'Increasing Collagen Naturally', by BioSil
Are you noticing changes in your skin, hair, nails, bones, and joints? The body’s structural proteins can decrease with age, leading to visible signs of aging such as wrinkles, dry skin, brittle hair, and nails. While these things may become more common with age, the good news is that we can take steps to replenish essential proteins, strengthen our tissues, improve tissue function, and nourish our skin, hair, and nails. Before we talk about how to help our bodies, let’s review the three most important proteins – collagen, elastin, and keratin.
Collagen and other proteins
Collagen is the main structural protein in most of the body’s tissues, making up 25–35% of the body’s protein. Collagen contributes to strengthening skin, hair, and nails, as well as joints, muscles, and ligaments. Starting at age 21, collagen production decreases by 1% per year, as the fibroblasts that produce it begin to slow.[1],[2] Skin elasticity decreases by 0.55% per year, skin thickness decreases by 6.4% every 10 years, and skin collagen decreases by a significant 30% in the first 5 years after menopause. Lower estrogen levels also lead to higher homocysteine, contributing to further collagen loss.
Elastin helps contribute to youthful elasticity of the skin. As elastin decreases with age, skin begins to sag, and wrinkles become more prominent. Keratin, the last of our three proteins, makes up an astonishing 97% of our hair and nails and protects the outer layer of skin. When collagen levels are healthy, the hair and nails are able to produce more keratin, leading to strong, healthy nails and lustrous, beautiful hair.
Supporting healthy collagen
Fortunately, some strategies can be used to support our collagen! We can help the biological processes that trigger fibroblast cells to make collagen; provide the raw materials for collagen production, such as amino acids glycine, proline, and lysine; and support the new, resulting collagen. This is where BioSil®, a collagen generator, can help.
What is BioSil?
BioSil is a patented, choline-stabilized form of orthosilicic acid, an active and bioavailable form of silicon that is ready to help with our body’s collagen production. Other supplements containing regular silicon depend on stomach acid and a host of other factors to be converted to the active form that can help.[3] Choline transports the orthosilicic acid to the collagen-generating fibroblasts while protecting it from circulating homocysteine levels.
Is BioSil an animal product?
No. Unlike dietary collagen, which comes from animals and is processed by the body as food, BioSil supports the production of your body’s natural collagen! BioSil is completely vegan, as well as gluten-free and GMO-free. BioSil helps stimulate your body’s natural production of collagen, elastin, and keratin, and helps protect these precious proteins once produced.
How does it work?
Skin – BioSil may help improve skin elasticity and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study (the gold standard for a scientific study), 50 women with signs of aging skin and sun damage, ages 40–65, used BioSil for 20 weeks. Compared to the placebo group, the treatment group experienced a 30% decrease in fine lines and wrinkles and an 89% increase in skin elasticity.[4]
Hair – BioSil may help improve hair diameter, thickness, and strength. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 48 women with thin hair, ages 18–65, used BioSil for 9 months. Compared to the placebo group, participants in the treatment group experienced a 12.8% improvement in hair thickness, 13.1% improvement in hair strength, and 7.3% improvement in hair elasticity.[5]
Nails – BioSil may help improve nail health and strength. In a 6-month open-label study with women ages 52–65, 100% of participants had rough nails, 70% had longitudinal ridges, and 30% struggled with nail splitting. After 6 months of using BioSil twice daily, 100% experienced an improvement in nail roughness, and 83% experienced a reduction in longitudinal nail ridges.[6] In another double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with 50 women, those in the treatment group experienced a significant decrease in hair and nail brittleness in the first 20 weeks of BioSil use.[4]
What’s special about BioSil?
Unlike collagen supplements, it helps boost the body’s collagen production through a variety of mechanisms. It helps support healthy collagen levels in the skin, hair, and nails, increasing the skin’s strength and elasticity while reducing fine lines and wrinkles.
[1] Mohiuddin AK. Skin aging & modern edge anti-aging strategies. Int J Dermatol Skin Care. 2019; 1:8-62.
[2] Ganceviciene R, Liakou AI, Theodoridis A, et al. Skin anti-aging strategies. Dermato-Endocrinol. 2012; 4(3):308-19.
[3] Jurkić LM, Cepanec I, Pavelić SK, et al. Biological and therapeutic effects of ortho-silicic acid and some ortho-silicic acid-releasing compounds: new perspectives for therapy. Nutr Metab. 2013; 10:2-12.
[4] Barel A, Calomme M, Timchenko A, et al. Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on skin, nails and hair in women with photodamaged skin. Arch Dermatol Res. 2005; 297(4):147-53.
[5] Wickett RR, Kossmann E, Barel A, et al. Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on hair tensile strength and morphology in women with fine hair. Arch Dermatol Res. 2007; 299(10):499-505.
[6] Bruni F, Alessandrini A, Starace M, et al. Valutazione Dell’efficacia di un integratore a base di acido ortosilicico stabilizzato con colina nella fragilita ungueale femminile. 2018.