What is Collagen?
Collagen is a protein found throughout your body - it’s
actually the body’s most plentiful protein and there are five main types of
collagen:
Type I
Type II
Type III
Type IV
Type V
Each type of collagen has a different function, including
growing new cells, forming tissues, and even protecting your organs. In
addition to providing support and structure to your skin, collagen also helps
to form the structure of your bones, muscles, and cartilage.
The body produces all this collagen on its own, but factors like
your age and the foods you eat can affect both healthy collagen production and
maintenance. To shed light on the different types of collagen and how you can
boost your body’s supply, let’s examine collagen a little closer.
How Collagen Proteins Function
You can find proteins like collagen in every cell of the
human body. Different proteins perform different functions for your body, and
the role of collagen is particularly unique. To fully understand collagen’s
role in the body it’s helpful to first understand how proteins function.
Proteins are like your body’s workhorses. These crucial
molecules help the body to:
Fight harmful bacteria and viruses
Support cell growth and regeneration
Transmit signals from the brain to receiving organs
Transport molecules and nutrients throughout the body
Amino acids form the building blocks of proteins. These
organic compounds enable vital proteins to carry out their important bodily
functions.
Collagen’s skin-replenishing properties come from three main
amino acids:
Proline
Glycine
Hydroxyproline
Through the synthesis of these three amino acids, the
collagen protein can function like a mattress’s springs—shaping the body while
maintaining skin elasticity and bounce.
Collagen’s Roles
The ways collagen supports your body can vary depending on
which body part or organ you look at. But as a whole, collagen performs five
key roles:
Helps replace dead skin cells – Your body’s skin cells are
in a perpetual process of decay, rebirth, and regrowth. To enable this process,
collagen helps the body replace dead skin cells to make room for new active
cells.
Give structure and elasticity to the skin – Collagen plays a
pivotal role in strengthening and structuring the skin, which means that having
more collagen can improve the skin’s elasticity. Highly elastic skin is
beneficial for several reasons, including helping with wrinkle prevention and
making skin less susceptible to damage.
Covers the organs – Collagen plays a vital role in
protecting the organs by covering them. Without collagen’s protective shield,
the organs would be more exposed to internal and external bodily threats.
Helps the blood to clot – Blood clotting prevents you from
losing too much blood when your body is injured. It also prevents harmful
bacteria from entering exposed wounds. Collagen helps your blood clot by
attracting platelets to damaged blood vessels.
Helps fibroblasts form – Fibroblasts are cells that help the
body produce connective tissue. They are essential for cell regrowth and
maintenance. Collagen can enable the formation of fibroblasts, assisting in the
growth of skin cells.
Where is Collagen Found?
Since collagen is a protein tasked with structuring and
supporting the body, you will primarily find it in the body’s structural
components. These include:
Muscles
Bones
Ligaments
Cartilage
Tendons
Connective tissue
Collagen is also in your blood and intestinal lining. In
these parts of your body, collagen is an essential part of cellular
communication and repair.
Five Main Types of Collagen
As we mentioned before, the majority of your body’s collagen
is comprised of five main types:
Type I
Type I collagen is primarily responsible for helping
structure the body’s skin, bones, and cartilage. It is by far the body’s most
produced collagen type. If you read or hear people talking about collagen in
the context of healthy hair, skin, or nails, they are most often referring to
Type 1 collagen.
Type I collagen also helps improve the skin’s elasticity and
form the structure of your teeth. Type I collagen’s other roles include:
Bone tissue engineering
Bone strength enhancement
Cellular regrowth and regeneration
Type II
Type II collagen is found almost entirely in the cartilage
of your joints, like knees, elbows, hips, and shoulders. It is similar to Type
I collagen in its ability to strengthen connective tissues. As a result, Type 2
collagen is essential for your body’s mobility.
The primary benefits of Type II collagen include:
Improves joint functioning – Type II collagen is
particularly important for the structure of your joints. This is because Type
II collagen supports the cartilage between joints, which enables your range of
movement, helping to prevent joint pain.
Helps athletic performance – The amino acids that form Type
II collagen also help to form creatine. A powerful organic compound, creatine
helps the body increase energy and muscle growth.
Promotes cartilage health – Although cartilage primarily
covers your joints, it also creates a good portion of your nose and ears. Type
II collagen promotes cartilage health and helps give shape to these two
essential organs.
Given Type II collagen’s cartilage-strengthening
capabilities, having plenty of this collagen type can ensure joint health,
aiding those with joint diseases and conditions, including:
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Morning stiffness
Joint inflammation
Type III
Type III collagen is secreted by fibroblasts, the cells that
help to form the reticular fibers and connective tissue in your skin. These
collagen fibers can help promote skin health by improving hydration and
elasticity. It can also help improve gut and arterial health, as well as
strengthen the lining of your intestines.
Although Type III collagen only makes up 5–20% of your
body’s collagen, this type plays a significant part in blood clotting and wound
healing. Type III collagen also helps with:
Cell adhesion
Tissue development
Gene expression
Signal transmissions
Type IV
Type IV collagen is found primarily within your skin’s
basement membrane zone (BMZ).
The BMZ is a layer of skin that connects the epidermis (your
skin’s top layer) to the dermis (your middle layer of skin). The BMZ also
allows for the transmission of nutrients between the epidermis and dermis.
Without Type IV collagen’s stabilizing power, the epidermal-dermal relationship
wouldn’t be possible.
Thanks to its location in the BMZ, Type IV collagen is
responsible for skin strength, regeneration, and skin cell stabilization.
Type IV collagen can also help:
Heal wounds
Shape tissue and organs
Enhance tissue and organ functionality