Collagen is everywhere, from our groceries to cosmetics to medications, and even in the most unlikely locations, such as our cup of coffee. They are now hailed as the finest thing for your health, particularly for your joints and skin.
Breakdown of Collagen and Types of Collagen-Rich Foods
The word "collagen" comes from the Greek word "kólla," which meaning "glue." Collagen is the most vital protein in our bodies, primarily holding them together.
The most prevalent protein in human bodies is a protein family with a major fiber-like structural framework of connective tissues.
It is most frequently encountered in our:
- Skin
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Bones
- Ligaments
-Cartilage
- Blood vessels
- Intestines
Collagen is classified into numerous categories based on its amino acid content.
Type 1 collagen is most commonly found in the skin, tendons, internal organs, and organic sections of the bone.
The great majority of the remaining collagen in the body is classified as Type 2 collagen (found in cartilage) or Type 3 collagen (found in bones and lymphoid tissues).
How Is Collagen Linked to Joint and Skin Health?
Collagen is a protein that serves as a building component in your body and promotes joint health. It aids in the maintenance of healthy cartilage and tendons, which keeps your joints flowing smoothly, absorbs shocks, and minimizes the danger of injury. It can also aid in the relief of joint pains and aches.
Collagen is frequently mentioned in skin care, particularly in aged skin. Collagen accounts for the majority of the weight of your skin. It gives your skin a young appearance by maintaining its structure, suppleness, texture, and resilience.
When Should You Be Concerned About Collagen?
With age, your body's collagen synthesis declines. Collagen levels begin to decline as you age, which can be increased by other factors like as bad food, lifestyle, heredity, and excessive sun exposure.
Furthermore, around the age of 30, your body not only loses collagen but also the capacity to manufacture high-quality collagen.
As a result, the collagen in your body has transformed from a well-organized network of fibers to a disorganized maze. Environmental factors can cause collagen fibers to thin and weaken, resulting in wrinkles on the skin's surface.
Collagen makes up roughly 60% of the cartilage that surrounds and protects your bones from the shock of high-impact motions.
A lack of collagen may result in cartilage loss and joint issues. Among the warning indicators are:
- Wrinkled and crepey skin
- Stiffer, less flexible tendons and ligaments
- Shrinking and weakening muscles
- Injuries, joint pain, and even osteoarthritis
- Gastrointestinal problems because of the digestive tract lining in your digestive tract
How to Increase Collagen in Your Body
To make collagen, your body mixes amino acids and nutrients from diet. As a result, if your body lacks the required ingredients, it will be unable to manufacture enough collagen. Also, as you become older, your body may not absorb and manufacture nutrients as well as it used to.
So, the key causes of collagen deficit are a bad diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and aging.
While aging is a normal part of life, you can regulate how much collagen you consume.
There are two methods for increasing collagen levels. First, improve your nutrition, and then take dietary supplements.
When you increase your collagen intake, whether through food or supplements, the extra protein accumulates in your joint cartilage.
What's more intriguing and useful is that collagen consumption can promote your body's natural collagen production. As a consequence, you'll have more mobility and flexibility, as well as decreased discomfort and inflammation.
Please keep in mind, however, that collagen cannot miraculously heal or rebuild damaged cartilage or joints, nor can it reverse the normal loss caused by aging. It can only encourage the creation of new collagen in your body.
The Truth About Collagen Supplements
Despite its abundance in our bodies, collagen has become a popular supplement that claims to improve joint and skin health.
Before you buy collagen supplements, there are few things you should know.
The first is that the majority of collagen supplements, known as "Hydrolyzed collagen" or "Collagen peptide," are derived from animal components such as eggs, fish scales, bovine bones, and skin.
If you are vegan, vegetarian, or allergic to eggs or seafood, reconsider your purchase.
Hydrolyzed collagen is a kind of collagen that has been broken down and dissolves easily in food and beverages. These supplements include amino acids (protein building blocks) and may also contain extra nutrients essential to skin and joint health.
The difficult issue with "Hydrolyzed collagen" is that you never know which type of collagen is in commercially available collagen powders. So, unless it's clearly specified, you won't be able to pick the proper collagen supplement to assist enhance your joint and skin health.
