Peptides: Keeping Your Skin Healthy And Young
In the never-ending quest for the fountain of youth, many companies bring their products to the table. Wrinkle creams with retinol promise to erase the lines of age, and products made with coconut oil offer a panacea, both touting the benefits of using their products. Most of the time, the money spent on these products goes down the drain.
Collagen, which is the most abundant protein in the body, is the substance that holds the human body together. Your skin, ligaments, joints, bones, and muscles are all made primarily from collagen. Even your digestive system and arteries need collagen. Unfortunately, collagen production declines considerably as one ages. Smoking, excess alcohol, excess sun exposure, and diets high in sugars also slow the production. This results in sagging skin, wrinkles, muscle atrophy, cellulite, and stretch marks, just to name a few. These all add up to an aged appearance.
When collagen breaks down, amino acids are formed, which in turn create peptides. These peptides act as a messenger, letting the body know they need to manufacture more collagen. By eating food and using products that contain peptides, you can trick your body into producing even more collagen. Here's a look at the ways you can do that.
- Eat Dairy Products
If you aren't lactose intolerant, dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese can be very useful in keeping your skin healthy as the different milk proteins, like whey and casein, are high in peptides.
- The Incredible, Edible Egg
Eggs are an excellent source of protein, and as such, they are also very high in peptides. If you don't like eating eggs, you can make a face mask simply by beating a raw egg and applying in on your face and allowing it to dry. Your skin is a living organism and will absorb the peptides, setting off the chain reaction collagen building.
- Choose High Fiber, High Protein Legumes
Soybeans and other beans are all high in peptides. Seeds and nuts are as well. Almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds or products made with them are all high in protein and peptides.
- Grains
Wheat, corn, and even rice have lots of proteins.
The problem with these foods, while they are high in peptides and protein, is they can be hard to digest, and they are common allergens. Many people have milk and egg allergies, diverticulitis, which makes seed, nuts, and beans a no-no, and celiac disease or a gluten intolerance. Thankfully, you can buy peptides supplements and other products that contain them.