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Defining Middle Age by Activity Level

By on July 27, 2016

Are you still hiking, camping, running, gardening and biking or is joint pain in your knees slowing you down? Consider collagen to help maintain an active lifestyle.

Collagen is a glyco-protein found in the human body where it forms all the tissues and organs through fibrillary networks and accounts for over 30% of our body’s total molecules. 

Collagen represents the true chemical skeleton of the body. It allows us to have our rigid shape and thus supports all the organs and tissues allowing them to function adequately. For instance, collagen fibrils represent 90% of the skin, 67% of the cartilage, up to 50% of the bones and are found at different levels in the various tissues of the body. 

However, as we age the fibrillary structure of collagen continually comes under attack (by a variety of factors in our environment) and its repair mechanisms become sluggish and less efficient. This can lead to conditions such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. The body needs some help.

To this day, conventional treatments of osteoarthritis have emphasized pain reducing and anti-inflammatory drugs in order to alleviate pain.  However, most of these therapeutic approaches do not take into account the significant potential of endogenous repair mechanisms. This is where supplemental hydrolysed collagen comes into play. Although there are a certain number of natural extracts that may act as valuable anti-inflammatory drugs, only a very few can act as a stimulator in the damage repair process.  The metabolic structural building blocks represent a unique category of molecules. These include glucosamine, chondroitin and peptides found in hydrolysed collagen. These building blocks make up the much larger molecules of the cartilage tissues. 

With respect to hydrolysed collagen, this substance acts in four distinct ways. First, it provides the right building blocks cartilage tissues require for repair; second, it stimulates cellular processes in the cartilage and surrounding tissues, sending signals to generate new fibrils that get integrated into the cartilage matrix;  thirdly, it counteracts  existing inflammation and finally it reduces pain. The net result? Increased mobility without pain.

This type of approach has attracted much interest as part of a global strategy to reduce symptoms while increasing joint mobility. An individual suffering from osteoarthritis who undergoes a conventional treatment to reduce inflammation and pain, should also consider using the above structural building blocks as complemental therapy. It is important to remind ourselves of the two major approaches in treatment: (i) reducing damage (via an appropriate anti-inflammatory treatment) and (ii) stimulating repair to improve mobility (by harnessing the properties of hydrolysed collagen).

Finally but not least, another exceptional advantage associated with this approach is the low toxicity and the absence of any side effects. Many people suffering from arthritis  indeed have a hard time with  conventional anti-inflammatory drugs, and may eventually choose this novel treatment approach not solely as a short-term complementary strategy but also as an alternative for the long-term.

Jean-Yves Leroux, PhD, MBA is the president of Medelys Laboratories International.


About Charleen Wyman

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