890: Warning Signs: Collagen Deficiency As We Age and What to Do About It With Everbella

Child: Welcome to my Mommy’s podcast.

This episode is sponsored by LMNT. That’s L-M-N-T. And this is one of my go-to companies in the summer, especially when we’re outside playing sports, sweating all the time to help replenish key electrolytes. My kids love it as well. And we drink many of their flavors with cool water and use them in the summer. But today I really want to talk about their hot drink mixes, which are not as talked about. And I absolutely love these, especially in the winter.

So LMNT has all these amazing mixes that help anyone stay hydrated without the sugar or the other dodgy ingredients that are found in a lot of sports drinks. You may not know, but electrolyte deficiency or even minor imbalance can be correlated to headaches, cramps, fatigue, brain fog, and so much more. And each stick of LMNT, or they now have sparkling cans, delivers a meaningful dose of electrolytes in the right ratio and free of sugar, artificial colors, or other dodgy ingredients. LMNT is formulated for anyone on a mission to restore health through hydration, and it’s perfectly suited for athletes, people who are fasting, those following keto, low-carb, whole food, or paleo diets.

And a lot of times we forget about hydration when it gets cold or at altitude. So for winter activities and as we get to cooler months, I love their chocolate flavors. Now these, I wouldn’t think to add to cool water, but I love them in the winter. In warm water as a hot chocolate mix, or even a lot of people are adding these to their morning coffee. They have hot drink packets featuring chocolate mint, chocolate chai, and chocolate raspberry. And these are only available when the temperatures drop. So you want to get them now and enjoy them while you can. Think hot cocoa, but with the added benefit of electrolytes. Try LMNT totally risk-free. If you don’t like it, give it away to your salty friend and they will give you your money back, no questions asked. You can check that out and get a free sample pack with any purchase by going to drinklmnt.com/wellnessmama.

This episode is brought to you by Dreamland Baby, and in particular, a product that I wish I had had with my first baby and actually with all of my babies, which is a sleep sack with a really unique twist. So it’s super easy to use. Leads to deeper sleep for both you and your baby, and here’s how. It has a cover-calm technology that allows for evenly distributed weight from the shoulders to the toes. And this is a gentle, evenly distributed weight that helps the baby fall asleep and stay asleep because it mimics the feeling of a parent’s touch or hug. I’ve seen the benefits for me of using weighted blankets for sleep, and this weighted sleep sack really helps relax and calm babies in a safe way, which leads to, as well, better sleep for the parents. Any of us who have had babies know that sleep can be hard to come by, especially when they’re really little. And I wished I’d had this with my older kids when they were babies. And it’s now probably my most gifted item to new parents. The number one issue for parents, new parents is lack of sleep. And a mom invented this sleep sack out of desperation when her six month old wouldn’t sleep. They’ve been on Shark Tank. They got a deal on there with Lori. And I, like I said, I wish that I had always had this product and now love to gift it to friends when they have a new baby. You can check it out by going to dreamlandbabyco.com and make sure you use the code MAMA20 to save 20% off and get free shipping. So that’s dreamlandbabyco.com and the code MAMA20 to save 20%.

Katie: Hello and welcome to the Wellness Mama podcast. I’m Katie from wellnessmama.com and I am back today with Cristina McKay to talk about collagen deficiency as we age and what to do about it. And I feel like collagen is getting more talk even in the mainstream, but it’s still not completely understood, and it’s definitely not utilized as well as we could. And Cristina’s been on before to talk about other substances, but she is the visionary behind Everbella, which is a renowned beauty supplement brand that has gained a lot of recognition for its innovative beauty supplements and exceptional customer experience.

We’ve talked before about things like biotin and her amazing journey with hair regrowth. But in this episode, we go deep on the topic of collagen, why we have less collagen as we age, sort of the mechanisms behind that, and what we can do about it. And you might be surprised how far-reaching the effects of this are. So without further ado, let’s join Cristina McKay. Cristina, welcome back. Thanks for being here again.

Cristina: Yes, I’m so excited to be here. I always love chatting with you. It comes very easy to me. So excited to jump back in again.

Katie: Oh, me too. Anytime we get to chat, I love it. And to record it is even more fun. And we’ve gotten to talk before and go deep on several other topics, most recently, biotin, which I know is something I’ve been implementing and seeing results from. I don’t know if people can see on camera, but I have a little halo of baby hairs everywhere, which is great after having six kids.

