Protein, collagen and elastin vs skin looseness and cellulite

Elastin, collagen and cellulite reduction

Our Beachy Legs articles are a practical way to share our experience in cellulite and skin tightening from our London clinic with everyone in the world. Check all our articles here. And if you do live in London, book a treatment with us here.

• Skin is made of protein. collagen and elastin are proteins. So why do most women consume so little protei?

• Why is protein so important for my skin?

• Quinoa is high in carbs and nuts are high in fat

• But isn't too much protein bad for you?

• Fat plus carbs minus protein = skin looseness and cellulite

• How about saturated fat contained in high-protein animal foods?

• What if I am a vegan?

• How about collagen supplements?

• What protein tightens skin?

• Which is the most filling food component: protein, carbohydrate or fat?

• How much protein do I need?

• Can protein tighten skin by itself?

• Can lack of protein cause cellulite?

• Crash dieting, protein deficiency and muscle/skin loss

Skin is made of protein. collagen and elastin are proteins. So why do most women consume so little protein?

Protein is very important for both your health and appearance, yet most women consume very little protein, with detrimental effects for their skin and overall health.

Here we look in detail how important protein is for you, what it can do for your skin, how much you need, what type of protein you need and how you can make protein work for skin firmness and cellulite reduction.

Why is protein so important for my skin?

Literally every body tissue that gives you shape and makes you look firm and young is made of protein. Your connective tissue (skin, muscles, fascia, ligaments, blood vessels and even a percentage of your bones) are all made of proteins, such as collagen and elastin, among others.

Collagen provides firmness, whilst elastin provides elasticity.

A high collagen and elastin level in those tissues (made primarily of collagen and elastin) can only make you toned and fit. On the other hand, excessive fat and water gives you that loose, flabby, ‘cellulite-y’ look (lack of firmness is one of the main facets of cellulite).

The skin, muscle, bone and connective tissue proteins, such as collagen and elastin (let's collectively call them ‘beauty proteins’) degrade with time. When broken down they are replaced with newly synthesised proteins by cells such as myocytes (muscle cells), fibroblasts (connective tissue cells, including skin cells) and osteoblasts (bone cells) etc.

Beauty proteins can be degraded due to a variety of reasons. Some factors are listed below:

• Simple wear and tear (ageing)

• High sugar / excessive carbohydrate intake. Sugar is lethal for body proteins as it degrades them via a process called glycation.

• Immune cell action, as when you suffer from chronic, low grade inflammation, for example

• Fat cell action. Fat cells actively break down the collagen structures around them, in order to grow and accommodate more fat. This is a major cause of cellulite and the ‘flabbiness’ that is associated with it

To replace your ‘beauty proteins’ with newly synthesised ones and maintain your skin firmness, your cells need aminoacids and peptides (proteins are made of peptides and peptides are made of aminoacids) that can only be derived from dietary protein.

This means eating fish, chicken, lean red meat (including lean beef, lean pork, lean lamb and game meat), eggs, low fat cheese (such as cottage and ricotta cheese), low fat milk and pulses (beans, lentils, peas, fermented soya products, tofu etc).

Quinoa is high in carbs and nuts are high in fat

Contrary to popular belief, foods like quinoa (loads of carbs and little protein) and nuts (loads of fat and little protein) are NOT PROTEIN-RICH FOODS, they are high-carb and high-fat foods, respectively.

But isn't too much protein bad for you?

Most women today don't realise how important protein is for their physical appearance and overall health, and unwittingly or purposely follow a low-protein diet, with disastrous consequences. Indeed, excessive consumption of fatty red meat may be bad for you, but:

• You don’t need to eat fatty red meat, there are ppenty of low fat meat and poultry options

• Having no red meat at all could potentially be equally bad

With this negative attitude towards red meat - and protein in general - among the female population, it is no wonder that most women today are chronically borderline or actually anaemic. Not to mention skin looseness and cellulite.

I am amazed of how little protein and how many carbs my female clients have. Quite often the amount of protein consumed is negligible, so it is no wonder that cellulite and loose skin is such a big issue today.

The truth is that protein has been given plenty of bad press in the last few decades. Many misinformed nutritionists and naturopaths advise that “you don't need a lot of protein because an excess will tire your liver and kidneys". This, of course, could not be further from the truth and shows utter ignorance.

As a result, most women avoid protein altogether, in favour of carbohydrates that supposedly "give you energy". What women don't realise though, is that unless you burn those "energy" carbs with exercise and general physical activity, they will inevitably become "stored energy" i.e. fat, adding inches to your thighs and millimetres to the depth of your cellulite dimples.

Hence the popular adage about sweets and carbs: "once in the lips forever in the hips".

Fat plus carbs minus protein = skin looseness and cellulite

This negative consequence of sugar calories is in addition to the effect of sugar on skin protein damage due to glycation, mentioned above.

In addition, there is the negative effect fat cell expansion has on skin firmness, again mentioned above.

