Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein, Sugar-Free, $32.95

Importance of the Dermis & Where Protein Collagen is found beneath the epidermis lies a much thicker skin layer, the dermis. The dermis can be as much as 3000 micrometres thick. The dermis is composed largely of the protein collagen (connective tissue). Most of the collagen is organized in bundles running horizontally through the dermis, which are buried in a jelly-like material called the ground substance. Collagen accounts for up to 75% of the weight of the dermis and is responsible for the resilience and elasticity of the skin.

The collagen bundles are held together by elastic fibres running through the dermis. These are made of a protein called, “elastin”, which makes up 4.2% of the weight of the dermis. Despite their name, they are not involved in the natural elasticity of the skin.

As skin gets older, it loses some of its elasticity and ability to retain water. Collagen production declines as does subcutaneous fat and the facial muscles start to atrophy (massed collagen and elastin fibres in the dermis). Both collagen and elastin fibres are made by cells called fibroblasts, which are scattered through the dermis.

Special substances in the ground substance, called glycoproteins, can hold large amounts of water and is responsible for maintaining a mass of water in the dermis.

There exist 21 types of collagen in the human body from which 5 main groups constitute the following living tissues: bone, tendons, ligaments, skin, cartilages, eye structures (cornea, vitreous body), skeletal muscles, blood vessel walls, liver, lungs, kidneys, cells surface, hair, placenta and numerous internal organs. Collagen is like a rope made of three strands. These three strands are tightly bonded and the human digestive process is almost incapable of separating them, therefore cannot obtain the amino acids in their structure. Each strand is made of a combination of amino acids depending on the structure where it is located in the body and the firmness needed. But 3 specific amino acids are widely present in the sequences of each of these strands composing the collagen: a third glycine, a third proline, and hydroxyproline or hydroxylyine.

In conclusion, it is not the type of Collagen itself that is most important but the amino acid chain that constitutes collagen that allows it to be efficient once ingested. This is the advantage of a Collagen Hydrolysate supplement of bovine (beef-hides) source. Also, taking Hydrolyzed Collagen is best, because the process of hydrolyzing is separating and partitioning the strands so that digestion can finalize and maximize the process and obtain the amino acids so they may be absorbed through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.

Is it safe to consume?  Once Health Canada has assessed a product and decided it is safe, effective and of high quality, it issues a product licence along with an eight-digit Natural product Number  (NPN) or Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM), which must appear on the label.  Ideal Protein’s Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein NPN is 80040727.

Facts:

• Collagen makes up 75% of the dermis; represents 90% of cutaneous volume; collagen is the largest and most abundant protein in the body, making up about 65% of a human’s total protein.
• Skin starts to lose its collagen at a rate of 1.5% per year after the age of 25. Translated – by the age of 65, 60% of your skin’s thickness will be gone. (Only 4.2% of your skin is elastin and it depreciates much slower than collagen depletion.)
• Collagen is not found in non-meat food.  It is the connective tissue found in animals and insects.
• Collagen holds the skin together. It is the most abundant structural protein in the human body: 60% of the body is made of connective tissue and collagen makes up 80% of connective tissue.
• Collagen acts as the skin’s support structure. Repeated facial movements and ageing gradually weaken the collagen framework.
• Collagen acts within the body.
• Collagen is the connective tissue for almost all our structures, including the heart, lungs, arteries, discs, blood cells, skin, muscles, bones, cartilage, liver, all other organs, hair, joints, nails and prostate.
• As we age, collagen production drops way off, and any of these systems can be affected. A common example of collagen decrease: the floor-ward tendency of our skin and muscles as we age, which doctors call “ptosis”.
• Stevia extract has no effect on glycemia, nor on insulin secretion, thus it is used as the sweetener in the liquid.
• Collagen may be used by insulin-dependent diabetics, and T2D’s (Type 2 Diabetics).