This one I feel like is relevant also to really all of our listeners. Most people listening are women, but we of course have listeners from all walks of life. But I feel like any of us as we get older, and we all eventually will, this is especially relevant. And that topic is, of course, collagen. I also feel like this is an area where there is a lot of misinformation floating around on social media. And I’ve seen some things go viral that I’m like, ooh, that’s not actually correct information.

So I’m excited to have this conversation as a chance to debunk some of the myths that are floating around to provide real, actionable, research-backed information, which I know, that you have a ton of from researching for this episode. And also just to give people some key takeaways and action steps that they can take if they are getting older.

I know there’s a whole lot that can go into this conversation when it comes to collagen, and we’ll hopefully get to cover a lot of it. But to jump in broad, can you just kind of like give us some background on collagen and what it is and why it declines as we age?

Cristina: Yeah, absolutely. So of course, unless you live under a rock, you’ve definitely heard the buzz about collagen. It’s been really known as the anti-aging secret hailed by celebrities and health experts alike. But is it really this miracle solution, right? Because I know I’m a living example that I had personally tried many collagen products that did not work for me. And so I’m really excited today to kind of walk you through like what collagen is and do you need to take a supplement? Can you make lifestyle changes to improve your collagen? And is it really everything it’s chalked up to be, right? Is it really this anti-aging miracle or is this whole thing just a complete hoax, right?

So just a little bit about me for those who might not know my story. So just shy of my 30th birthday, I found myself feeling years older than I was. My skin was really weathered and dry. I was tired all the time. My joints were aching. And to make it worse, I have two children now, but at the time I had no children. I had like a gut, my belly was sticking out. And to make it completely worse than that, I actually had a massive bald spot on the top of my head, which I know some of you have heard about. But this time I actually have a picture. That is a picture of the top of my head. I was losing my hair and this wasn’t even postpartum.

So I just felt so unattractive and just was like, what is going on? And this struggle really sparked a journey of self-discovery and education, which made me realize, you know, what are the fundamental reasons that we age? And why was I feeling less and less like myself with each year that passed, right? So I quickly discovered that I’m not alone in this feeling. Many women are feeling like I’m aging and I don’t know what to do about it. And I learned that a lot of these aging challenges are ding, ding, ding, directly linked to your collagen intake or lack thereof. So I had no idea that I was having all these issues and it really was lack of collagen.

So what is collagen? So when people think of collagen, they typically think of the skin, right? We hear often about how collagen can help the skin on your face, which makes sense. It’s true. Collagen is the fundamental building block that holds your skin together and low collagen levels can significantly change the appearance of your skin.

But I do want to let you know that collagen does so much more in your body. It supports the structure of your skin. It also supports the structures of your muscles, your bones, and all of your connective tissues. So everything in your body needs collagen to thrive. And so when your collagen levels drop, your body is actually going to send you some warning signs. So I’m really excited to share with you guys today with these, what I call the six warning signs that you are dangerously low in collagen.

Katie: Yeah, I feel like you just touched on so many important things, and especially like the fundamental connection to aging, as well as I know we’ll get into it later, but the idea that not all collagen is created equal, because I have personally had the experience in the past of taking collagen and in some cases feeling like it wasn’t effective, and then in other cases feeling like it was making me break out and actually causing issues. So I know we’ll get into that later, but for now, yeah, let’s definitely dive into the warning signs that we are low on collagen.

Cristina: Beautiful. Okay. So let’s just jump right into it. So somehow, one way or another, as we age, right, you start losing your collagen. Why is that? Well, your body’s ability to create new collagen starts to diminish at the ripe young age of 25, believe it or not. Experts actually claim that we lose 1% of our collagen every year after you turn 25. But that’s not all. There’s going to dive into those, of course. So I’m going to jump in right now to one of those warning signs.

So warning sign number one is wrinkles. So wrinkles are the clearest sign of collagen loss, and they form because you’re losing elastin in your skin, which is a direct result of low collagen. So despite the fact that, you know, your skin, like I said earlier, is primarily collagen, it’s 70 to 80% made up of collagen. If you have low levels of collagen, your body will actually stop focusing on the skin elasticity and will then move those collagens to other vital functions in your body, like your organs and healing wounds. So when your collagen goes down to a certain point, it’s not going to focus on your skin anymore. It’s going to focus on primary functions in the body that are not what I call cosmetics. So while wrinkles are bound to happen as you get older, if you are noticing a sudden acceleration in wrinkles on your face specifically, it’s a clear sign that your collagen levels are plummeting.

