When you think of collagen you might immediately think about beauty products marketed for women. But there’s much more to collagen than anti-ageing creams and volumizing shampoo. It has a key role to play in supporting men’s health too, influencing everything from joint health and injury recovery time to immune function and sleep.   So, what makes collagen so important for men — is it not just for women?

Keep active with collagen

Keeping active is important for physical and mental health but it’s difficult when you’re dealing with a long-term sports injury or arthritic joints. Osteoarthritis is often described as “wear and tear” arthritis, caused by overuse or damage to a joint. It mostly occurs in weight-bearing joints like knees and hips. Left untreated it can cause severe pain and restrict your mobility.

This is where collagen supplementation can be helpful. Collagen is the most abundant structural protein in the body, found in high concentrations in connective tissues like joints, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.

Cartilage acts as a shock absorber in the joints, absorbing the impact when your feet hit the ground every time you run, walk, or jump. Cartilage damage and degeneration contributes to the pain and swelling seen with osteoarthritis.

Pura collagen’s Flex+® formula is designed to support joint strength, mobility, and flexibility, helping you recover from injury and arthritis and stay active. The formula combines two specific types of Bioactive Collagen Peptides®, TENDOFORTE® and FORTIGEL®, that target joint tissues to:

• Enhance the growth and health of cartilage for joint mobility and flexibility.
• Support tendons and ligaments, to improve flexibility and reduce the likelihood of injury.

TENDOFORTE® and FORTIGEL® are accompanied in Flex+® by vitamin C, which aids collagen production and joint repair, and manganese, an antioxidant mineral needed for the protection of tissues, and cartilage production.

Immune Health: Fighting Man Flu!

Is it a cold or is it “man flu”? As every woman who has ever lived with a man will testify, the common cold becomes a hundred times worse when it reaches the male of the species. However, there may be some truth in the man flu myth.

Recent research has shown that men may have a weaker immune response to viral respiratory infections compared to women because of the interactions between oestrogen and testosterone and the immune system.

Also, flu vaccines seem to stimulate a better antibody response in women than in men. This stronger antibody response may lessen the severity of flu, which means men who have been vaccinated may experience worse flu symptoms than women who have had their flu shot.

Whether you believe in man flu or not, it’s essential to give your immune system a helping hand especially during flu season. Pura collagen’s Protect formula contains a unique blend of IMMUPEPT™ Bioactive Collagen Peptides®, vitamins, minerals, and botanical extracts to support immunity, energy levels, cognitive function, and recovery from infection.

Collagen plays a key role in immune health:

• It is vital for the formation of skin and the extracellular matrix. These tissues form an important part of the immune system.
• Reduces pro-inflammatory chemicals that can attack collagen.
• Minimises the effects of inflammatory molecules and enzymes that breakdown collagen structures.

Alongside the IMMUPEPT™ peptides Protect also contains:

• 1000mg Vitamin C per serving to support energy levels, collagen formation, and white blood cells that form part of our immune defences.
• 400iu Vitamin D3 to support immunity, cognitive function, and manage inflammation.
• 10mg Zinc citrate: this is one of the most bioavailable forms of zinc, needed for immunity, cognitive health, and recovery from infections.
• Iron for immune cell development.
• Methylcobalamin, the active form of vitamin B12 for energy and cognitive function.
• Ginger root extract: this spice has a long history of use in herbal medicine for fighting infections and inflammation.

Protect mixes easily with water or juice to make a refreshing ginger and orange flavoured drink with no artificial sweeteners or added sugars. Add it to your routine to provide long-term immune support and strengthen your resistance to infections – including man flu.

Getting a good night’s sleep

Not getting enough sleep can leave you feeling tired and irritable the next day.  What is less well known is that chronic lack of sleep has a significant impact on immunity, mental health, and the risk of developing chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and Type-II diabetes.

While it is important for both men and women to maintain healthy sleep patterns, there are specific risks associated with men’s health and sleep:

• Stress: chronic stress can have a severe impact on sleep quality. Men are less likely to seek help for their mental wellbeing compared to women, which combined with poor sleep can lead to increasing psychological distress.
• Alcohol: on average, men drink more alcohol than women. Alcohol may initially make you feel sleepy but is known to disrupt REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, leaving you sluggish and unrefreshed in the morning. Plus, you’re more likely to wake up several times in the night needing to pee after an evening of drinking.
• Poor-quality sleep has been shown to worsen symptoms of erectile dysfunction and urinary tract disorders and can even affect male fertility.

Our sleep cycles are partly regulated by the hormone melatonin. This is released from the brain in response to falling light levels at dusk and initiates a whole series of biological steps that lead us to sleep.

Pura Collagen’s Sleep formula contains minerals and amino acids that support the production of melatonin to help you drift off into a good night’s sleep. Collagen comes in the form of PEPTIPLUS®, hydrolysed collagen peptides that support healing and repair processes throughout the body while you sleep. And for anxious, overthinking minds, each serving includes 1500mg of l-glycine, an amino acid that calms the central nervous system.

Our restorative Sleep formula blends smoothly with hot milk or water to make an indulgent chocolate and salted caramel flavour bedtime drink. As with all the products in our range, Sleep is free from added sugar and artificial sweeteners, and is lactose-free.

Discover more about the science behind the ingredients in Pura collagen formulas over on the blog and find the full Pura range, including collagen bundles, in the shop.

