Can collagen help treat psoriasis and eczema?

Psoriasis causes patches of itchy, discolored skin with scales that range in colour from whitish-silver to gray. If you live with this autoimmune condition, you might already know treatment can involve some trial and error.

Psoriasis treatment usually includes topical creams and gels that can help:

• target the overproduction of skin cells
• minimize the appearance of flaky skin
• reduce inflammation and skin discoloration

But these standard approaches don’t work well for everyone, so many people with psoriasis seek out complementary and alternative remedies, such as collagen and other supplements like biotin, vitamin C and vitamin D.

Collagen’s ability to reduce inflammation could help decrease the severity of psoriasis.

What is collagen?

Collagen is a protein that lends strength and density to many parts of the body, including your:

• bones
• skin
• muscles
• connective tissue

In fact, collagen is the most common protein found not only in the human body but in the entire animal kingdom.

Your body makes its own collagen, known as endogenous collagen. Collagen that comes from outside the body, like in the form of supplements, is called exogenous collagen.

Collagen serves many important functions, including:

• keeping skin elastic
• aiding bone density
• strengthening hair and nails
• supporting joints
• reinforcing ligaments and tendons
• playing a role in wound healing
• supports a leaky gut

In addition, collagen helps your body produce and multiply cells. It also has anti-inflammatory properties.

How can collagen relieve psoriasis symptoms?

Collagen may have some benefit for psoriasis treatment.

• It may help reduce inflammation
• The skin plaques that form with psoriasis are believed to result from inflammation, which can have long-term health consequences.

About 30% of people with psoriasis go on to develop psoriatic arthritis, which involves joint inflammation.

Here are some recent research findings on collagen as a treatment for inflammation:

• The anti-inflammatory properties of the amino acids in collagen may help reduce inflammation in arthritis.
• Collagen plays an important role in wound healing, including reducing inflammation and supporting the growth of new skin.
• Several studies linking psoriasis to other inflammatory conditions, including IBD (inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes, reducing inflammation in the entire body may effectively help treat psoriasis.
• It can improve skin elasticity
• Collagen has a well-known role in supporting skin health. In particular, the amino acids in collagen promote the growth of strong, healthy skin.
• Collagen can also help reduce the appearance of wrinkles by boosting the density of collagen in the skin — collagen-dense skin is less prone to wrinkling.

In fact, many people take collagen supplements to help:

• maintain skin elasticity
• reduce skin thinning
• keep skin smooth

Supplementing with collagen, may help you maintain the health of your skin while using the treatments recommended by your dermatologist.

How can you implement collagen to your body?

The best supplement is collagen peptides to treat psoriasis and other eczema.

While collagen injections may help reduce visual signs of skin aging, no research supports the use of collagen injections to treat psoriasis or eczema.

Collagen supplements may offer the best option for getting more collagen into your system. A good amount of collagen is around 10 gram of collagen per serving.

Is there any side effects of taking a collagen supplement?

Generally speaking, experts consider collagen fairly safe for most people to take. Some research suggest that collagen have the side effect of reduced appetite. That may be a positive side effect for some people.

And since all naturally occurring collagen is animal-based, it isn’t suitable for vegetarian or vegan diets. However, some people who follow plant-based diets take vegan collagen (made of GMO) or supplements that contain the same amino acids as collagen but from plant sources.

Can other supplements also help psoriasis and eczema?

Vitamin D: Both topical and oral vitamin D supplements may be comparable to prescription psoriasis treatments like corticosteroids.

Vitamin D is created by the body when exposed to sunlight and is vital to our overall health. Vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to psoriasis, although not proven to be directly related. One of the greatest benefits of Vitamin D is its immune-strengthening powers. People with psoriasis can benefit from keeping their immune systems as healthy as possible to improve their autoimmune response. If you’re looking to up your vitamin D intake, consider taking an oral supplement, safely getting more sun exposure, and eating foods like cheese, egg yolks and fatty fish.

B vitamins

Biotin (B-7) and B12 have been found to help improve the symptoms of psoriasis. Biotin deficiency is rare and has not been directly linked to healing psoriasis. That being said, biotin supplements may help build a healthy baseline for skin health. You may find that biotin supplements, which support healthy cell growth, ease symptoms. Vitamin B12 is a strong topical treatment for psoriasis.  B12 deficiencies in the body can be linked to psoriasis. B12 is found in most animal products, but vegetarians can likely find plant-based foods fortified with B12.

Vitamin C

Oxidative stress occurs when the body has an imbalance between free radical activity and antioxidant activity. It’s been found that oxidative stress increases in the body while fighting psoriasis.  Increased occurrences of vitamin C in the body have been found to help control oxidation in the body.

Psoriasis may be a skin condition, but its causes typically run much deeper, with their roots in inflammation and your immune response. In other words, collagen supplements alone likely won’t cure psoriasis, but it will be a good start.

All the same, collagen can certainly benefit your skin and help soothe inflammation, so boosting a nutrient-rich and anti-inflammatory diet with a collagen supplement could prove helpful.