Characteristics:

• Easy on the liver (because it’s pre-digested).
• Protects cells and helps the body build new cellular structures after an injury.
• Provides the necessary support for cells so they can reproduce and create new tissue. Fractured bones regenerate; wounds heal more quickly; new blood vessels are formed to nourish tissues being repaired.
• Provides amino acids that maintain and boost energy and enhance a diet’s calorific value.
• May reduce appetite if taken before meals.
• Significantly reduces wrinkles and fine lines, improves skin elasticity, and brightens skin tone.
• Reduces and even eliminates Rosacea.
• Skin texture becomes firmer if collagen is taken on a regular, daily basis for at least 90 days (time needed for cell renewal). The body rejuvenates itself more quickly when provided with the collage it needs to increase muscle mass, which is synonymous with youthfulness.
• Skin looks healthy and radiant. Collagen nourishes the skin and has cumulative effects.
• Helps to restore skin’s natural collagen and protects the skin against pollutants due to free radical activity. Connective tissue is regenerated.
• Reduces pain from rheumatoid arthritis and reduces cellulite.

Indications:

Obesity, Cellulite, Overweight, Rosacea, Convalescence, Arthritis, Skin revitalization.

Facts:

Nutritional Information:

KCalories 38/30 ml (116/100g); Kilojoules: 158/30 ml (484/100 g); 30 ml is the equivalent of 2 tablespoons; 1 Bottle 500 ml = 16.5 days @ 2 Tbsp.(30ml)/Day; and 60 ml equals 18 g Protein;

Another reason for skin ageing is that collagen and elastin production declines as the years go by, particularly after menopause, so some of the skin’s natural properties are lost.

Medicinal Ingredients: Each tablespoon (15 ml) contains 4.5 g of Hydrolyzed Collagen protein (beef-bovine), a pre-digested protein, is comprised of connective tissue that contains most of the amino acids that make up natural proteins.

Raspberry Non-Medical Ingredients: purified water, glycerin, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, sorbic acid, propylene glycol, lactic acid, raspberry flavour, stevia extract

Directions: How to use for collagen metabolism:

For skin revitalization it works best if taken at bedtime provided you do not have a sensitive stomach, take 2 tablespoons (30 ml) for a maintenance dose with 8 oz. (250 ml) of water or milk.

If you are going into surgery and your skin will be cut, it is recommended that you continue taking the 4 tablespoons a day (2 in the morning and 2 at bedtime) leading up to the hospital check-in date and upon being discharged from the hospital increase the dosage to 6 tablespoons per day (two – one-ounce shot glasses or 90 ml) for 2 weeks or until the scabbing falls off and then return to a maintenance dose of 2 tablespoons per day at bedtime. Feel free to dilute into cold or room temperature water/milk or take directly from the bottle. Ensure the bottle is kept refrigerated upon opening. This is a non-sugar-added formulation, safe for both dieters and diabetics or other individuals looking to increase their Collagen intake.

In comparison, 254-325 calories of chicken meat would contain approximately 18 g of protein which is the equivalent of 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of Hydrolyzed Collagen. Can also be used as a food substitute. Consult with a health care practitioner prior to use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, if you have liver or kidney disease or if you have been instructed to follow a low-protein diet. May cause mild gastrointestinal disturbances. Do not use it as a single source of protein.

Skin Rebuilding – Clinical Studies

As we age, collagen production drops off and skin sags because it gets thinner, weaker, drier, less resilient, or pliable. This deterioration is directly linked to the amino acid content. Specific amino acids in the skin’s structure, like glycine, proline, hydro-proline, and alanine – decrease with age and a bad diet.

Since Hydrolyzed Collagen contains the most essential amino acids, it is not surprising then that third-party clinical studies have clearly demonstrated significant skin improvement by taking it daily.

A 2008 study in Tokyo of 33 women ages 40-60 who took 10 g of Hydrolyzed Collagen daily for 2 months showed a 91% increase in skin hydration and resilience.

A Dermiscan study in Lyon France in 2008, showed similar findings in an age group of 35-55: an increase in skin smoothness and hydration, using the new Corneometer and Skin Image Analyzer technologies. After 12 weeks of 10g Hydrolyzed Collagen daily, 41% less furrowing, fewer wrinkles, more resilient, and more hydrated. Skin resilience was measured by the C&Z Cutometer, which is objective and state-of-the-art.

Other scientists have shown exactly how the new collagen is rebuilt, not only in the skin but in bones and ligaments. Metabolites of Hydrolyzed Collagen build bone, skin and ligaments by attracting fibroblasts. This is how they trigger the synthesis of new collagen. (Postlethwaite)

Hydrolyzed Collagen also increases the diameter of collagen fibrils in the dermis by the same mechanism: fibroblast stimulation. This, in turn, increases the cohesion of the dermal collagen fibres themselves, which is a true anti-ageing step. In the skin, this action means increased thickness, suppleness and resilience, as well as hydration.

