Wellness Space

How to Capture your Youth with Collagen

By Denise Bjorkman - Tawa Labs

Let a little Collagen in your Life. Creating a positive identity and image is more than vanity – it is a reality. Use collagen with confidence. All the tips you need are shared.Supplements are part of lifestyle medicine combined with the new science of healthy ageing.

Collagen’ says Dr. Shereene Idriss a dermatologist, speaking to Forbes,supports the use of supplements. ‘Collagen…is the holy grail of healthy skin — no matter what age you are.’ Dr Shari Marchbein also backs the use of supplements in her column for the New York Times, but with one strong proviso. Be prepared for long term use. Select supplements such as collagen are a golden thread throughout your genetic and physical framework, lifestyle choices, brain, and gut health. This golden thread promises to add to quality of life, both mental and physical.

‘Today is the oldest you have ever been and the youngest you’ll ever be again.’ Those are the words of Eleanor Roosevelt. Today she would be our best advertisement for collagen.

Today’s 7 step message is about looking and feeling younger. Your daily dose of collagenmay be the secret ingredient to promote allround wellbeing.

1. Square up with Collagen 4. Clean up your act with Collagen

Square up to reality. If you are like most people, squaring up to the ageing process is avoided. Wrong approach. Facing up to the ‘now’, revitalisation of your body, prevents a clean-up job later.

2. Live Up with Collagen

Look good with collagen. Stop right there if you think looking good is about beauty, because that ideal varies from culture to culture. It is however more about how we project a healthy look. Radiated health causes an unconscious response, making us a safe bet for those who want to engage with us for their own survival. But you cannot stop there. Western ideals about appearance and image may not be desirable but for a century it has held fast because there is an evolutionary bias to healthy looks. The cosmetic industry is worth trillions of dollars because of aesthetic appeal. A quick look at health and sport magazines will show you that the male self-care product industry is the fastest growing market with more men conscious of their body image, health, and body sculpting than ever before.

A fact of Western life. Positive emotional triggers are youth, vitality, attractiveness, smooth skin, and athletic appearance. Negative emotional triggers are wrinkles, slow movement, and overall lack of fitness. The media you will notice, continues to promote positive images.

3. Code Up on Collagen

Does your DNA profile give you important insights? If you could prevent early aging and the disorders that often accompany it, would you be interested? Most people say yes. Personalised, prevention medicine, aka functional, integrated medicine. Functional medicine aims at preventing disease with informed decisions. It is the hottest subject around the globe today and it is finally being offered as a university subject. A DNA profile test may help you. One drug or treatment does not fit all says Dr Jeffrey Bland. You are born an original so do not die a copy. You have a unique genetic structure. With a personalized DNA profile, a registered practitioner can help you design your own perfect diet and lifestyle. The way you synthesise collagen is your own. Your nutrition needs may be totally different from a sibling or a friend. With the help of a trained professional, you can discover a personal code for longevity and perfect health.

Here is good news. You are only 10% of your genes. The secret is to stop ‘bad’ genes expressing themselves. ‘Genetics loads the gun, and the environment pulls the trigger’ has become a meme because it is true. 90% of the disorders that can impact on your unmanaged life are caused by the environment. Because you can control your environment you can switch your genes on or off. You have choices. Collagen steps up to the plate for you as a valuable aid.

Never use age as an excuse.That is the mantra of 105-year-old Ida Keeling, American track athlete who was still doing push ups at the age of 100. Her message of perpetual health has earned her global media coverage. 85-year-old Gary Player does 1200 push ups a day. He freely shares his lifestyle choices. Gary publicly stresses the value of nutrition. He couples his dietary requirements and supplements to resistance training. The result is self-evident.

If you want resilience, visible body tone, a youthful appearance and vitality clean up your act. You also need access to rich sources of Vitamin C for collagen health. Vitamin C is consumed in the collagen manufacturing process and that is why large quantities of Vitamin C are required in the diet daily.

Strength training is critical as you age because aging begins with your muscles and once more collagen is essential for muscle toning and strength. ‘You are as young as your spine is flexible says Joseph Pilates, the founder of the Pilates movement.’ Famous pathologist, Prof William Boyd, argued on the other hand that you are old as your veins and arteries. Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. It also thickens artery walls giving it the elasticity it needs. It is everywhere.

Collagen has ancient heritage in your body and a structural component. Remember, collagen is responsible for connective tissue throughout your body: muscles, tendons, skin, bones, cartilage, and ligaments. Collagen is the biological glue that holds your entire physical structure together. Whichever way you turn, collagen shows up for your attention. 5. Face up to Collagen

Collagen makes up 80% of your skin! Harvard educated physician Dr Sara Gottfried is an expert about the physics of aging. Collagen production reduces with age. You once had a facial triangle of youth. As you age, however, you lose cheek and bone volume and the appealing, firm triangle flips. Dr Sara calls it ‘inflammaging’ or inflammation caused by premature aging. ‘90% of the signs of aging and disease are caused by lifestyle not genes…the female body is magnificent, but it does not come with a lifetime warrantee.’

6. Heads up with Collagen

Deep inside your gut, you have what is known as the second brain, or what scientists call the ENS –the enteric nervous system. All day, it communicates back and forth with your main brain. Gut inflammation is common, but collagen protects the gut. Inflammation is a red flag for mental health decline and believed to be central to most diseases. Dr Dale Bredesen, famous author of The End of Alzheimers has shown that bad dietary habits and environmental factors not only cause poor gut health and inflammation – they link directly to everyday brain health. Collagen hydrolysed peptides however, taken in regular doses, prevents the breakdown of your gut and have anti-inflammatory properties.

7. Close-up with Collagen

Do you look good close-up? Just looking good is not enough,as your skin, hair, cardiovascular, bone, spine, gut, and brain health can all tell a story. Remember, the structure and architecture of your body depends on collagen.

Collagen is the common denominator. Remember, it is responsible for connective tissue in the body: skin, muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, veins and arteries and cartilage. The message is a simple one. You cannot build a house on poor foundations. Invest in preserving it. Look good close-up, not only from a distance!

Make Collagen part of your well-being – a daily bouquet. Our powders are popular because of our Tawa Lab standards and of the ease of adding to smoothies, food, juices, beverages, and water.

About Dr Denise Bjorkman is one of the regular expert contributors to our education platform, providing insight into personalised medicine, longevity, mental and physical health, integrative nutrition, body language and neuroscience. She is CEO of the Neuro Business Institute, the founder of the SA Council of Coaches and Mentors and one of the leading global authorities on human body language. As a seasoned personal coach, author, legal scholar, neuro-wellness advisor, DNA profiler, broadcaster, and socio-political scientist, her expert consultant services have been used globally.