Is fish collagen the secret to a healthy gut and glowing skin?

If you’ve been chasing better skin and a happier gut, fish collagen might be the underrated hero you’ve missed. Fish collagen has become a popular supplement for those wanting to enhance their skin’s appearance and health. What you might not know is that it can also give your gut a major boost in the process. Promoting and maintaining your gut health is a key factor in healthier, younger-looking skin!

Let’s take a closer look at how collagen works to support you outside and in!

Revitalising from within

The collagen in your body helps to maintain your skin’s structure, hydration, and elasticity. As you age, your natural collagen production will decrease. Supplementing with fish collagen can promote skin hydration, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and improve overall skin texture.¹

Collagen is also needed for healing wounds, as it supports cell regeneration and tissue repair. This makes it beneficial for healing cuts, burns, or other injuries.

Boosting your gut

Collagen plays an important role in supporting your gut by providing essential structural support to the intestinal lining. It supplies the amino acids – such as glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline – that are needed to repair and maintain the integrity of the mucosal barrier.²

When consumed through food or supplements, these amino acids help reinforce your gut’s lining, ensuring it remains strong and resilient against daily stresses, or potential damage.

Collagen also has the ability to strengthen the intestinal epithelium – a barrier in the gastrointestinal tract that defends against harmful substances and plays a key role in nutrient absorption.³ By supporting the tight junction between epithelial cells, collagen reduces intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”).

This decreased permeability helps prevent toxins, bacteria, and undigested food particles from crossing into the bloodstream, triggering immune responses and leading to chronic inflammation.⁴ The glycine in collagen also contains anti-inflammatory properties that further aid in reducing gut inflammation and promoting healing.

Overall, collagen actively promotes a healthier gut environment by enhancing structural support, nutrient absorption and microbiome balance. These are all essential for optimal digestion and immune function.

How your gut supports your skin

A well-maintained gut is necessary to achieve healthy skin. When your gut lining is strong and functioning properly, it enables optimal absorption of essential nutrients, such as Vitamins A, B2, B3, B6, C, D, E, zinc and selenium. These are all needed for repair, regeneration, and overall maintenance.⁵

On the other hand, when the gut barrier is compromised, toxins and other bad bacteria can enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammatory responses that often affect the skin.⁶ By maintaining a healthy gut environment, your body can regulate inflammation, leading to clearer and more resilient skin.

A healthy, balanced microbiome also plays a major role in regulating immune responses and reducing systemic inflammation. Both of these are closely linked to conditions such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis.⁷

Incorporating collagen into your diet and supplement routine will not only boost your gut health but also lay the important groundwork toward achieving resilient and radiant skin.

Collagen-rich foods

To boost your collagen levels, add a variety of collagen-rich foods into your diet.

One of the best options is bone broth. This is rich in bioavailable collagen and amino acids that support tissue repair.⁸
Gelatin, derived from cooked collagen, is another excellent choice that can be added to soups and desserts.⁹
Fish, such as salmon or cod, are also high in collagen and provide omega-3 fatty acids that promote skin elasticity.¹⁰
Chicken skin contains large amounts of collagen, contributing to improved skin hydration and gut lining integrity.¹¹

You can also compliment these foods with vitamin C rich fruits like citrus, bell peppers, and berries. These will further enhance collagen synthesis in your body, promoting healthier skin and a resilient gut.¹²

Collagen supplements

Collagen supplements come in various forms, including powders, capsules, and liquid shots, and there are many brands to choose from.

Sourcing a high-quality supplement is essential, as purity and potency will significantly affect the benefits you experience. Sustainability is also important. Supplements that are responsibly sourced help protect the environment while providing a high-quality product!

Fish collagen is known to have superior absorption and bioavailability, compared to bovine or porcine collagen. Due to the smaller particle sizes, fish collagen is absorbed into the body up to 1.5 times more effectively and offers better bioavailability compared to other collagens.¹³

You can find our Pure Fish Collagen here. Chuckling Goat Fish Collagen comes from wild-caught North Atlantic cod, so you can be sure that it is free from antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, chemicals, etc. It utilises the skin of the fish which would otherwise be discarded, so the process is a sustainable one.¹⁴

Pure Fish Collagen is a key player in the Gut Health Protocol, which includes our award winning Kefir and Complete Prebiotic. Combining all three will give you all the support you need for a strong resilient gut and healthy, hydrated skin!

Find out what else your gut connects to here. Want more ways to boost your skin? Check out Eczema and Vitamin D: how the sunshine vitamin can help your skin.

Any questions? Contact one of our Nutritional Therapists via live chat, weekdays from 8 am to 8 pm.

Is fish collagen the secret to a healthy gut and glowing skin?

Revitalising from within

Boosting your gut

How your gut supports your skin

Collagen-rich foods

Collagen supplements

References

Questions? Talk to a Nutritional Therapist on live chat!

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