Warning sign number two is slow muscle recovery. So I mentioned earlier that your muscles really need collagen to thrive and function. And if you are finding that your muscles are sore, even if you haven’t performed like a strenuous workout, so you went for a hike or a walk or you did some, you know, cleaning in the house and your muscles are just feeling super sore the next day. Yes, you can feel soreness. It’s not uncommon to be sore, but if it’s happening a lot when you’re not doing strenuous things, it can be a sign that you have low collagen. So again, normal tasks and you’re feeling sore, warning sign.

Warning sign number three is digestive problems. So a collagen deficiency can also be linked to something called leaky gut. And I’ll explain what that is. So in your intestines, there are these little tight junctions that help your body absorb nutrients. And if you have a leaky gut, that means that these junctions aren’t as tight as they should be. And the tissues are starting to separate. So as a result, unwanted substances go through these gaps and can cause infection and inflammation in your gut, which there you go. This is why you’re having your belly juts out. You have gas, you have cramps, food sensitivities, just pain in your belly. So all of these things could be signs that you have leaky gut. And again, leaky gut could be triggered by having low collagen levels.

Warning sign number four is poor hair health. So that for me was a big one. Collagen is important for your hair for a couple reasons. For number one, if collagen, it’s present within all your hair follicles. And it is the key nutrient that is responsible for keeping your hair firm and strong and kind of staying in its place. Additionally, without sufficient collagen intake, it will just basically become weak. It’ll break off. It’ll just feel really dry and not its best, right? And to make matters worse, kind of like I mentioned earlier, when you’re low in collagen, your body prioritizes other vital functions. The same thing happens. So if you’re low in collagen, your body’s not going to be sending that collagen to your hair to, you know, uphold your hair and keep it in place and keep it feeling firm and strong. It’s going to send your collagen elsewhere and your hair is going to suffer because of it.

Warning sign number five is joint pain. So earlier I’m talking about recovery in your muscles. Now we’re talking about joints. So again, most of us think joint pain is just a part of getting older. But in many cases, it is the result of low collagen. And because the collagen is makes up 60% of the cartilage in your joints. So it’s essential. It’s essential to keep your joints healthy and to keep them functioning and not aching all the time. So if you are experiencing more discomfort in your joints than you have very suddenly, it’s very painful, you might need to give a boost in your collagen.

And warning sign number six is slow injury recovery. So like I said, collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. And so whenever you have an injury, whether it’s a broken bone, a cut, even if you want to go have surgery, it’s going to need a lot of collagen to repair this tissue. And so if you’re not getting enough collagen, your body’s going to struggle to make this full repair. So if you get hurt and you’re noticing it’s taking a long time to heal, it can be an indicator of low collagen levels.

So now I know I’m sounding like all doom and gloom. And you’re probably like, okay, what the heck? I have five of these warning signs or three or maybe you have all six. What do you do now? And so I do have some suggestions on how to fix it. I’d love to dive into those unless you have anything you want to chime in with Katie.

Katie: That was so good. I made so many notes for the show notes, especially some of those statistics that you brought up about 60% of our joint cartilage is made of collagen. It makes total sense to me that if the body is struggling, it’s going to prioritize our vital functions over our skin and our hair, even though it seems like skin and hair are what we maybe pay attention the most to because we see those things in the mirror. Like by the time it gets there, our body’s already probably been trying to tell us that for a long time.

And I say often on here, you know, symptoms, if we reframe them are actually amazing messengers. And it sounds like this is very much the case with collagen as well. Like if we’re having these symptoms, it’s our body very clearly trying to tell us something. And I love that your approach is also always solutions focused. So definitely let’s dive into how can we reverse these warning signs? How do we start giving the body what it needs?

