Written & medically reviewed by
Dr.Sanjana.V.B. Bhms. Dbrm.Cdn

 Food sources of collagen for firmness of your skin

    Collagen is a protein that provides your skin the firmness, structure and tightness. Eating collagen rich food provides immense benefits for improving your skin health and beauty.

   In addition, collagen has various other roles in human body in maintaining health. Collagen is formed from three important amino acids, proline, lysine and glycine. It is a chief component of bone, skin, muscles, tendons, and cartilage and  provides tissues strength and resilience.

Does collagen reduce with ageing? What are the impacts?

  Collagen is reduced in your skin and hair with ageing. Aging has a detrimental effect on connective tissue in the skin, leading to reduction in elastin and collagen fibers and thus resulting in fine lines and wrinkles. Genetic or intrinsic factors of ageing, UV rays exposure from sun and erratic, non-balanced diet, and stress lead to an age-dependent collagen loss in the skin.

This leads to skin damage and enhancing wrinkles and sagging of skin. Reduction in collagen may leads to hair thinning also. Therefore it is very important to focus on dietary sources rich in collagen formation helping nutrients such as some amino acids, zinc and vitamin C.

Natural sources of collagen

These foods contain nutrients helping collagen production in your body.

·       Sardines

·       Liver

·       Broccoli

·       Aloe vera

·       Bone broth

·       Chicken

·       Berries

·        Citrus fruits

·       Garlic

·       Green leafy vegetables

·       Beans

·       Tomatoes

·       Nuts

   Some high-protein foods are believed to help collagen production as they contain the amino acids that boost formation collagen such as glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. These foods include fish, poultry, meat, eggs, dairy, legumes, and soy. Some other nutrients also play crucial roles in collagen production such as zinc and vitamin C.

Zinc is mainly found in shellfish, legumes, meats, nuts, seeds, and whole grains; and vitamin C is abundant in citrus fruits, berries, leafy greens, gooseberries, bell peppers, and tomatoes.

Vitamin C is abundant in gooseberry, citrus fruits, guava, green leafy vegetables, bell peppers etc. Consume these foods for better collagen production.

 Bone broth is a food that is consumed since ancient times due to its nutritional properties and healing potential. Many studies have been done to know the nutritional potential of broth. It concludes that various factors can affect the amount of protein and minerals extracted in bone broth such as the level of acidity, cooking time, cooking temperature, and type of animal bone used etc. Therefore the nutritional value of bone broths can vary widely.

Do healthy living habits help collagen levels in your body?

In addition to nutrition and food, some healthy lifestyle or healthy living habits can maintain your body’s natural collagen production. These  include

·       Adequate sleep

·       Managing stress

·       Exercise

·       Avoid smoking

Collagen diet for vegans

Some plants contain amino acids such as glycine, lysine, and proline which are most essential for collagen production. So vegan foods high in these amino acids may help boost the body’s natural collagen production. These include:

·       Broccoli

·       Berries

·       Citrus fruits

·       Garlic

·       Green leafy vegetables

·       Beans

·       Tomatoes

·       Nuts

There are also vegan collagen supplements that are produced in a lab through genetic modification of yeast and bacteria.

Collagen Supplementation

Oral collagen supplements in the form of pills, powders, and certain foods. Collagen supplements contain amino acids, the building blocks of protein, and some may also contain vitamin C, biotin, or zinc.

Studies have shown that age-dependent reduction in collagen production in the body. It can be reversed by oral administration of specific bioactive collagen peptides. Oral collagen peptides together with other nutrients significantly improve skin hydration, elasticity, roughness, and density.

  Collagen can be extracted from natural animal and plant sources or be obtained from recombinant protein production systems using bacteria, yeast, insects or plants, mammalian cells, or artificial fibrils.

Read more about collagen supplements . http://siahmsrwellness.in/nutricosmetics-collagen-supplements-benefits 

References

1.    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/collagen/

2.    Hsu DJ, Lee CW, Tsai WC, Chien YC. Essential and toxic metals in animal bone broths. Food & nutrition research. 2017 Jan 1;61(1):1347478.

3.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6835901/

4.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33449869/

5.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29144022/