Hydration, or the water content of skin tissue, is proven directly related to overall smoothness and decreased furrowing and wrinkling. (Sumida)

AWARENESS OF COLLAGEN

Global awareness of the value of hydrolyzed collagen is skyrocketing across the world today at more than 10% per year, in several applications. In Japan and China, the most popular area of increased awareness of hydrolyzed collagen is in anti-ageing cosmetics, specifically for skin rebuilding, and for hair and nails. Japan is already a huge market for hydrolyzed collagen, and their demand is increasing by about 3% per year.

In China, it’s a newer discovery, and that demand is increasing at a rate close to 100% per year. The effective cosmetic uses of hydrolyzed collagen as employed in Asia are now well documented by many clinical studies.

In Europe, where hydrolyzed collagen is certainly very important for cosmetics, the #1 application is in the area of bone health. Elderly folks, especially women, are acutely aware of the epidemic levels of osteoporosis in their demographic. The unfortunate truth is that most of the standard osteoporosis information, furnished by the pharmaceutical industry to promote drugs and calcium supplements, is incorrect. Many of the drugs, like Fosamax, are not only dangerous, but they actually harm the bones in the long run, making them weaker and more brittle.

But Europeans have known for years that hydrolyzed collagen, as a natural product, can deliver the promised improvement to bone health with none of the documented side effects of drugs. That’s one reason the demand for hydrolyzed collagen is increasing at about 5% per year in Europe. In the US and in South America, the demand for hydrolyzed collagen is increasing by about 20% per year, for these same effects: improvements in skin, hair and nails as well as bone re-mineralization.

The increased global demand for hydrolyzed collagen has brought with it some new dangers, of course. Newcomers to the collagen industry, with little experience in processing traditions, seeing the glittering new market, take many production shortcuts, and then focus on making extravagant claims.

Taken long-term, it is practically impossible not to benefit from such a supplement, even if there is some serious underlying pathology. Once the body is provided with usable building blocks for new collagen, often for the first time in years, so many systems can show improvement including lean muscle gain; muscle tone; skin toning and thickening; joint rebuilding; arterial strengthening; thickening hair and nails; increased energy from musculoskeletal surcharge; organ rebuilding: heart, prostate, lungs, liver, kidneys, blood vessels, etc. Chronic problems that can improve include osteoporosis; high blood pressure; arthritis in joints; bladder weakness; obesity; chronic fatigue; shallow breathing; autoimmune; situations; skin problems (disappearance of fine lines and spider veins); and splitting nails.

Beauty-Full Spa has been educating, promoting and selling Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein since 2005 while waiting for the “other guys” to catch up on what our clients refer to as a true youth juice!

Since 2016, consumers have witnessed an influx of new collagen products frequently appearing in big box stores. However, this new trend has been accompanied by deceptive marketing that is deliberately confusing and one might state a hairline over the positive line from being labelled as misleading.

So let’s crush the urban myth, that you can eat collagen from plants, as plants contain zero collagen!  Yes, lies are retold over and over again by people who have opted not to eat animals or consume animal products and do not realize that even though it seems like a fact, it is NOT regardless of how many times it has been stated. Do you think that these misguided soles, 20 to 25 years of adopting this lifestyle encounter major connective tissue problems?  Literally, they will be falling apart.

As already stated, up until the age of 25 years old our bodies make all the collagen we require.  After this age, we must eat collagen from an outside source (an animal) to rebuild our collagen which is depleted at 1.5% per year after the age of 25.  Yes, I said Animal.  The best collagen assimilation for the human body comes from beef tissue which is close to our gene makeup and easily assimilated.  Other sources include chicken and fish which can take months of consumption before any significant changes occur in the body as this is not a preferred source by our bodies.

To the uneducated collagen consumer information contained on the product, and labelling can make one product look superior to another product.   For example, on collagen delivered in capsule format as opposed to the Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein Liquid formula sold by Beauty-Full Spa in Pickering, the label states, “Collagen Advanced Formula supplies collagen types 1, 2, and 3.”  Then you look at the collagen sold by Beauty-Full Spa, and it does not state type 1, 2 and 3.  Must be inferior, right?