Cristina: Absolutely. And again, like I, I implemented these tactics for myself because obviously I mentioned earlier how I was struggling, but I, my mom is 70 years old. And was very skeptical of my tips that I ended up sharing with her. And my mom is thriving. So, I mean, this is a little, little plug for my mom, but she is a master gardener. She’s super active. She used to have terrible joint pain. Her hands used to be really almost arthritic. And now that she’s really done a lifestyle change and implemented some of these tactics, she’s like, I can’t believe like this really does work. So please take notes and know that there are things you can do to fix it. I’m not saying you’re not going to get old. We’re going to get old, right? But this can really help you age comfortably, gracefully, and really look and feel your best.

So I’ll jump into it. So restoring your collagen levels, is it possible? Well, I already kind of tipped you off. Yes. So let’s see, is it a really an anti-aging miracle or a hoax? So, yes, restoring collagen levels naturally is possible through various lifestyle changes and dietary changes. And they’re all backed by scientific studies, which I’m sure Katie will share with you all.

So first, I’m going to start with talking about nutrition. So vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis. So what is collagen synthesis? It’s the process by which your cells produce collagen. So how do you get your vitamin C? Foods rich in vitamin C are as follows: citrus fruits, so think oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, strawberries, kiwis, bell peppers, and your dark and leafy greens.

Another element you can add to your diet is amino acids. So collagen is also made up of amino acids. And if you consume protein-rich foods, it will boost your amino acids, which will then therefore help with your collagen production. So you’re going to look at meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and beans. And then another item to boost in your nutrition is zinc. Zinc and copper, actually. So these minerals are also very vital for your collagen production. And you’re going to find these in foods such as nuts, whole grains, and shellfish. So that’s number one, nutrition.

Number two is hydration. So many of us do not drink enough water. I’m guilty of it as well. But staying well hydrated really helps maintain your skin’s elasticity, your overall health, and will also improve your collagen levels. So really push yourself to drink plenty of water. You know, they say eight glasses a day, but I really push myself to drink more than that. So try, for some people, you know, set a little reminder on your phone every couple hours to drink a glass of water.

And then lifestyle changes. So avoiding excess sun exposure. I’m a huge proponent of going out in the sun every morning. I really make sure to get outside. It really helps your circadian rhythm. However, UV radiation can break down your collagen. So make sure if you are out there, you’re using a good quality sunscreen and then protective clothing if you’re going to be out there for a long time.

And another lifestyle change is to quit smoking. I don’t smoke, but I know my grandmother is 80 and she’s been smoking for like, not even kidding, like 60 some years. So if you can, and she’s very wrinkled. So smoking does decrease collagen production, especially in your skin, and it does impair blood flow. So quit smoking is a good helper. Exercising, so regular physical activity also really helps improve circulation, not only blood, but in your skin as well. And all of that will help support your collagen production.

And then the last thing is supplementation. So a high quality collagen and supplementing with one has shown so much promise with scientific studies to improve all of these things that I’ve mentioned. And with consistent use, you can restore your levels reliably.

So that leads to, you know, high quality collagen, you know, that’s kind of vague, you know, how do I know what a high-quality collagen is? And the truth is. It’s really hard to kind of navigate this. So the beauty industry in general, if you don’t know, is a $72 billion industry and celebrities are constantly paid to endorse products, as many of you may or may not know. And collagen really has been around for decades. So it’s not something that just is this magic fairy dust that appeared out of thin air. It’s been around for a while.

And for me personally, the kind of more I dug into this beauty conspiracy around collagen, the more I realized that collagen has really been built on great marketing. And most collagen really isn’t what it seems. Kind of like you said earlier, Katie, you’re like, I’ve taken some and it made me feel worse or it just didn’t work at all.

So here we go again. Is it a beauty hoax or does it really work? So these are some things that I learned when I was really digging into kind of navigating this whole collagen things. And there’s three, these are three facts. Number one, most collagen is actually too big for your body to absorb. So you know how earlier, I was talking about leaky gut and how things have to go through your intestine to be absorbed. So a lot of collagen molecules are too big. So if you’re drinking bone broth, for example, bone broth, I’m not saying it’s bad for you, I’m just saying you’re not going to get as much benefit of collagen that way because the molecules are too big. And it also doesn’t contain the primary collagen that’s really going to help you cosmetically. So your hair and your skin. And so yes, natural collagen is too big. And in fact, your intestines actually can’t absorb most of it, which means you’re not going to really notice difference if you’re not taking a collagen that is smaller particles. So what happens to collagen if you take it and your body can’t absorb it, literally gets flushed down the toilet.