So to conclude, things are very simple: lack of protein makes your skin loose and gives you cellulite, especially when combined with an excess of carbs and/or fat. Period.

The other fact is that most women will not come anywhere close to tiring their kidneys and liver due to eating fish, chicken or low-fat red meat. It is just very difficult for most women to eat enough protein to exhaust their kidneys and liver. You need to eat like a hungry bodybuilder for that (think three pounds of meat/fish a day) or to consume scoops and scoops of protein power. Nobody really does that.

How about saturated fat contained in high-protein animal foods?

Indeed there is only one problem with some red meat cuts: saturated fat. Without saturated fat, red meat is absolutely fine, especially so if the meat is organic and/or grass fed.

However, the fact is that there are cuts of beef, lamb and pork that contain negligible amounts of saturated fat, i.e. as little as 2-5% fat. All you have to do is choose lean (red) cuts of meat when you do your shopping and look at the fat content displayed on the label - anything below 5% is absolutely fine.

Furthermore, game meat can contain less than 1% fat.

And if you do not like red meat, there are always poultry, fish, seafood and eggs to help you boost your protein intake levels without the problem of saturated fat.

What if I am a vegan?

This is not to say that eating a vegan diet will not necessarily provide you with enough protein. The only problem with vegan diets is that it is so much more difficult to achieve your daily protein quota, unless you eat A WHOLE LOT OF PULSES, which is the only plant protein source without too much fat (as is the case with nuts) or too many carbs (as is the case with bread, rice, buckwheat, quinoa etc).

Unfortunately depending just on tofu and chickpeas day-in, day-out is unhealthy and inadequate. Tofu only contains 8% protein and have you heard of soya/chickpea allergies and food intolerances developing with continued consumption of the same food, day in, day out? It’s not only gluten and lactose that cause intolerance with continued consumption.

On the other hand, depending on nuts, which are very fatty, is counterproductive (macadamia nuts, for example, have 76% fat and 8% protein - hardly a high protein food).

Seeds (sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds etc) are equally high in fat, so they are not a good high-protein option either.

Just to mention here that unfermented soya (as in as soya milk, tofu and soya textured protein) is not the healthy food it is purported to be, partly due to its negative effect on thyroid function and partly due to it's high phytate content, which block absorption of many nutrients in the stomach.

In contrast, fermented soya, as in miso, tempeh, soya sauce and natto are indeed good, especially for women’s health - yet too high in salt...

The best advice I have to give to vegans, is supplement your diet with a combination of rice protein or mixed plant protein.

Vegetarians may also have whey and egg protein, which are the highest biological value protein powders one can consume.

How about hydrolysed collagen supplements?

The latest research has shown that collagen peptide powders (i.e. hydrolysed collagen powders) both:

• Stimulate skin collagen synthesis in the body

• And at the same time provide the building materials for body collagen too

It is not absolutely necessary to have a collagen protein powder - whey, egg or vegan proteins powders will do a similar job. It’s just the collagen peptide protein powder will be somewhat more efficient, specifically for skin collagen production.

Such powders can be either animal collagen peptide powders or vegan collagen peptide powders. Both types have a 2:1:1 glycine:hydroxyproline:proline ratio, which is optimal for whole body collagen production.

(Human skin specifically has a 3:1:1 ratio, but no company manufactures this specific ratio of collagen peptide protein powder, so the 2:1:1 is all we have at the moment.)

On the other hand stay away from collagen capsules, as they are just not enough: one capsule can contain a maximum 1g of collagen peptides while 10-20g are needed to make a difference.

Collagen drinks in bottles and sachets are also uneconomical, contain microplastic and contribute to plastic pollution. Instead you can make your own collagen drink with a powder and some vegetable milk (or real milk, if you can tolerate it) in less than a minute.

What protein tightens skin?

This is a common question and, as just analysed, the best possible skin tightening protein is hydrolysed collagen / collagen peptides or its equivalent vegan version of a 2:1:1 glycine:hydroxyproline:proline ratio.

However, this has to be in addition to a low sugar diet, regular exercise, vibration plate training (if available near you) and enough overall adequate protein from actual food - not just powders. Plus lots of collagen-protecting polyphenols and vitamin C from vegetables and fruits.

For faster results you can combine the above with a deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency treatment and/or a real skin firming/cellulite cream, i.e. one with multiple, high-purity skin firming / anti-cellulite actives in high concentrations, on key areas.

Which is the most filling food component: protein, carbohydrate or fat?

Well, actually none of the above. Fibre is the most satisfying food, and the best source of fibre is not cardboard-tasting wheat bran or polystyrene-looking rice cakes, but nutritious and juicy vegetables.

Protein is second-best as it introduces a feeling of satiety and helps you keep off consuming too much of the naughty fatty, sugary, carby foods that end up being deposited on your thighs.

Fats and oils can also be filling but are also extremely calorific, so they are not a solution to the hunger problem, as they fill up your stomach but at the same time they fill your thighs with fat too.