If you were following a recipe to make a cake, there is a sequence that the ingredients that must be added which will result in the finished product looking like it appears in the recipe.  The difference in this comparison is Types 1, 2, and 3 are internal body sequencing issues and have nothing to do with the actual consumption of the product from the human hand to mouth.  Yes, you are truly being misled!!!

There are currently 21 different Collagen types comprised of different amino acids which are the building blocks of all your body’s tissues.  Thus reading a product label speaking to only three types could mean you a purchasing an inferior product!

Without getting too scientific, here are the facts.  After the age of 25 years old, collagen must be eaten from an outside source as the human body no longer produces it.  During the body’s processing of the collagen, chemical sequences occur that determine in what order these building blocks are being manufactured and in what quantities.  However, what Beauty-Full Spa has been teaching for more than a decade is the two key catalysts that must be insufficient qualities for the entire chemical reaction to occur, those being Vitamin-C and sulphur.  Statements like, “Types 1 and Type 3 can be taken together but not with Type 2,” are an outright misrepresentation, as remember the sequencing is from internal forces within the human body not from external forces outside the human body as suggested by ill-informed marketing people.

One of the most misguided segments of our North American population is Vegans, yes, those individuals who avoid eating any animal products.  You can alter your emotions but not science.  If you have adopted this lifestyle you will have severe medical consequences 20-25 years of living this way, unless you are consuming insects.  Wait are insects considered animals?  Connective tissue is not found in any plants on the face of the earth  However, the connective tissue is found in insects which are found living on plants and fruits, or living on animals.

Collagen makes up the fluids and functions in the cartilage and joints; it is essential to the functions and maintenance within skin, muscles, bones, hair growth and nail growth.  It is the most plentiful protein in your body and holds you together.  Remember collagen can only come from ANIMAL PRODUCTS or INSECTS, not from plants!

Big box stores like Costco, and Walmart all sell whatever products move quickly into the shopping cart without any assistance from staff.  Just because they sell collagen in liquid, capsule or powder formulas does not make them cheaper or of better quality. The made-in-Canada, pleasant-tasting raspberry-flavoured,  Natura Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein, Sugar-Free, is from the essence of the collagen cells from Beef (Bovine), 5 gr per 15 ml.  This essence is superior to the products currently sold by Costco (Ajax as of December 2022), from a price point and overall ingredients.

Foods that contain Sulfur:

Sulphur is a mineral found in the ground around volcanic craters and hot springs and occurs naturally in some plants, including grains, fruits and vegetables. Protein foods also contain sulphur, which may put vegetarians at risk for developing a sulphur deficiency. The mineral helps form muscles, hair and skin cells.

Eggs
The yolk portion of an egg is high in sulphur. Separating the white portion of the egg from the yolk before cooking will help reduce the sulphur content in the egg. Cooking the eggs may also help reduce sulphur levels.

Meat, Legumes and Nuts
Meats including beef, chicken and fish contain sulphur. Legumes, such as beans and jicama also contain protein and sulphur. Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, and cashews, as well as certain seeds, such as sesame seeds and sunflower seeds, contain sulphur.

Dairy
Dairy foods contain high amounts of sulphur. The high sulphur foods include milk, cheese and sour cream.

Fruits
Sulphur-containing fruits include coconut, bananas, pineapple, tomatoes, avocados and watermelon.

Vegetables
Broccoli and additional vegetables in the same family, including mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and watercress contain sulphur. Additional vegetables include kale, asparagus, sweet potatoes, leeks, peas, chives, and cauliflower.

Garlic and Onions
Garlic contains sulphur and may help boost the antibiotic and antiviral capabilities of the body. Mincing the garlic and adding it to a variety of foods is an easy way to consume the essential amino acids. Cooking onions may help reduce sulphur content.

Beverages
Some beverages, such as coffee, tea and cocoa, contain sulphur.

Note

Here at Beauty-Full Spa, we have recommended this product for more than 17 years (initial sale Sept. 2005). We have found that clients who consume it prior to the removal of any minor skin irregularities (moles, skin tags, etc.) heal in have the time with no scarring. We have also found that this formulation and delivery method trumps all available capsules and competing for products on the market with easy assimilation into our body’s tissue structure.