So this next little fun fact kind of shocked me is that also many collagen supplements are full of fillers that actually destroy the ability of the collagen to do what they need to do. So collagen is always sourced for somewhere, some use beef bones. And in fact, then they kind of disguise that taste with a lot of sugar or artificial ingredients to hide that taste. You know, I don’t know if you can relate, but I’ve had smoothies before where I noticed this kind of like beefy undertone or like a cardboardy taste or I get a headache because they’re using artificial sweeteners that just make you feel horrible. So that’s the thing. It’s companies hide the taste because it’s costly to make a really good collagen that is undetectable taste wise and really tastes good. And when you add sugar and these fillers, it destroys the collagen. For example, when you eat sugar, it binds to collagen, which then weighs your collagen down and depletes its ability to really do anything in your body. Your body will actually focus on processing the sugar before the collagen. So again, you’re really flushing it down the toilet and you’re just ruining your ability to use the collagen correctly. So anyway, that’s the other thing is a lot of collagen products are full of junk.

And then the last thing is collagen needs what I call packages to work efficiently. So you probably like, what the heck do you mean by that? So I’m going to break it down. So the packages I’m talking about, it’s a technology called micelles. And it’s spelled M-I-C-E-L-L-E-S, but you say it micelles. So what happens when your body ingests collagen, it travels through your digestive system and it gets broken down in your stomach and your body has to create these little packages to wrap around the nutrients so it can actually travel through your stomach acid and into your bloodstream. So it’s almost like thinking of a fulfillment center, right? When you get an item before you can ship it, you’ve got to put it in a box to keep it safe and address it where it needs to go. And that’s what these micelles do. They’re little packages that wrap around the collagen that allows the nutrients to get through your gut lining into your small intestine, therefore getting to your bloodstream. So without micelles, most of your collagen will get destroyed by stomach acids. You could be taking scoops and scoops of collagen and going, man, I don’t really feel a difference because they’re not using this technology, we have today called micelles technology that protects these nutrients during digestion, which is why, again, if you’re taking a conventional collagen, it’s just getting destroyed by your stomach acid.

And not only that, but even as you get older in general, like I mentioned earlier, how you lose collagen 1% every year, your body also gets lazy at making micelles. So there are actual micelles that exist within your body. But as you age, they deplete as well. So you really have like two things are against you right now as you age, right? So the result is in general, your body struggles to absorb nutrients. And it looks like things like thinning hair, brittle nails, wrinkly skin. You know, you’re getting discomfort after workouts. You got this bloat. So all these things are signs like your collagen is low. Your body’s not processing nutrients properly. You really need to do something about it.

So the short of it is if you can’t make micelles and you’re not getting enough collagen, you’re really just kind of in a muddy situation to try to get yourself right. But the good news is, as I mentioned earlier, is scientists have figured out how to make these micelles. And it’s probably been discovered in like the last decade or so. And in fact, micelle technology was used around the world for a lot of medical therapies because it’s super absorbent and really helps your body recognize nutrients for absorbing it.

So when it comes to collagen, if you use a micelle technology, it will ensure the collagen does get absorbed and you’re not just putting it down the toilet. It’s prepackaged and ready for you to go. So I know I just covered a lot of science stuff, but those are the three things in like really looking at a collagen, right? Just note to yourself, most collagens are too big. Most collagen products, if you flip it over and you look at that label, it’s a bunch of stuff you probably can’t pronounce, especially if there’s sugar in there. It’s not good. Your body’s going to focus on processing the sugar before the collagen. And the last thing is if you’re not doing something with a micelle technology, I’m not saying it’s terrible. I’m just saying you’re not going to absorb as much as you could if you use something that had a more cutting-edge absorption technology.

Katie: Yeah, that’s a great point. And as you and I were actually talking about off air before we started recording, like none of these things in isolation, I feel like would have been a huge problem even a couple of hundred years ago or a couple of generations ago, because the food supply was so much more drastically higher in nutrients that even if you, and people were eating more just whole foods, we didn’t have processed food aisles at grocery stores 200 years ago. So we were just getting so many more nutrients in the form that your body could recognize. So even if bone broth wasn’t a great form, you were eating way more bone broth than we are today. You were getting way more nutrients from food than you are today. So we’re already on the uphill battle of our food supply being so depleted. And we are now facing these things as we get older. And I feel like it’s just like kind of multifactorial and that it compounds each decade as we get older, like you talked about.

