types of collagen

Meet the Different Types of Collagen

How about getting a bit more scientific here and take a deep dive into the diverse world of collagen?

Did you know that we differentiate 5 types of collagen?

Before choosing the best type of collagen, it’s good to define what you actually want to achieve by adding collagen to your diet. Later on, you’ll see why is it important. But for now, let’s look at the different types and their benefits on the body.

Type I

This type of collagen is the true superstar. Do you know why? Type I collagen is the most abundant protein in our body. Do you remember when we were talking about healthy beautiful skin, hair, and nails? Type I collagen plays a huge role in keeping our bodies beautiful.

When it comes to beauty, it’s all about Type I collagen because it includes proteins in the form of amino acids which are responsible for skin, hair, and nails. So it minimises the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and makes the skin look firmer while it boosts the moisture levels in the skin. And we all know the importance of hydration when it comes to baby soft youthful skin! And if that’s not enough, Type I collagen is responsible for stronger nails and thicker hair which are also essential when it comes to beauty. Are you worried about hair loss? Adding this type of collagen to your diet can prevent further hair loss since it strengthens the hair and makes it thicker.

Type II

Have you ever dreamed about being a super-fit grandparent who can chase the kids no matter what? Or maybe there were situations when you were just wondering about the secrets of those older people who stay young and fit despite their age. Maintaining the health of our bones, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments can be the key to youth. So what’s the secret? We should examine Type II collagen from closer to find out, how can it preserve the health of all these building blocks of the body.

We call Type II collagen the cartilage collagen that’s why dropping levels of this protein result in joint pain. How’s that? Without the right amount of cartilage and hyaluronic acid, which acts as a natural lubricant, joints can rub together and this can lead to pain and inflammation. Fortunately, we know that adding Type II collagen to your diet can target cartilage breakdown, which is the key to prevent joint pain.

Type III

So what do we know so far? Type I collagen is for skin, nails, and hair, while Type II collagen is mostly for cartilage. We can say that Type I and Type II collagens are quite different, but if we add Type III collagen to the picture we will see that it’s not so different from Type I collagen. First of all: it is fibrillar collagen and it’s one of the main components of our skin and organs. Are you curious what this means?

Like Type I collagen, Type III is responsible for healthy skin, nails and hair and we can say that is has a role in forming a healthy and strong bone structure. However, it affects our appearance by making the skin, nails, and hair more beautiful, it’s important to note that Type III can be found in blood vessels, intestines and also in the uterus. If we examine all these organs together we can easily notice that they are all flexible, but as we’ve discussed before, due to less and less collagen production, this flexibility fades with ageing. Is there any healthy blood vessel without flexibility? Obviously, there isn’t so now you understand the importance of Type III collagen in our body.

Type V

After discovering how Type I, II and III collagen affect our health and the overall condition of our body, let’s see the next protein, Type V collagen. Now we know that Type III collagen is one of the main components of our organs like blood vessels, intestines, and the uterus. Big news: Type V collagen is very similar and plays almost the same role as Type III collagen does. Do you remember when we mentioned the womb as an example organ? Type V collagen is also crucial when it comes to women’s health and pregnancy. This type of protein creates the cells of the placenta, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to the baby.

So now you see the bigger picture and know the fact that taking collagen isn’t just about looking good. If you’re planning to have a baby, consider adding collagen to your diet since it affects organs like the womb and the placenta.

Type X

Coming soon