Health Hotline Magazine | June 2024

Glide Through Life with Ease with COLLAGEN & GLYCINE By Liz Mueller

Want to Stay Mobile? Make Collagen Your New Best Friend Maintaining an active and independent lifestyle is something we all desire as we get older—but it’s not always a given. More than 32.5 million US adults are suffering from osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis. OA is defined as the inflammation and progressive destruction of joint cartilage—a very firm tissue that surrounds bones and cushions them from the shock of high-impact movements—particularly in the knees, hip, spine, and other joints in the body, leading to pain, limitation of movement, and a reduction in quality of life. Even if you don’t have OA, factors such as age, strenuous exercise, and menopause can lead to joint pain and discomfort. Over-the-counter treatments for pain and inflammation include non-steroidal Looking for simple ways to stay loose and limber? Tired of tossing and turning and in desperate need of some quality zzz’s? Look no further than collagen and glycine! These two often overlooked nutrients hold the key to alleviating a whole host of health issues with their impactful and wide-ranging benefits. Without them, we can expect to encounter a lifetime of less mobility, poor quality sleep, and more pain as we age; and most of us have been operating largely without them—the best sources of collagen and glycine are in things like cartilage, tendons, and bone, parts of the animal we just don’t eat. But it’s easy to turn that around and ensure our bodies get enough of these super nutrients to live life with ease.

anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that often come with unwanted side effects, especially when taken chronically, and many want to avoid costly and painful surgery for joint replacement. These are just a couple of reasons leading people to look for alternative treatments, such as collagen supplements, for joint health. And it’s no wonder collagen tops the list. Its fiber-like structure is used to make connective tissue and is a major component of bone, skin, muscles, tendons, and cartilage. One type of collagen, type II collagen, makes up the bulk of the cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM); think of the ECM as the ‘glue’ that binds cells together in connective tissues. The body does produce collagen naturally, but it gradually makes less as we age. By age 40, you can lose up to one percent of your body’s collagen each year and by around age 80, collagen production in the body can decrease by as much as 75 percent. Factor in things like excess sun exposure, excess alcohol, smoking, and even a lack

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