But you did mention that you can restore your kind of your collagen levels, your collagen within your body. I would love to delve into how long does that actually take? And then are there other things that are supportive in that process? Like you mentioned vitamin C being kind of synergistic with collagen and being important for absorption. But are there things like, for instance, if we optimize our sleep, if we’re getting enough sunlight, if we’re eating a really nutrient dense diet, like anything else we can do to kind of speed up that process?

Cristina: For sure. So it really depends, like earlier I talked about those six warning signs, how many of those you have and how far into depletion you are, right? Like I mentioned my 70-year-old mother, you know, if you’re someone in, you know, 60s or 70s, you know, you’re not going to look like you’re 25 or 35 again, right? You can’t, it’s not, it’s not magic here, people, but it can definitely help you feel more youthful and feel like yourself. And with time, when you restore your collagen and start eating well, exercising, like things I mentioned earlier, and supplementing, of course, you can certainly, what I say, is kind of turn back the hands of time to a degree.

You know, maybe my mom always jokes, she’s like, I feel 10 years younger, right? That’s what she always says. I think she looks younger than that personally, but you will definitely notice a difference if you start prioritizing things to restore collagen levels, especially if you’re someone who has like joint issues. Like I mentioned earlier, like I think it’s 60% of your cartilage is made of collagen. So if you are just someone who’s got achy, achy joints all the time and you feel like you’ve tried everything but collagen, like collagen could be the solution for you.

So how long is it going to take? Again, it really depends on your age and where you’re at. So, you know, I’m in my 30s and for me, when I kind of mentioned all the things I was going through, which were warning signs that I had a full-blown deficiency at a young age, it took me probably maybe four months to really feel good again. But other people, it can take maybe double that to really, you know, feel like they can see a difference.

But I always tell people you can feel a difference faster than you can see a difference, right? So, like getting your hair to grow back, getting wrinkles to diminish, that’s something that’s going to take time because you have to not only get your body out of a deficient state, but you have to restore your collagen. It’s got to work it’s magic. It’s got to bind to all your cells and give your body the ability to make those repairs.

But when I talk about feeling a difference. So like low energy, right? I feel like as soon as I started supplementing with collagen within like a week, well, a good quality one, which I’ll tell you about in a little bit, I felt energized within like 24 hours. Like I had a lot of brain fog. I was tired all the time. Like that was the first noticeable thing. The second noticeable thing was I had less hair fallout. So while I didn’t have all this new regrowth when I had that bald spot, when I would take a shower, like barely any hair would come out. I’m like, oh, that’s cool. My nails weren’t as brittle, right? Like I could just like bump a door handle and like my nail would break off. And like within a couple of weeks, my nails weren’t like cracking anymore, you know.

And then like my knees, right? So I’m an avid gardener also. I have a huge vegetable garden. It’s like no exaggeration, probably like, I don’t know, a quarter of an acre. It’s huge. But I would be like kneeling and be like, man, like my knees really hurt. And like I noticed within like a couple of weeks, like I didn’t have any more knee pain. So, you know, you’ll feel some things before you see things.

But I would say I feel pretty confident that most people within like six months, you’re going to feel like a 180, if you really prioritize all these things. Just to recap, right. So, the vitamin C intake, right. So increasing your vitamin C intake, your amino acid intake and zinc intake. So these can be through foods, but the reason I’m really focusing on supplementation is what Katie brought up is that our food system is so depleted and it’s very sad because it’s due to, and I have no hate on farmers because I grow my own vegetables and stuff, but it’s more of this industrialized farming practices. They spray a lot of pesticides and chemicals, they over till, and all of these things just deplete the nutrients within the soil. Therefore, when the plant’s growing, it’s not putting all these nutrients into the actual fruit you’re picking or the vegetables you’re picking because there’s nothing in the soil.

And most farmers aren’t, putting they’re not putting nutrients back, right? They’re not fertilizing naturally with like compost and like a lot of nutrient dense compounds. It’s very synthetic sprays. And it’s just not the same it was. In fact, one fact I always find startling to tell people that’s backed by a study is that since the 1940s, they’ve been studying this nutrient depletion and one orange from 1940 equates to almost 10 oranges today. So if you could eat one orange and let’s just hypothetically say you’d get like, I don’t know, 500 milligrams of vitamin C today, you’d need to eat 10 to get that same benefit. I mean, think about how startling that is, right?

