What are the symptoms of a collagen deficiency?

The most important things in brief

• Like many other endogenous substances, our body is able to produce collagen itself.
• With age, however, this production diminishes. However, this is a normal process.
• It is more serious when an unhealthy lifestyle and unfavorable genes are added.
• When this happens, your body is sending out warning signals that you must not ignore.

Collagens perform many tasks in the human body. They keep the skin firm and elastic at the same time and ensure stability in bones, joints, tendons, muscles and tissue. Teeth and nails also benefit from the collagen proteins. The fact that the body's own production of collagen decreases is a normal process. On the other hand, it is worse if collagen production is already reduced at a younger age due to external circumstances.

Collagen deficiency is not an age-related phenomenon

To understand when collagen is deficient, it is important to understand that age-related decline in collagen production should not be misinterpreted as a true collagen deficiency. The body's own production already decreases at around the age of 25, and at the age of 80 the skin only contains a quarter of the amount of collagen in younger skin.

Conversely, this means: If there is a lack of collagen in younger years, this is a serious threat, as there are physical effects. And there are a few symptoms that indicate you may be under-producing collagen.

The symptoms of collagen deficiency

Since the cell glue collagen makes up around 25 to 30 percent of the proteins contained in the human body, it is also found almost everywhere: in bones and teeth, muscles and tendons, tissue and joints. The dermis, which is the second top layer of our skin, consists of 80 percent collagen. It is therefore logical that a collagen deficiency also makes itself felt there relatively quickly.

Insofar as the skin loses its tension, becomes slack and wrinkles. If this occurs over a period of just a few weeks, the collagen deficiency that has its roots in advanced age should be eliminated as a triggering factor.

Usually not only the skin is affected

The reasons for the shortage can be complex. Everyday stress is often the trigger: In this case, the organism releases cortisol, which at the same time makes a decisive contribution to the breakdown of the body's own collagen. But increased sugar consumption is also harmful (of course for other reasons too), since it binds to the structural protein collagen in the connective tissue and irreversibly hardens it. It also loses its supporting function.

In addition to poor nutrition and stress, it can also be the genes, too much sun or too much nicotine that inhibit collagen formation. The symptoms often appear first on the skin, but the lack of collagen is also immediately noticeable in the hair and nails: they are in danger of becoming brittle. But other signs can also indicate too little collagen in the body.

If you often notice severe pain in your joints for which there is no other reason, this could indicate a collagen deficiency. Ligaments and tendons, which are prone to injury, can also be signals, as can concentration problems and the permanent occurrence of tiredness.