This is great news for you if you’ve ever wondered about your gut health. For instance, do you get bloated after eating? Or find your stomach often feels tender or upset? If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Luckily, collagen supplementation with high-quality marine collagen could be the answer.
Collagen is a protein that provides structure and support to the gut lining. Supplementing with collagen may help to repair and strengthen this lining, improving digestive function and reducing inflammation. Additionally, collagen can promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, which is also important for overall gut health.
IBS or irritable bowel syndrome is a general diagnosis that simply means your gut gets easily irritated after eating. While not a medical diagnosis, IBS is often linked to high stress, inflammatory diseases and even anxiety. Thanks to its ability to help calm inflammation, collagen can often help calm the symptoms of IBS.
Leaky gut is another likely culprit if your stomach feels tender or sore after eating. Leaky gut is a lamens term that means your gut (gastrointestinal tract) has increased permeability.
Usually, your intestines act as a tube for your food to pass through. However, when you have a leaky gut, some of the broken-down food you eat permeates the tight-knit junctions in the walls of the gut allowing harmful substances like bacteria and toxins to leak into the bloodstream.
Since these food particles aren’t supposed to be in your bloodstream, your system gets irritated and triggers an inflammatory response.
How Collagen Supplements May Help With Leaky Gut
Luckily, the ‘tube’ of your gut is full of connective tissue building blocks, most of which are collagen. Leaky gut means the building blocks aren’t working that well.
Collagen supplements may help with leaky gut by supporting the repair and strengthening of the digestive tract lining. The amino acids in collagen, particularly glycine and glutamine, are essential for this process. Studies suggest that collagen peptides can improve gut barrier function and tight junction integrity, potentially reducing leaky gut symptoms.
It’s all about collagen’s ability to heal your intestinal wall and restore it to its prior level of health.
Why Am I Bloated? Inside The GI Tract’s Balance
We’ve discussed IBS and leaky gut, but what about an imbalance of your GI tract’s ecosystem?
Yep, that’s right. Your gut has an ecosystem, and when it’s thrown off-kilter from a few too many big nights, fried food binges or constant stress, that ecosystem can become unbalanced. This imbalance can cause irritation of your gastrointestinal tract causing countless symptoms like gassiness after eating, a distended stomach (bloating) and stomach tenderness.
Collagen And Your Gastrointestinal (Gut) Health
Here’s where collagen comes in. Medical professionals use oral collagen to help manage inflammatory metabolic disorders, so it’s no surprise it is used to help treat inflammation of the gut too. It’s powerful at calming an irritated gut and has been found to help protect against gastric ulcers.
Some people have even found collagen can help regulate gastric juices in your gastrointestinal tract to ensure the perfect amount of acid balance within the digestive system. Restored acid balance helps minimise heartburn, ulcers and other digestive issues.
In other words? Collagen can help repair your gut lining to restore your gut health. But how exactly does collagen help your gut?
How Does Collagen Help With Gut Health?
Collagen is a crucial protein for maintaining gut health as it helps to strengthen the intestinal lining, reduce inflammation, and support the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. By incorporating collagen-rich foods or supplements into your diet, you can promote gut health and improve overall well-being.
Photo credit K Grabowska
