In an ideal world, there’s no crime or corruption — no victims, no poverty, it’s a paradise.

Even in our lifestyles, we’re always aiming for the best: the trendiest makeup, the latest fitness fad, the most nutritious meal. “But in real life — do we eat that much fruits and vegetables?” Dr. Maika Slatensek asked at the recent MyColla C launch event in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

“Actually, if you're really like into your really healthy choices, your food choices, your fruits and vegetables, we know we should be eating like five times a day of multicolored foods, but can we really keep up with this?”

According to her, because of our “very fast-paced” lifestyle, supplementation is now a must.

“It doesn't mean that just because you're eating right, you can't supplement with other sources as well, like your fish collagen, your marine collagen, or any other sources that can give you these building blocks of amino acid that can help raise the collagen levels in your body,” she explained.

In supplementation, she said, the following should be taken into consideration:

When to start

As early as 20 years old, one should start supplementing collagen, for example, because this is when the body’s natural production of this protein building block starts to decline, the doctor cautioned.

“So when you think of collagen, I always think of structure or scaffolding. So when your skin sort of sags or sunkens, then probably the scaffolding or the support is lacking already. It's starting to break down. So like the firmness, resilience, the smoothness decreases because the support structure is collapsing. As we age, obviously, this will decline. Well, of course, when we're younger, we have a lot of collagen, our body produces their own collagen.

“But when you're like in your 20s, mid-20s mostly, there's already a decrease or decline in collagen production, which means around one to 1.5 percent of collagen per year decreases, but they only manifest by getting them around the 30s, 40s, even 80s. There is a rapid decline. We see it as wrinkles, skin loses elasticity. You feel the skin is a little loose and then you have dryness in your skin… like there's no glow anymore, versus a baby who's like supple and really tight and taut, and then of course the creases, the laugh lines, and all those, the crow's feet begin to appear. Those are the signs of collagen degrading or being decreased in your skin,” Dr. Slatensek expounded.

Who needs supplements?

Besides those in their 20s, those who are always exposed to toxins and the elements such as smoke and pollution have been advised by Slatensek to do supplementation, especially since these “external forces actually contribute to the degradation of collagen” in particular.

Similarly, those who have vices like smoking and are always exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays may experience “rampant” collagen degradation, so the doctor also advised them to take supplements.

Most importantly, those in a “high stressful work environment” need the safety net of a supplement, said the doctor.