Ketosis and Skin: Why Fibroblasts Increase Collagen Production

Do you have that friend whose skin looks so awesome?  

Do you want to know her secret? I am going to tell you … right here.

Touch your face. Those skin cells you are touching were made 2-3 months ago. If you want healthy, glowing skin that’s free from pimples and wrinkles, improve the foundation holding your skin cells. Improve those cells at the base of your skin layer and watch your age reverse over the next 2-3 months. Improved collagen production decreases your wrinkles, hydrates your skin and results in more flexible, resilient, yet firm skin. In a word, it makes you look younger.

Cells called fibroblasts create collagen. Collagen establishes the latticework or framework for our skin, bones, tendons and other tissues connecting our body-parts. Think of collagen as different types of glue. Fibroblasts secrete this “glue,” or matrix, providing structural integrity to all of our connective tissues. The composition of that matrix determines the physical properties of the tissue.

Fibroblasts busily provide the architecture connecting one part of our body to the next. Skin is one example. It holds the highest number of fibroblast. These skin fibroblasts paint the pathway for the skin cells to wrap our entire body. Bone-fibroblasts release a slightly different glue. Corneas, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage have their own unique matrixes coming from these essential cells. The degree of mineralization varies with the type of tissue. Rigid collagen becomes bone. Flexible collagen produces the tissue of a tendon. The cartilage of our ear, eyes, or nose is a gradient between those two extremes.

Other fibroblasts make collagen for your blood vessels, the fascia around each muscle fiber, the discs between your backbones, and the dentin in teeth. Each has different, unique mineralization of collagen from their fibroblasts. Fibroblasts glue our body together.

The power of healthy fibroblasts is apparent when comparing an athletic 17-year-old to a frail 80-year-old. The seventeen-year-old has tighter glue. As we age, fibroblasts slow down their production of collagen. These aging cells become dormant or disappear altogether. Without the collagen supporting the skin, it begins to crease and wrinkle. Those missing platforms lead to fine wrinkles at first. With less and less collagen, come deeper and more pronounced lines.

Dormant fibroblasts are called fibrocytes. Fibroblasts and fibrocytes are two states of the same cells. A fibroblast cell has a lifespan of a couple of months, whereas fibrocytes live longer in their “hibernating” state. Fibrocytes lurk through our body waiting for the signal to provide more collagen. Months without any sign that the body needs more of their glue, and they disappear.

When I teach patients and students about the impact of a cell, it helps to show what happens when the cell is defective. When fibroblasts suffer a mutation while trying to outline the bones of a growing teenager, bones turn out fragile instead of healthy. Much like a porcelain vase, bones formed from defective collagen cells shatter with the slightest twist or turn.

Building healthier collagen cells does not stop with those looking for youthful skin.  Sure improved collagen production decreases wrinkles and produces more youthful looking skin. But that’s not all. Improved collagen production keeps bones from cracking, joints from wearing down, eyes with a clear vision and your heart valves firmly sealing shut each beat of the day. From your eardrum to your muscle fibers, collagen is the source of active functions within your body. Even if we set aside all the vast immune system benefits, we could write an encyclopedia of benefits to keeping collagen cells out of their dormant phase.  

Most people don’t care about collagen in their joints, or eyes, or bones.  Most people that know the word collagen, care about their skin.

So what’s the secret to youthful skin?

STEP 1: A Ketogenic Diet.

The chemistry shift behind ketosis at its very core removes inflammation. Two months into producing a steady supply of ketones and the improvements in the skin begin to shine through.  

First, the pimples fade away. No matter your age, ketosis prevents pimples from popping out of your skin by lowering inflammation throughout your body. At the root of any acne problem lives a soupy mess of cells soaking in the grime of inflammation.

Next, the redness and irritation slowly fade. After 90 days you see the first “ketone” based on skin cells. This means the skin cells you made the first week of ketosis are finally at the top layer of skin where you can see them.  Skin cells made during times of lower inflammation show a youthful radiance. These healthy, plump cells outshine any other approach to skin improvement.

Moisturizing creams advertise that they provide a more youthful looking skin. You may find truth in that for a few hours, but not the way ketosis affects your skin. Ketosis provides a much more sustainable process.

In addition to anti-inflammation, ketogenic diets filled with fats support beautiful cell membranes. Call me a geek for pointing this out, but it is true.

Perfect looking skin begins will flawless cells. Without enough healthy fat, your cell membranes fail to form that perfect pattern. Defects formed in the cell’s membranes magnify over time to abnormalities seen in your skin. Skin cells that break open or wrinkle are made with these defective cells. Inflammation hides at the root of these problems.

A sunburn provides an easy-to-see example of severely inflamed skin. Lower amounts of skin inflammation aren’t as visible. Low-grade inflammation occurs on a microscopic level. Inflamed skin cells divide into imperfect replicas. These imperfect cells don’t stick together as neatly, forming defects in the skin. These are wrinkles.

As we age, our defective skin cells increase in number. Faulty cells make faulty copies. Those wrinkles around your eyes showed up in your thirties. Maybe the inflammation started after a sunburn. Perhaps it built up during times of high stress. Either way, those cells wrinkled because they were defective. Ten years later, those wrinkles are deeper and more noticeable. In contrast, well-made skin cells are flexible and plump allowing the cell membrane to stretch and squish as needed.

And what about those fibroblasts?  How can we spark those to divide more or coax the fibrocytes out of retirement? Micronized Collagen Particles

STEP 2: Micronized Collagen Particles Increase Collagen Production  

Yes. It works, and studies prove it.  Take collagen parts from a cow, chicken or fish. Now hydrolyzed those particles. Then cut them it into microscopic pieces. Once scoop of those hydrolyzed collagen “snippets,” and you can measure them in your bloodstream within an hour. These tiny specks spark both fibroblasts and fibrocytes into action.

These tiny flecks look like broken down collagen pieces from the cells point of view. The one thing that sparks increased collagen production is the signal that your body is breaking down its collagen. Naturally, this destruction of collagen happens very slowly, causing only a few particles to be present in our system at any time. The increased particle number found in circulation after taking a supplement turns up our collagen produced by the fibroblasts.  That same high particle count in your circulation wakes up sleeping fibrocytes. This little trick is the secret to amazing looking skin.

Signal your fibroblasts to make buckets of collage by adding these particles to your circulation.  I recommend three doses a day into your coffee or tea or bone broth. Any liquid will do. Stay consistent for a full three months and the results are stunning. You will see your skin look younger.

Don’t take my word for it. Or that found in the science articles. Take a picture. Get a close up of those fine wrinkles on your face. Retake the photo in 60 days, 90 days and 120 days. It is remarkable what you will see.

After I learned this little trick, I looked into making this supplement. That is in the works.  Until that happens, I buy the one by Perfect Keto.  I put a scoop of this into my coffee each morning.  A quick spin in the blender and that magical powder fluffs up a thick head of foam on my coffee.  The perfect way to start my non-fasting days.

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Would you like to make some of these flexible, radiant, youthful skin cells? Get to the root of your wrinkles, crows feet, smile lines, thinning skin and other problems of your skin.

1. Pee ketones for 90 days. (Here is a link to a good brand: https://amzn.to/2L2HCUo )
2. Spark your fibroblasts out of retirement with hydrolyzed collagen up to three times a day.
3. Subscribe to our updates.  We have more to come.

Learn more about which foods are Good. Better. & Best – through my favorite FOOD GUIDE.  I recommend this for beginners or folks that keep falling off that keto-bandwagon.