Another common misconception is that taking collagen supplements can instantly enhance your joints and skin. Instead, because collagen is not designed to withstand pH fluctuations in the stomach, it is broken down into its constituents during digestion.
Collagen products are also marketed as a miraculous cure for a variety of skin issues. Collagen is naturally located in the deeper layers of your skin rather than the surface layers.
Collagen fibers in topical skin creams are too large to penetrate the skin's outer layers. Even shorter collagen chains, such as peptides, cannot penetrate the skin's outer layers, rendering the lofty promises of collagen products being a skin wonder cure implausible.
Skin lotions containing synthetic collagen may be effective because they build a film-like layer on your skin to minimize water loss as a protective skin barrier. However, there is no comparison to a nutritious diet rich in collagen-rich foods and the use of sunscreen for outstanding skin health.
Hydrolyzed collagen supplementation activates fibroblasts, or collagen-producing cells, and can enhance skin hydration, suppleness, and wrinkle reduction, according to a comprehensive meta-analysis of 19 research published in the International Journal of Dermatology.
Collagen supplements have been found in other trials to increase joint mobility and reduce joint pain, stiffness, edema, soreness, and even osteoarthritis.
But there's a catch to the collagen supplement studies. Most, if not all, collagen supplement research studies to date have been wholly or largely supported by associated firms that stand to profit from them.
Another reality is that collagen supplements, like all other supplements, cannot be approved by a regulatory authority such as the United States Food and Drug Administration. As a result, you can never be certain of its safety and must rely only on what the manufacturer claims.
Taking a collagen supplement might be harmful to your joint and skin problems in the long term since it can be used as an excuse for bad eating, sleeping, and lifestyle habits.
Any collagen supplement cannot replace nutritious protein from high-quality, healthy diet. If you eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, you won't require supplements since your body will produce enough collagen naturally.
Top Collagen-Rich Foods for Your Joint and Skin Health
Fortunately, collagen is abundant in many of our everyday diets.
Many high-protein diets contain amino acids that contribute in collagen formation, including as glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. To manufacture collagen, your body also requires minerals like as zinc, vitamin C, and copper.
Here are the best collagen-rich foods to add in your diet if you want to gain high-quality collagen for strong joints and bright skin.
1. Animal Sources
Collagen is mostly present in animal proteins, particularly in meat and fish that include connective tissue. They can be found in tough portions of meat or fish skin and bones, for example.
Beef has a lot of zinc, which is necessary for collagen formation. Beef includes the three types of amino acids that make up collagen: glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline.
There's a reason why chicken is the major ingredient in many collagen supplements. Collagen is abundant in chicken, particularly the neck and cartilage. According to a research published in the journal Clinical Interventions in Aging, the neck and cartilage of the chicken can aid in the treatment of arthritis.
In compared to other meats, fish flesh has less collagen. But here's the catch: Fish and shellfish contain collagen-rich ligaments and bones.
Fish and shellfish are preferred because their collagen is absorbed 1.5 times more efficiently than other collagen sources of meat such as hog and beef.
Ironically, the fish parts with the highest collagen content, such as the scales, skin, eyes, and skull, are the least consumed. Make sure to incorporate these fish portions into your diet.
Speaking of seafood, oysters are a terrific addition to your diet since they are high in copper, which assists in the production of collagen.
Collagen is found naturally in animal bones. Animal bones are a naturally occurring source of gelatin, which is high in collagen. This explains why bone broth is one of the greatest and most popular collagen-boosting meals.
While egg yolks contain collagen, egg whites are abundant in proline, an amino acid required for collagen formation. You may have them boiled, poached, fried, scrambled, or omelet-style.
Dairy products provide several elements that aid in collagen formation.
Here is a list of collagen-boosting meals derived from animals:
- Eggs
- Ribeye steak
- Pot roast
- Chuck steak
- Chicken wings
- Bone broth
- Fish and Shellfish
- Oysters
- Milk
- Yogurt
- Cheese
However, as part of a long-term healthy and environmentally sustainable diet, we normally do not suggest a substantial intake of animal products. Please drink in moderation while keeping the aforementioned issues in mind.
