BERITA SEMASA

THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLAGEN

What is collagen?
Why is collagen so important for bone and joint?
What are the options of enhancing collagen production?

Collagen is a type of protein. Protein is abundant in the human body, as it is with all living creatures. In humans different systems and parts of the body require different proteins that have a variety of functions. It is these "functional proteins" that are the essence of life.

It is easier to understand collagen if we have some knowledge of the role of proteins within the body and what a protein is made from. Proteins are used by the body for a whole host of things, e.g. within blood (for carrying molecules and for clotting), for digestion (enzymes are proteins), for movement (muscle), etc. etc. One other major role of proteins is that of "structural proteins", i.e. those proteins that contribute to and sustain the integrity of the human structure. Collagen is a structural protein and in this sense is both "functional" and "structural".

Hold this thought for a moment while we look at what makes a protein. Proteins are constructed from biological building blocks called amino acids. There are about 20 amino acids that occur in nature and different proteins are built from some or all of these. By using different numbers of amino acids and by altering the relative sequence of them it is possible to make unique proteins, with unique qualities.

Collagen is unique and also has two amino acids not found in other biological proteins; they are hydroxylated versions of known amino acids that confer special properties.

Collagen is found in a number of tissues, in various sub forms, but is particularly abundant within and around joints. Tendon and cartilage owe much of their desirable properties to collagen. Collagen containing structures, such as the ones mentioned, are prone to wear and tear in the body.

Indeed, they are in a constant state of turnover, as with most tissues, but have the disadvantage of having a poor blood supply (this does not favor ease of repair).

Due to the demands upon the collagen containing structures (movement and weight bearing) and their slower ability to repair it is vital that we optimize the conditions for helping to maintain joint mobility.

Bones with sufficient collagen composition are steels that are both strong and elastic. Bones with low level of collagen composition are brittle wood that are easily broken. Prescription drugs for osteoporosis slow down loss of bone mass by suppressing bone metabolism. The dead bone mass and collagen "saved" by the drugs take up all the space that would have been filled up by new bone mass and collagen. That's why we've seen so many reports complaining that osteoporosis drugs such as Fosamax, Actonel and Evista made bones brittle, and that people who were treated with them tend to suffer more from bone fractures.

Wear and tear of joint cartilage is the major cause of osteoarthritis. Joint cartilage is 95% built with collagen. The more collagen you have in the joints the less chance you will develop osteoarthritis.

If we consider all the above points, what we need is a way of speeding up collagen production so as to help the repair processes of collagen structures in a safe and preferably natural way.

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