Carbohydrates, comprising sugars and starches, are definitely the least satiating foods. Sugary foods, in particular, are the absolutely least satisfying and at the same time most addictive foods and lead to constant cravings and overeating. Starches are also addictive and non-satisfying, but not as much as sugars.

The low glycaemic index (GI) starches (pasta, brown rice, fruits) do not induce cravings as potently, whilst the high GI starches are the worst in that respect (all types of bread, even the wholemeal ones, white rice, pastry etc.).

In fact, the best way to keep hunger and cravings at bay is by combining vegetables (which are rich in fibre, antioxidants and water and poor in calories) with lean protein, e.g:

• Salmon and loads of broccoli

• Lean steak with a large salad

• Prawns with lots of stir-fried vegetables

• Grilled chicken with mushrooms, peppers and courgettes

• You get the idea...

Or, if you are vegan:

• Beans with vegetables

• Lentils with salad

• Tofu with bok choi

Etc…

How much protein do I need?

As a rule of a thumb, most people need about 50g of pure protein per day. This is equivalent to 4 eggs, a medium lean beef steak (~200g), a large salmon steak (250g), 550g of boiled lentils (that's a LOT of lentils), 250g of chickpeas/beans, 600g of tofu (that’s a whole lot of tofu), or a combination of those or similar foods during any one day.

Of course, veganism promoters will tell you that you only need 20-30g of protein per day, which only means one thing: protein malnutrition.

I am not against vegan diets, but if you do follow one for goodness’ sake buy some quality vegan protein powder and have 30g of it every day (equivalent to 25g of pure protein, if it has a protein content of 80%).

The fact is that with the typical western vegan diet, combined with dieting to lose weight and/or exercise and/or other dietary restrictions (e.g. gluten-free, FODMAP-free etc diets), you will simply be protein-malnourished.

And no, ultra-processed, unhealthy, junk food, such as those ghastly protein bars, chickpea milk, lentil puffs and fried courgettes are not the solution.

Can protein tighten skin by itself?

• Partially yes. The protein collagen is an important building block of skin and dietary hydrolysed collagen specifically will stimulate some collagen synthesis. Any other protein is also useful, as raw material for collagen production, but without the collagen stimulation synthesis action of actual hydrolysed collagen.

• And partially no. It is important to provide skin with the necessary vibration (basically movement and exercise, from walking to swimming to HIIT) that stimulates collagen synthesis throughout the body. Vibration plate training is also great for collagen stimulation. And also to accompany protein and exercise with polyphenols and vitamin C, as mentioned above.

Combining a course of deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency with all the above will yield the best skin tightening results on key areas. A real cellulite / skin firming cream, i.e. one with multiple, high-purity anti-cellulite / skin firming actives in high concentrations, will also help.

Can lack of protein cause cellulite?

Absolutely. Lack of protein can easily lead over a few years to reduced skin firmness and elasticity, which is a major component of cellulite.

Furthermore, lack of protein in the diet will inadvertently mean more fat and carbohydrate intake, which unavoidably lead to fat gain (including cellulite fat), unless you exercise a lot.

Crash dieting, protein deficiency and muscle/skin loss

When you fast or crash diet, you deny your body of proteins, so you initially don't lose that much fat, you mainly lose protein and water. This is because your body utilises your "beauty proteins" in order to provide your vital organs with essential proteins for survival and to synthesise enzymes for basic bodily functions and digestion.

When you go back onto the ‘pigging out’ phase after the crash diet, all the new weight you put back on is fat.

So you gradually replace firmness with fat, with each crash diet/pig out cycle. This will inevitably happen every time you follow a crash diet, unless you do seven things:

1. Resistance exercise (weights) during the "re-feeding" phase to regain the lost muscle

2. Power plate and/or high mechanical stimulation exercise (walking, running, swimming etc) to regain the lost bone mass and some skin

3. Have deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency treatments, to stimulate the rebuilding of the lost skin proteins

4. Have plenty of protein during and after your diet

5. Apply a multi-active, highly concentrated firming/anti-cellulite cream (the usual diluted creams won’t)

6. Have high intake of vitamin C, polyphenols and carotenoids, typically found in vegetables, berry fruits, herbs and cocoa (they aid in collagen/elastin protection and synthesis)

7. And do not overeat after the crash diet

As you can see it's very cheap and easy to lose your skin firmness and very expensive and difficult to regain it, so the advice is simple: avoid regular crash dieting (yo-yo dieting).

Please note, light yoga, light pilates, lymphatic massages and other lightweight approaches won't help you replace the lost protein on your muscles, bones or skin, as they offer minimal or no protein synthesis stimulation.

The moral of the story is...

...that if you want to look firm and keep cellulite at bay, you'd better:

• Exercise vigorously and regularly

• Avoid crash dieting

• Eat enough protein, vegetables, berries, herbs and spices

• Avoid sugar, excessive carbs, saturated fat, trans fats and anything fried

In addition, regularly having anti-cellulite treatments and applying a good cellulite cream will also help fill the gaps in your lifestyle and keep your skin toned and smooth.