So, you know, yes, you can definitely eat these foods. It’s definitely going to help you. It’s better than not doing it at all. But it’s just a really uphill battle if you’re only going to focus on eating things like really supplementing so important, because you’re just going to have to eat so much of it. Does that make sense?

Katie: Yeah. In fact, I’ve had people in the span of this podcast now being over 10 years old, basically, I’ve had people on it and that advice has changed even throughout the course of this podcast in that I had experts in the beginning who would say, try to get everything from food. And obviously that’s ideal when you can. And these same people, including Chris Kresser, now say we unfortunately cannot do that anymore. You would have to eat so much volume of food, it would be not feasible at all. And you’d be getting so much more calories than you would need to get the minimum micronutrients that you need. And so sadly, we do live in a time where that’s the reality of our food supply.

And like you said, when these plants are even growing, they can’t pull from something that’s not there. When the soil is depleted, they just simply don’t have the building blocks. And that’s also kind of a parallel to what many of our bodies are facing when our food supply doesn’t have these core nutrients because our bodies can’t pull what’s not there. And so we’re like over-caloried, but under-nutrient kind of in our diet.

And I’ve thought for years, you know, part of maybe this obesity epidemic that we’re seeing is actually a symptom of the wisdom of our bodies craving more food because it’s not getting the minimum nutrients we need, even though we’re getting plenty of calories. And so I think like supplementation is an important part of this strategy. It’s a little obviously like very different for each of us when we get into the really nuanced, but there are some generalities that we all can support our bodies in doing. And then unfortunately, we live in a time when we need to.

I know this brings us to the point also of like really looking for when it comes to collagen specifically, what do we need to look for in a supplement to make sure we’re not getting one of the ones that’s not going to be absorbed or that’s just going to kind of pass through our system without providing benefit.

Cristina: Yeah, 100%. So I will say that at this point, I’m going to make a quick little mention about my company, which is Everbella. And I specialize in making highly absorbable beauty supplements. And it’s become my passion because of my life journey to help other women have reliable supplements that are clean, highly absorbable, that really work. So I’m going to tell you about my product. But again, these are checkboxes. You don’t have to endorse my product. You’re not going to hurt my feelings. But this list I’m going to give you, you can look at other products out there. But these are really important to make sure you have a good quality absorbable collagen.

So my product is called Complete Collagen Plus, and it looks like this. So first of all, it’s micellized. So I went into detail about that earlier. This means it’s highly absorbable. And I didn’t give you this fun fact, but when things are micellized, it actually becomes 800% more absorbable than conventional like powdered or pilled collagen, which again, this is going to give you maximum support for your hair, your skin, your nails, your joints, because it’s going to get where it needs to go. It’s going to have those micelles wrapping around the nutrients. So it travels through your digestive system and gets where it needs to go.

And then mine is also made from grass fed happy cows is what I like to say. And they’re ethically raised. So that means a lot to me as well. You know, I don’t want a poor cow living a miserable life. It’s a very ethically raised and grass-fed cow.

Number two is something that is easy to take and really tastes good. So for mine, mine contains zero sugar. It’s actually sweetened with organic glycerin, which is derived from coconuts. And I like to brag that my collagen looks and tastes like caramel. So when you open the box, you have a little pouch. And it looks like this. And you just tear it off and you eat it. And it’s really creamy. I think Katie can attest to this. It really does taste like caramel. It’s not sickening sweet. It’s perfectly sweet. You can take it on the go in this little pouch.

Or so many people write in to me and I love it because I do the same thing, you can even make creative recipes. Like you can make a caramel latte with it. You can put it on your yogurt, your oatmeal, really anything you want to add a nice little caramel flavor to it. It’s just a supplement that you can take as simply a supplement, or you can kind of incorporate it to your daily life.

Another important thing to me is making sure the supplement is what I call squeaky clean. So free from sugar, gluten, corn, soy, non-GMO, and also kind of being made in the USA. So we make everything in a GMP certified facility and every batch is tested for purity. A lot of people don’t do this. So like I test for lead, E. Coli, yeast, salmonella, mold, mercury, arsenic, to name a few. But like every single batch goes through that because I want to make sure that what you’re getting is high quality and doesn’t have any contaminants.