2. Vegetables
Increase your intake of leafy greens, which are high in vitamin C and chlorophyll, both of which are beneficial for antioxidant characteristics and collagen formation. Bell peppers can also be included in a healthy diet.
Bell peppers include antioxidants, amino acids, vitamin C, and other minerals that aid in the formation of collagen. They also include capsaicin, which has anti-inflammatory qualities and aids in the reduction of aging symptoms.
The red bell pepper is the most useful because of its high Vitamin C concentration, which aids in the regulation of collagen formation. It also includes Vitamin A, which benefits your skin and joints.
Broccoli is another vegetable that you may include in your diet since it is high in Vitamin C and includes zinc and copper, all of which help with collagen formation.
Here are some veggies that may assist in collagen production:
- Spinach
- Rainbow Chard
- Collard
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Bell peppers
- Green peas
- Broccoli
3. Fruits
Citrus fruits are high in vitamin C and antioxidants, which aid in collagen formation. Vitamin C aids in the bonding of amino acids during collagen synthesis. That is why it is critical to consume Vitamin C. It also promotes bright skin by flushing out impurities and fighting skin irritation.
Berries are a fantastic source of vitamin C in addition to being recognized for their antioxidant characteristics that benefit your skin. Strawberries, in fact, have more vitamin C than oranges.
Tropical fruits are also high in vitamin C, copper, and zinc, all of which help to increase collagen formation.
Tomatoes, notably sun-dried and grape varieties, are high in vitamin C, which promotes collagen formation, and also contain lycopene, an antioxidant beneficial to skin health.
Here are some collagen-rich fruits to incorporate into your healthy diet:
- Orange
- Lemon
- Lime
- Grapefruit
- Clementine
- Mango
- Banana
- Guava
- Kiwi
- Pineapple
- Raspberry
- Blueberry
- Blackberry
- Tomatoes
4. Legumes and Beans
Legumes and beans are high-protein foods that include amino acids that contribute in the formation of collagen. They also include Genistein, an isoflavone that promotes collagen production.
Legumes and beans are high in minerals and nutrients such as zinc, copper, and vitamin C, all of which are beneficial to skin health. Some legumes and beans that naturally increase collagen synthesis include:
- Soybeans
- Garbanzo beans
- Fava beans
- Kudzu
5. Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are good sources of collagen. They supply critical amino acids for collagen that our bodies are unable to make on their own.
There are several methods for incorporating them into your diet. They can be eaten as fast snacks. Try incorporating one of these meals into your next meal. Soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta meals, stir-fries, smoothies, and more are all options.
Here are some collagen-boosting meals made from nuts and seeds:
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Hazelnuts
- Peanuts
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
- Sunflower seeds
- Plant-based milk, such as soy and almond milk
6. Whole Grains
Whole grains are high in protein. They include collagen-building minerals like as zinc and copper. Protein and nutrition help in the amino acid-to-collagen conversion.
Because refined grains are stripped of various key elements for our bodies during processing, it is typically suggested to switch to whole grains for more healthful nourishment.
Here are some of my favorite collagen-boosting whole grains:
- Oats
- Quinoa
- Brown rice
- Whole Wheat
Aside from eating the items listed above, you should also limit your sugar and water intake.
Sugar is collagen's adversary. The amino acids in collagen and elastin are linked together by two of the most prevalent sugars, glucose and fructose, to form toxic chemicals known as AGEs (Advanced glycation end products). AGEs have been linked to collagen degradation and inflammation.
Collagen's best buddy is water. Water, according to researchers, is an essential component of collagen, holding it securely to its helical structure. Water contributes approximately 60% of the weight of collagen in its normal condition. As a result, drink lots of water every day.
Final Thoughts
A balanced diet rich in whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean meat, seafood, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds is essential for the creation of high-quality collagen.
You may incorporate the items listed above into your everyday diet to aid in collagen formation in your body.
Because there hasn't been any non-industry-funded study on collagen supplements, it's important to see your doctor if you decide to go that way. However, we recommend speaking with your doctor about the best food and lifestyle plan to help naturally improve your collagen production.
