Does Collagen Cause Weight Gain?

If you’ve been paying attention to health and wellness trends, you’ve most likely heard of Collagen! It is our body’s most abundant protein, making up one-third of all the protein in the human body. Recently, collagen supplements have become popular for their effects in aiding efforts towards fitness, skincare, and overall health. However, its popularity has also raised some concern over certain aspects of collagen; namely, does collagen cause weight gain?

The Benefits of Collagen

Although collagen is a protein mostly found in the bones, muscles, skin, and tendons, it is also found throughout the body and plays a vital role in keeping our organs healthy, holding the body together, and providing strength and structure to the joints.

Taking collagen supplements can help you look and feel healthy in a multitude of ways, and research has found that collagen can be beneficial to bone health, muscle building, joint health, skin health, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Since collagen makes up 10% of muscle tissue, it is an important factor in gaining muscle mass. The collagen molecule is made up of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. Two of these three amino acids — glycine and proline — are required to synthesize creatine, an organic compound that provides energy for your muscles during exercise. This is why collagen is helpful in building muscles. The more muscle mass you carry, the easier time your body will have burning calories and shedding fat; this makes collagen a valuable part of any exercise regimen. 

Collagen also plays a vital role in strengthening bones. Keeping your bones healthy is important because with aging comes a decrease in bone density. This puts you at risk of bone injury, such as fractures and breaks, and increases the chance of chronic health conditions like osteoporosis. Bones are mostly made up of collagen, so supplementing your collagen levels can help support and strengthen them as you age.

Similar to its bone health benefits, collagen can also help maintain joint health. Connective tissues are made up of collagen, so a collagen supplement can replenish joint cartilage, reduce joint pain, and help maintain mobility as we age.

Collagen also plays a huge role in maintaining young and healthy skin. It is the compound in skin that keeps skin cells firm and plump, prevents fine lines and wrinkles, and assists in maintaining skin hydration.  Collagen production slows as we age, which can lead to the thinning and sagging of the skin. A collagen supplement can help promote the skin’s elasticity and natural collagen production, helping your skin retain youthfulness and reducing the appearance of cellulite. In addition to skin, collagen also supports hair growth and nail health in very similar ways.

Collagen is also an important part of a healthy heart and circulatory system. It makes up the walls of the arteries and gives them structure. A shortage of collagen in the arteries can cause them to weaken and become fragile, leading to negative health effects. Collagen supplements can help maintain natural collagen production in the arteries, keeping your heart strong and healthy.

Collagen and Weight Gain

Collagen plays a strong role in building and maintaining muscle mass. However, more muscle mass does not necessarily translate to gaining weight. Aside from its muscle-building effects, there is nothing in collagen supplements that would cause you to gain weight. Collagen can actually be helpful in maintaining a healthy weight or on your weight loss journey.

Since collagen helps build lean muscle and lean muscle mass helps your body burn fat and calories, collagen supplements can help support your metabolism. This can actually help you in losing weight, instead of gaining it, when combined with a healthy diet and exercise.

Collagen can also help with feeling full. Taking collagen supplements can sustain a feeling of fullness for longer periods of time, which can help you avoid one of the more common reasons people gain weight: the consumption of unnecessary calories; weight gain can also occur due to a lack of exercise or the presence of underlying health conditions. By contrast, collagen can help you maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. It may also help suppress hunger hormones, like ghrelin, further preventing excess calorie consumption and weight gain.

The bottom line is that collagen does not cause weight gain, but can actually help you maintain or reach a healthy weight. Taking collagen supplements can be an important part of a healthy lifestyle due to their versatile applications and wide array of benefits.

Uscriptives Collagen Peptides

If you feel that you are ready to try collagen supplements to promote your overall health, Uscriptives offers collagen powder made with all-natural ingredients. With 10 g of premium collagen peptides per scoop, this hydrolyzed powder with 9 g of protein can be used to boost your body’s natural collagen production. It can help with osteoarthritis discomfort, promote skin elasticity, support thicker, stronger, and healthier hair and nails, and aid in lean muscle development. Collagen is also unflavored and easily soluble, making it perfect for shakes and smoothies. All of our products are manufactured in FDA-approved and NSF-certified facilities under Federal Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPS).

As always, you should speak to a doctor or healthcare professional before taking any vitamin supplements. Visit our website to order our Collagen Peptides and explore our other health and wellness supplements today!