Collagen: Beauty Miracle from the Inside Out

You may have a cabinet full of external beauty products, but have you ever thought of creating a youthful appearance from the inside out?

New research is actually suggesting that internal supplements are more effective for your beauty regimen than topical solutions.

When you think about it, that makes sense. Your skin's main function is to provide a barrier to the outside world and protect you from things like bacteria and viruses. Because of that, it's hard for anything to penetrate the skin -- good or bad. Taking beauty supplements internally bypasses that barrier.

These supplements can stimulate new, more youthful tissue, increased hydration, and extra antioxidant protection.

Fish oil is one nutrient that is great for improving skin health, but collagen is also extremely essential.

Collagen, taken as a supplement, reduces wrinkles, hydrates the skin (up to 50 percent increase in skin hydration), and helps to stimulate your body's own natural collagen production. This is important because as you age, your collagen production starts to decline and signs and symptoms of aging start to appear: crows feet, wrinkles, thinning and sagging skin... all of these result from your body not having enough collagen.

By taking collagen supplements, you can rebuild your youthful levels and actually reverse the signs and symptoms of aging.

At what age should you start taking collagen supplements?

Every woman over the age of 30-35 should be taking a collagen supplement. You experience a 1.5% drop in collagen production each year after the age of 25, so by your mid-30s, you've already lost up to 15%.

Collagen is also important for other parts of the body, such as your bones, joints, ligaments and tendons. In fact, it is the second most abundant substance in your body, which is why supplementing with it is so beneficial for your overall health and appearance.

Tim Mount, a nutritionist and herbalist, joins Andrea and Lisa to discuss the many benefits of collagen, why it's so important for your bodily functions, and how much you should be getting on a daily basis.