Collagen for Gut Health: Why It Works and How You Can Benefit

“A huge proportion of your immune system (about 80%) is actually in your GI tract,” says Dr. Chad Walding, Doctor of Physical Therapy (4).

You can think of your intestinal tract as the “central immunity hub” of the body and its surrounding lining as the protective barrier.

The intestinal wall does two things: It allows nutrients to be properly absorbed and utilized by the body and it prevents lethal pathogens from passing through and infecting the blood.

But how does it function? This is a question that Dr. Walding answers by taking a closer look at what our gut lining is composed of...

“The efficiency at which our intestines are able to allow nutrients to pass through to the rest of the body while stopping most harmful bacteria from doing the same all comes down to collagen.”

Collagen is a special type of structural protein that’s composed of all but one amino acid (tryptophan).

In fact, it’s the most abundant protein in the body—making up 90% of your connective tissue and organic bone mass, 70% of your skin, and a large portion of your intestinal lining (5).

From beginning to end, the adult digestive tract is about 30 feet long—that's a lot to regulate (6)! Fortunately, collagen's amino acid profile provides the necessary building blocks to maintain and repair the intestine for optimal immune function…

The following are the 3 biggest immunity-supporting benefits that collagen provides for the gut, according to science…

1. Can Reduce the Risk of Digestive Conditions

Collagen contains glycine, an amino acid that has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties (7).

Since inflammation is the root cause of numerous autoimmune diseases (like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis), preventing it should be your top priority (8).

One of the simplest, quickest ways to reduce inflammation is to add 1 to 2 scoops of a high-quality collagen powder to your diet every day. By doing this, you’re equipping your body with 2,198 to 4,396 milligrams of the amino acid glycine.

2. Supports the Detoxification Process

Collagen is a hydrophilic molecule, meaning that it attracts water and acidic molecules—both of which aid in the digestive process (8).

When ingested, collagen surrounds itself with water and stomach acid as it moves through the GI tract, assisting the breakdown of proteins and carbohydrates in the intestines.

Additionally, by holding water in the intestine, collagen helps food move through the GI tract more smoothly for faster (and more regular) excretion of wastes and toxins.

3. Helps Prevent Autoimmune Conditions (& Leaky Gut Syndrome)

Processed foods, lack of sleep, stress, and the use of antibiotics all affect the lining of the gut.

Over time, those stressors cause your gut to become more permeable, leaking lethal substances through the intestinal wall. This means that toxins, viruses, and unfriendly bacteria can end up in the bloodstream instead of excreted (AKA, the main symptom of leaky gut syndrome).

A leaky gut not only leaks toxins and bad bacteria but also nutrients, which prevents proper absorption of the vitamins and minerals you get from food (9).

“So regardless of how good your diet is, all of that goodness could literally go to waste if your gut lining isn’t as healthy as it should be,” says Dr. Walding.

Glutamine—the most abundant amino acid in the body and one of the key amino acids in collagen—is an important fuel for immune system cells.

Due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, glutamine (10)...

• Promotes the increase of intestinal absorptive cells
• Regulates the proteins that control the function of the cells
• Suppresses pro-inflammatory signaling pathways
• Protects cells against apoptosis and cellular stresses

With just 10 grams of collagen powder each day, you’re adding an additional 1,046 milligrams of glutamine to your diet. Get ready to reap the benefits!

Optimal immunity starts with your gut. And a healthy gut starts with collagen.

“Collagen seals and heals the gut—standing as our first line of defense when it comes to protecting our immunity and defending against unwanted illness.”—Dr. Chad Walding

The protective barrier that collagen provides allows beneficial gut bacteria to flourish. As a result, the microbiome can better support the proper signaling and activity of immune cells.

By strengthening and rebuilding the gut wall, collagen also helps make it less permeable and more likely to retain key immunity-boosting nutrients from food.

In addition, collagen keeps your intestines flexible (thanks to its elastic qualities), ensuring that the food you eat passes smoothly through your digestive tract. This increases absorption and speeds up bowel movements so that you can pass toxic wastes more efficiently.

Despite the critical role collagen plays in your immunity and overall health, most adults are highly deficient for two reasons:

1. The body stops producing it.

As you grow older, your body’s natural collagen production begins to slow down, resulting in a degenerative process that affects your joints, bones, skin, gut, and more (11).

“We can’t avoid getting older, but we can be proactive in the longevity of our own health, and there’s no better place to start than by bolstering our immunity using the power of collagen's tissue healing and sealing benefits."—Dr. Chad Walding

This is NORMAL. It happens to everyone. And there’s a simple way to replenish those depleted stores of collagen (more on that in a moment…).

2. The modern diet lacks it.

Your ancestors consumed a collagen-rich diet (think: bone marrow, fish skin, poultry cartilage, and animal organs such as hearts, livers, and eyes).

The modern diet doesn’t exactly mirror that anymore. A more accurate representation would be cheesy triangular chips in a bag, dark sugary liquid in a plastic bottle, and boxed cereal that proclaims to be “a great source of vitamin D!”.

For these reasons, it’s important to find a way to get more collagen into your diet. A way that’s both practical and easy to stick to.