If you’re following a keto diet, you may be eating much differently than you used to. While that can be a great thing when it comes to weight loss, your body may struggle to adjust to the dietary changes that come from dramatically changing the amount of protein and carbohydrates that you eat.
Keto collagen is a helpful dietary supplement that can mitigate some of these adjustments, but how can keto collagen benefit your diet?
What is the keto diet?
The keto diet is a high fat, very low carb diet that has exploded in popularity in recent years as a weight loss tool. While the keto diet was originally developed to treat epilepsy in children back in the 1920s, it has since become more popular as a weight loss tool.
The goal of the keto diet is to encourage your body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy by transitioning the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When the body is in ketosis, it burns fat for energy instead of the glucose, or sugar, that is found in carbohydrates, the body’s preferred source of fuel.
In order for the body to enter ketosis and start breaking down fat, people need to eat very low levels of carbohydrates. Although the level of carbohydrate intake required to send a person into ketosis varies from person to person, most people need to limit their total carbohydrate intake to 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day.
The recommended macronutrient ranges for the ketogenic diet include:
- 5 percent carbohydrates
- 10 to 30 percent protein
- 65 to 90 percent fat
What is collagen?
Collagen is a type of protein that is naturally produced by both humans and animals alike. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, and there are no non-animal (vegan) sources of collagen. Although we naturally produce our own collagen, the body produces less and less collagen as we age beginning at about the age of 25. After the age of 25, people should consider taking a collagen supplement in order to maintain optimal health and fight off premature signs of aging.
Collagen is found in every part of the body, from the skin to the bones, muscles, hair, teeth, organs, and blood vessels. Collagen is a critical component of all of the body’s connective tissues and skin, so reduced levels of collagen as we age can cause a variety of health issues. These issues may be particularly pronounced in individuals who do not consume enough protein in general.
How can keto collagen benefit your diet?
As noted above, a keto diet is high in fat, very low in carbs, and requires a moderate protein intake. For many people, a moderate protein intake means they are consuming less protein than they were used to before starting a keto diet, and this can have some noticeable effects on your appearance and overall health. In fact, many people following a keto diet find that they start to lose their hair, which is common without an adequate amount of protein.
However, eating too much protein can derail your keto diet, which is why it’s so important to stick to your macros. Unfortunately, that means that you might not get all of the collagen you need.
While collagen isn’t the same type of protein as dietary protein, it can be challenging to get the amount of collagen you need without consuming large quantities of protein. That’s because collagen is found only in animal sources, including bovine collagen, which is derived from bovine animals like cows, and marine collagen, which is derived from fish and other sea creatures.
If you’re not eating a significant amount of protein, you might be missing out on some key amino acids, including those found in collagen.
What are the health benefits of keto collagen?
Collagen is associated with a wide range of health benefits, as it is found in nearly every part of the body. The good news is that you don’t need to sabotage your keto diet and risk coming out of ketosis in order to ensure that you receive enough collagen; keto collagen has many health benefits.
> Supports Healthy Joints
Collagen forms some of the majority of the structure of the cartilage that protects the ends of the bones and joints. Without enough collagen, the cartilage begins to deteriorate over time, especially in the hands, knees, hips, and shoulders.
A human study found that participants who were given five grams of collagen twice per day showed improvement in their overall joint health.
If you are following a keto diet for weight loss and are incorporating exercise into your routine, using a keto collagen supplement can help to protect your joints and minimize your risk of injury.
> Strengthens Hair and Nails
If you aren’t getting enough protein, one of the first places you’ll notice the deficiency is in the health of your hair and skin. That’s because collagen supports strong, healthy hair and nails, and without it, you may find that your hair and nails become brittle and weak over time. Many adherents to the keto diet find that they start to lose their hair as they start a keto diet because their bodies are used to a higher protein intake. Using a keto collagen supplement may be able to help prevent hair loss caused by collagen deficiency without compromising your ketosis.
> Improves Gut Health
The keto diet is a unique way of eating that can take your body some time to adjust to. When you start a keto diet, you may notice changes in your digestion that can be uncomfortable, especially while you are still adjusting to the diet. Keto collagen has been anecdotally suggested to improve gut health by reducing symptoms associated with leaky gut syndrome, also known as intestinal permeability. However, more research is needed.
> Improves Skin Health
We all want to look and feel our best and age gracefully, but a lack of collagen can make that challenging. Keto collagen is known to help improve skin health and reduce premature signs of aging by promoting skin elasticity, boosting skin hydration, and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Studies have shown that taking a collagen supplement containing as little as 2.5 grams of collagen for 8 weeks contributes to a significant increase in skin elasticity and overall skin moisture. Keto collagen supplementation not only temporarily increases the amount of collagen in your body and skin, it also encourages your body to produce more collagen and higher quality collagen, which improves your skin health long term.
> Other Benefits
There are many other benefits to keto collagen, including supporting a healthy heart, supporting healthy bones, promoting the development of muscle mass, and supporting mental health.
Summary
Keto collagen can benefit your diet by providing high quality collagen protein without causing your body to leave ketosis as a result of excess protein consumption. Keto collagen is specially designed to give your body the collagen it needs to support a wide range of health benefits without sacrificing your dietary goals. Orgain’s Keto Collagen Protein Powder has an ideal 2:1 protein to fat ratio that is perfect for anyone who follows a keto diet.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24852756
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28786550
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23949208
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/weird-reason-you-could-start-losing-hair-on-keto-diet