When you think of collagen you might immediately think about beauty products marketed for women. But there’s much more to collagen than anti-ageing creams and volumizing shampoo. It has a key role to play in supporting men’s health too, influencing everything from joint health and injury recovery time to immune function and sleep.   So, what makes collagen so important for men — is it not just for women?

Keep active with collagen

Keeping active is important for physical and mental health but it’s difficult when you’re dealing with a long-term sports injury or arthritic joints. Osteoarthritis is often described as “wear and tear” arthritis, caused by overuse or damage to a joint. It mostly occurs in weight-bearing joints like knees and hips. Left untreated it can cause severe pain and restrict your mobility.

This is where collagen supplementation can be helpful. Collagen is the most abundant structural protein in the body, found in high concentrations in connective tissues like joints, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.

Cartilage acts as a shock absorber in the joints, absorbing the impact when your feet hit the ground every time you run, walk, or jump. Cartilage damage and degeneration contributes to the pain and swelling seen with osteoarthritis.

Pura collagen’s Flex+® formula is designed to support joint strength, mobility, and flexibility, helping you recover from injury and arthritis and stay active. The formula combines two specific types of Bioactive Collagen Peptides®, TENDOFORTE® and FORTIGEL®, that target joint tissues to:

• Enhance the growth and health of cartilage for joint mobility and flexibility.
• Support tendons and ligaments, to improve flexibility and reduce the likelihood of injury.

TENDOFORTE® and FORTIGEL® are accompanied in Flex+® by vitamin C, which aids collagen production and joint repair, and manganese, an antioxidant mineral needed for the protection of tissues, and cartilage production.

Immune Health: Fighting Man Flu!

Is it a cold or is it “man flu”? As every woman who has ever lived with a man will testify, the common cold becomes a hundred times worse when it reaches the male of the species. However, there may be some truth in the man flu myth.

Recent research has shown that men may have a weaker immune response to viral respiratory infections compared to women because of the interactions between oestrogen and testosterone and the immune system.

Also, flu vaccines seem to stimulate a better antibody response in women than in men. This stronger antibody response may lessen the severity of flu, which means men who have been vaccinated may experience worse flu symptoms than women who have had their flu shot.

Whether you believe in man flu or not, it’s essential to give your immune system a helping hand especially during flu season. Pura collagen’s Protect formula contains a unique blend of IMMUPEPT™ Bioactive Collagen Peptides®, vitamins, minerals, and botanical extracts to support immunity, energy levels, cognitive function, and recovery from infection.

Collagen plays a key role in immune health:

• It is vital for the formation of skin and the extracellular matrix. These tissues form an important part of the immune system.
• Reduces pro-inflammatory chemicals that can attack collagen.
• Minimises the effects of inflammatory molecules and enzymes that breakdown collagen structures.

Alongside the IMMUPEPT™ peptides Protect also contains:

• 1000mg Vitamin C per serving to support energy levels, collagen formation, and white blood cells that form part of our immune defences.
• 400iu Vitamin D3 to support immunity, cognitive function, and manage inflammation.
• 10mg Zinc citrate: this is one of the most bioavailable forms of zinc, needed for immunity, cognitive health, and recovery from infections.
• Iron for immune cell development.
• Methylcobalamin, the active form of vitamin B12 for energy and cognitive function.
• Ginger root extract: this spice has a long history of use in herbal medicine for fighting infections and inflammation.

Protect mixes easily with water or juice to make a refreshing ginger and orange flavoured drink with no artificial sweeteners or added sugars. Add it to your routine to provide long-term immune support and strengthen your resistance to infections – including man flu.

Getting a good night’s sleep

Not getting enough sleep can leave you feeling tired and irritable the next day.  What is less well known is that chronic lack of sleep has a significant impact on immunity, mental health, and the risk of developing chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and Type-II diabetes.

While it is important for both men and women to maintain healthy sleep patterns, there are specific risks associated with men’s health and sleep:

• Stress: chronic stress can have a severe impact on sleep quality. Men are less likely to seek help for their mental wellbeing compared to women, which combined with poor sleep can lead to increasing psychological distress.
• Alcohol: on average, men drink more alcohol than women. Alcohol may initially make you feel sleepy but is known to disrupt REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, leaving you sluggish and unrefreshed in the morning. Plus, you’re more likely to wake up several times in the night needing to pee after an evening of drinking.
• Poor-quality sleep has been shown to worsen symptoms of erectile dysfunction and urinary tract disorders and can even affect male fertility.

Our sleep cycles are partly regulated by the hormone melatonin. This is released from the brain in response to falling light levels at dusk and initiates a whole series of biological steps that lead us to sleep.

Pura Collagen’s Sleep formula contains minerals and amino acids that support the production of melatonin to help you drift off into a good night’s sleep. Collagen comes in the form of PEPTIPLUS®, hydrolysed collagen peptides that support healing and repair processes throughout the body while you sleep. And for anxious, overthinking minds, each serving includes 1500mg of l-glycine, an amino acid that calms the central nervous system.

Our restorative Sleep formula blends smoothly with hot milk or water to make an indulgent chocolate and salted caramel flavour bedtime drink. As with all the products in our range, Sleep is free from added sugar and artificial sweeteners, and is lactose-free.

Discover more about the science behind the ingredients in Pura collagen formulas over on the blog and find the full Pura range, including collagen bundles, in the shop.