And to top it all off, I also bolstered my collagen with some other ingredients that are really helpful for anti-aging. So I have MCTs in there, omega-3s in there, and vitamin E. And all of those things really bolster a lot of the things you’re dealing with.

So MCTs will help boost your metabolism. So if you’re having this bloating issue, collagen is going to help restore your gut health. But the MCTs are also going to boost your metabolism to help you actually lose some weight. Omega-3s are great for all things anti-aging. It’s good for your hair, your skin, your nails. And then vitamin E does the same thing. Vitamin E is like a protective ingredient for your skin from UV, from free radicals. So those are other ingredients I added to my collagen to really make it a good, quality anti-aging product.

So like I said earlier, my mission in life is to just help as many people as possible feel like themselves. Again, it doesn’t have to be women. Men take this collagen as well. We all have these same challenges, right, where our joints hurt, our skin looks old, our hair’s thinning, it’s falling out. We have gut issues. All of these things, not just for women, but all of us can feel like we could use a good supplement that’s going to help us.

So within a few weeks, I can confidently say this, with a highly absorbable collagen, you’re going to feel changes first, right? Energy, maybe less digestive issues. Your joints are going to start feeling better. And then you’ll start seeing those changes. You’re going to see new growth in your hair. You’re going to see that your nails don’t break as much. And eventually, your skin’s going to be glowing. Your fine lines are going to diminish. And it really does work.

So anyway, that’s how I crafted my collagen. But you can, of course, use that checklist to look at any collagen on the market and be like, does it have these things? Is it micellized? Is it free from all these contaminants? Is it free from sugar and all these other things that are going to mess up the process of the collagen getting into my body and going where it needs to go? Is it made in the USA, right? So these are all things that are important to me that I think make a high-quality collagen.

Katie: Yeah, that was such a good primer. And like you said, I’ve tried this one and do not break out from it, which is great, but also feel the difference from it. And I know we talked mostly about the beauty uses, which I feel like is my primary reason for using it, but I also give it to my high school athletes for the recovery perspective because they’re putting so much athletic demand on their body. And so anything I can do to kind of speed their recovery, I feel like is really helpful for them. And they’re in that amazing phase of life where they’re laying down lifelong skeletal muscle. So anytime I can get extra amino acids and collagen and vitamin C and all the things into them, I’m all for that.

I know you also have some educational resources around this and like a lot more detail that people can go into and really learn from as well as, of course, the product itself. And I will link to that in the show notes for anybody listening on the go. Everything, of course, lives at wellnessmama.com. But Cristina, anything we have not covered that you wanted to make sure we touched on? I feel like we just got a masterclass on collagen, but anything we didn’t touch on?

Cristina: Honestly, no, I always feel like sometimes I talk really quickly, so I apologize. There’s just, like I said, there’s so much information out there. So I really hope, you know, when you listen to this, you kind of make that mental checklist or you really write a checklist so you can, you know, do more research yourself, you know, choose a collagen that works for you. And if you decide you want to try my collagen called Complete Collagen Plus, I do have a special coupon for everybody who’s listening. So if you do go to my website, which is Everbella, E-V-E-R-B-E-L-L-A.com, just use the code wellnessmama40 and you’ll get 40% off. So no minimum purchase necessary, anything weird, you know, just try it out, 40% off. And I also have, proudly, I have a 180-day money-back guarantee. So if you try this for six months and you’re like, Cristina, it doesn’t work for me, I will happily give you your money back. But that won’t happen because it’s amazing.

Katie: Amazing. Well, I will include that link and the discount code as well in the show notes, but Cristina, always such a joy to get to chat with you. And I feel like I learned a lot in this conversation. I already felt like I knew a decent amount about collagen. So I really appreciate your time and for all that you have taught today and for you being here.

Cristina: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Katie. It’s always a pleasure as well. And thank you for having me. And I hope we can chat again soon about something else exciting.

Katie: And thank you as always for listening and sharing your most valuable resources, your time, your energy, and your attention with us today. We’re both so grateful that you did. And I hope that you will join me again on the next episode of the Wellness Mama podcast.

If you’re enjoying these interviews, would you please take two minutes to leave a rating or review on iTunes for me? Doing this helps more people to find the podcast, which means even more moms and families could benefit from the information. I really appreciate your time, and thanks as always for listening.