Hey Beautiful!

I’m grateful you are here.

I thought collagen was just that.  Collagen.  I knew not all were created equal, but if I’m being honest with myself, I probably believed that most were.  It took a Thursday night conversation with a friend and a follow-up text to make me curious enough to start doing some digging.  Wait until you hear what I found.

On a Thursday evening, about a month ago, a friend of mine, Theresa, stopped by.

We were talking about health, perimenopause, aches & pains, and supplements.  You know ~ all the fun stuff. 🤣

As any conversation like that does, we ended up talking not only about the supplements we take, but also about the confusion that goes along with it.  Sadly, when it comes to preventative health and supplementation, there is so much noise out there that it gets exhausting trying to figure out what I should take and from which company.  As we all know, every company claims to have the best product on the market.  And even if it does, how do I know it will work for me?

A few questions we are faced with are: 

• What was the product sourced from?
• Are there any fillers in it?
• Are there third-party certifications to verify quality?

After a lot of research on the product’s quality, I still have this question: do I need to supplement with it?  Am I getting what I need from my diet?  Is my digestive system working properly and absorbing what it should?

That’s why I say it’s overwhelming!!

Back to my friend.  That’s where our conversation went that evening.  She had been pretty confident in the quality of her supplements.  She was also taking so many that she assumed there was no way she was deficient in anything.  And the aches and pains, well, that must be because we are getting older. 

That’s when biofeedback analysis came up.  I told Theresa how upset I was to find out that I had a false confidence in my health.  Through the analysis, I saw several trends that made me question my confidence in my health—and whether my body was actually getting and using everything I thought I was giving it.   Was it the supplements?  Maybe the trend that my absorption was moderately low.  Or possibly a combination of several things.  Regardless, I decided I needed to make some changes.

Theresa was intrigued, to say the least.  Excitedly, we hooked her finger up to the oximeter and let the machine do its thing.  We looked over some of the trends from her analysis.  With the information she received, Theresa was ready to make some changes to her supplements.  After hearing about the improvements I have been seeing over the past 8 months, she wanted to try some of the things I was taking to see if they work for her as well as they have for me.

I couldn’t wait to hear how things were going for her.  Eight days after she started her new supplements, I texted her to ask how she was doing.  This was her response.  

“Good.  I started feeling better after 5 days.  The Lattekaffe is taking the edge off and getting me home safely.  I love the collagen.  My aches in my joints are going away.”

I am tempted to have her do another analysis and see what insights it gives now, just out of curiosity!  But I will wait – maybe.

After hearing her response, I wanted to dig a little deeper into some of these products I have been taking to see what makes them different.  I started with the collagen.  Why?  Because there are so many collagens on the market, and I have tried several different ones myself.  They come in powders, liquids, and gummies, each in different flavors.  And of course, they are all the best for your hair, skin, nails, and joints!

After comparing a few, I realized I may have been asking the wrong questions.  Instead of trying to find out how much collagen a product had, maybe I should have been asking what type(s) and source(s) of collagen it had, and what else was added.

That is where my research got interesting, and Vitalage collagen really started to stand out.

1.  The collagen sources ~ bovine + marine

This was the first thing that caught my attention.   Vitalage doesn’t rely on just one collagen source.  It combines bovine and marine collagen peptides.

Bovine collagen is rich in Types I and III, while marine collagen is predominantly Type I. Type I collagen is abundant in our skin, bones, and connective tissues.  Type III is found in places like our skin, muscles, and blood vessels.

In other words, rather than choosing between bovine and marine collagen, Vitalage gives me both.

2. Vitamin C + hyaluronic acid

This combination made even more sense once I started researching it.  Vitamin C actually plays an essential role in our body’s normal collagen production.  And hyaluronic acid naturally occurs in our connective tissues and is known for its ability to retain moisture.

So now I wasn’t just looking at the collagen itself.  I was looking at what had been included alongside it.

3.  Then there were the ingredients I wasn’t expecting

Resveratrol, astaxanthin, beet powder, and NAD.

This is where I got lost.  Well, I had heard of beet powder and some of its potential benefits, but the others sent me straight to Google. 

What I found was fascinating.  Researchers have studied these ingredients for things ranging from antioxidant and cellular support to circulation, energy metabolism, and healthy aging.

Now, that doesn’t mean one scoop of collagen is magically going to accomplish all of those things.  But it did make me curious about why these particular ingredients were included in the formula—and it made me realize this wasn’t simply a tub of collagen peptides.

Now you can see why I was amazed at the ingredients in Vitalage collagen.  After digging into the ingredient list, I am thankful I ended up with this collagen supplement. Still, I’m even more thankful that Theresa’s text made me curious enough to ask better questions!

Theresa ~ if you are reading this, consider it your forewarning that we will be doing another scan a little sooner than anticipated! 😘

If you have ever wondered whether what you are taking is working for you, or if you are curious how you can use insights from biofeedback analysis to understand what your body might be trying to tell you, send me a message.  I love sharing with friends what I am learning and how it is helping me.

Legacy Reflection

Sometimes taking care of ourselves isn’t about doing more.  Sometimes it’s about asking ourselves better questions.  Am I doing this because it serves me, or because it’s something I’ve always done?  This applies to both supplementation and life.  The choices we make today become part of the legacy we leave tomorrow. 

This week, ask yourself: Where in my life or health am I just going through the motions when I should be pausing and asking better questions?

I would love to hear what you discover!

Love ya!

Laura