If you don’t notice the difference you were hoping for within that time, simply return your bottle(s) for a FULL refund. No harm, no foul.
But I know you’ll love it.
That’s because Complete Collagen Plus…
Not only that, but it contains omega 3, MCTs, and vitamin E for that extra kick!
Don’t let time get the best of your mental well-being.
With EverBella’s highly absorbable formula, you can keep your mind sharp or boost your collagen levels to help you get back to where you were.