Marine Collagen Peptides
I’m very excited to announce a new addition to the ARMORICA brand – Marine Collagen Peptides.
Our collagen peptides are made with waste produced from the seafood industry – scales, bones & skin. This means that no additional fishing is required to produce our collagen (much like our oil). The collagen peptides are powdered, and will readily dissolve in any drink without impacting the flavour.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is a protein abundant in our body, from skin to muscles and connective tissues. It is responsible for the elasticity of our skin, which allows it to snap back when it is pinched. It is also responsible for the flexibility of our joints, making them resistant to damage. However, as we age, our natural collagen production starts to diminish. This is very visible in the skin, which loses the plump and elastic characteristics associated with youth. However, this also occurs in joints and connective tissues, which we cannot see. This loss of collagen in connective tissues is one of the reasons that joints are more prone to damage as we age.
Benefits of Collagen Supplementation
The benefits of supplementing your diet with collagen is well researched, with thousands of studies investigating its benefits, with a particular interest in skin and joint health. The peptides found in marine collagen are rich in the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which are also needed for the collagen in our tissues. Consuming collagen peptides not only ensures your body has enough of the raw materials to produce collagen, it also has collagen production-stimulating effects in collagen-rich tissues. This means that taking collagen supplements makes your body produce more collagen where it is needed. This will help to protect you joints, and also keep the skin healthy.
Vitamin C
We decided to include 80mg of vitamin C to our collagen. This is because vitamin C is an essential co-factor in the synthesis of collagen, and you simply cannot produce collagen efficiently without it. Vitamin C is also a potant antioxidant, which amongst other things, will protect collagen from oxidative damage. We see this as an essential inclusion for collagen supplementation.
Dosage
Research has typically found that taking 5-10g of collagen daily is ideal for most people to see the benefits. We’ve therefore recommended a dosage of 8g.
Differences in collagen supplements
Marine collagen is not the only source of supplemental collagen. Bovine is another popular source of collagen, and the two do share many similarities. However, marine collagen has a lower molecular weight, which means it is absorbed more efficiently in the digestive system. It is also abundant in type 1 peptides, which are the types of peptides in our skin and joints. Bovine collagen contains both type 1 and 3 collagen, with type 3 being more associated with organ and blood vessels. Due to bovine collagen containing a variety, it contains less type 1 than marine.
How to use
We’ve been using the collagen in all kinds of drinks and foods already, and found it to be very versatile. It has no noticeable flavour, or impact on textures, and it is a staple in our hot drinks this winter.