Does collagen help your nails grow strong?
Will my nails be less brittle if I consume collagen every day?
These are some of our most frequently-asked-questions over here at LonoLife (along with “Will it help my skin and hair too”) and so we figured it would be a good time to put collagen and all its nail-boosting properties in the spotlight. Here goes!
WHAT’S COLLAGEN AGAIN?
Let’s first remind ourselves what collagen actually is. Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. Of all the many thousands of proteins your body has, about 30% are collagen proteins. Think of collagen as the glue that holds your whole body’s structure together, including your skin, gut lining, bones, and joints. Frequent stress and the aging process can degenerate levels of collagen in your body. It is believed that by consuming collagen protein, we can encourage the reformation of collagen.
WHY CAN’T I JUST GET MY COLLAGEN FROM EATING MEAT?
Great question! While you may consume some collagen by eating meat, the majority of collagen is found in the connective tissue of animals. That means that when you eat the muscle-meat of an animal (the most usual kind of meat to find its way to our dinner plates in this country), you aren’t getting the rich proteins that are so useful for soft tissue repair found in the connective tissue.
HOW DOES IT MAKE MY NAILS GROW STRONGER?
This is where we get to the good stuff. Have you ever wondered why your nails become brittle? And then that in turn leads to them breaking easily? You can blame it on a lack of collagen, because collagen is actually one of the major proteins found in nail beds. Think of it like the building blocks of your nails, building nail health and strong growth from the nail bed upwards. To get really nerdy, you can thank the amino acid arginine found in collagen peptides for helping your nails. Although collagen peptides contain 18 of the 20 amino acids, it’s arginine that really helps your nails by carrying nitric oxide and nutrients through the small capillaries and into the nail bed.
ARE THERE STUDIES TO SHOW IT WORKS?
While we have plenty of anecdotal evidence that our nails simply grow stronger, faster, and longer when we (and our customers) consume our LonoLife Collagen Peptides, we are big believers in backing that up with clinical studies, and we don’t need to look much further than the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for valuable insights on collagen and nail health.
A NIH study showed that regular consumption of collagen peptides improves nail growth and reduces the symptoms of brittle nails.
During the study, 25 participants supplemented with the collagen peptide powder once a day for 24 weeks. After the 24 weeks, they had a four week break from supplementing with collagen. After the four weeks, their nail growth rate and the frequency of cracked and/or chipped nails were assessed. Also, an evaluation of symptoms and global clinical improvement score of brittle nails were assessed by a physician during treatment and four weeks after discontinuation. The results were significant: study participants saw an increase of 12% nail growth rate and a decrease of 42% in the frequency of broken nails. What’s more, about two-thirds of the subjects reported better outcomes with brittle nails. And almost 90% of the participants showed improvement even after the 4 weeks of not taking the collagen peptides. We’d call that a win!
WHAT ARE COLLAGEN PEPTIDES?
When you isolate the collagen from the connective tissue of animals then break down the molecular bonds between individual collagen strands, you end up with peptides. Some people call this hydrolyzed collagen. These peptides have been shown to be absorbed more easily into the bloodstream than other forms. They also mix well with hot or cold water without clumping, making them easy to add to drinks and food. LonoLife Collagen Peptides provide 10 grams of pure bone collagen protein in each serving, with zero added sugar. All our collagen is sourced from grass-fed cows and is suitable for keto and paleo diets.
WHAT ARE SOME OTHER THINGS I CAN DO TO KEEP MY NAILS STRONG?
In addition to regularly consuming our collagen peptides, we recommend you also:
- Moisturize your hands and nails regularly
- Try to find nail removers without acetone
- Use non-toxic nail polish
- Give your nails a break from manicures
WHAT ARE 3 EASY WAYS TO CONSUME COLLAGEN?
Mix some Unflavored Collagen Peptides into your baking mixes; throw some Mocha Collagen Peptides into your morning smoothie, or make a cocktail with delicious Coconut Pineapple Peptides. No matter what food or drink is on the menu for the day, there’s usually a way to sneak some collagen into it. Here are some of our favorite recipes using collagen.
⇨ Ginger Mint Collagen Cocktail
But strong, less brittle nails are just the beginning. There’s a whole of purported health benefits that can be enjoyed by consuming collagen regularly, from better joints to a healthier gut. You can read more about that here.
