Essentially the most considerable protein within the physique, collagen is a key part of pores and skin, tendons, and ligaments. Because the physique ages, it makes much less (and decrease high quality) collagen. This contributes to lowered elasticity and fewer fresh-looking pores and skin.
Consuming meat twice every week offers all of the collagen most individuals want, says Mark Tager, MD, writer of Feed Your Pores and skin Proper: Your Personalised Vitamin Plan for Radiant Magnificence. Different meals will help stimulate collagen manufacturing too. “To make collagen, we require different cofactors, resembling vitamin C, copper, zinc, vitamin A, and silica — all of which might be provided by a nutritious diet.”
In the meantime, gross sales of collagen dietary supplements are booming. Collagen peptides, often known as hydrolyzed collagen, are produced from the bones, pores and skin, and connective tissue of cows, pigs, and chickens, in addition to from fish scales and pores and skin. These proteins break down into amino acids within the digestive tract, that are absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed to the pores and skin.
In contrast to vitamin C, which dissipates rapidly, collagen peptides stay within the pores and skin for as much as 14 days. Collagen helps moisture retention by rising manufacturing of hyaluronic acid, which makes pores and skin extra pliable. It even fires up the physique’s skill to make new pores and skin cells — a capability that declines with age.
“I admit I used to be skeptical of the hype round collagen,” says Julie Backyard-Robinson, PhD, RD, a food-and-nutrition specialist at North Dakota State College. However she was swayed by a raft of research exhibiting its advantages. Most notably, in 2021, the Worldwide Journal of Dermatology and Venereology revealed a meta-analysis of 19 double-blind, randomly managed trials on the results of collagen supplementation on pores and skin growing old, the place nearly all of topics confirmed improved elasticity and fewer wrinkles.
Price noting: Collagen merchandise that declare to be animal-free are participating in a sleight of hand. “Collagen comes from animals,” explains Julie Greenberg, ND, AHG, a naturopathic physician who makes a speciality of integrative dermatology. “Vegan collagen merchandise comprise high-dose vitamins, resembling vitamin C, amino acids, and silica. These are believed to assist the physique make extra of its personal collagen.” Some actually vegan collagen merchandise produced from yeasts and micro organism are in growth, however they’re not accessible but.
In case you eat a vegetarian or vegan weight loss plan, Backyard-Robinson suggests getting two servings of protein a day from quite a lot of sources, together with nuts and beans. This offers you “ample protein to nourish your physique’s wants and assist preserve collagen,” she says.
And for those who eat animal merchandise and also you need an additional dose of collagen, she suggests ingesting a cup of bone broth.
(Learn to use meals and dietary supplements to spice up your physique’s collagen manufacturing at “ Get Extra Collagen.”)
For additional steerage on sustaining wholesome and radiant pores and skin by means of diet, see “11 Important Vitamins for Pores and skin Well being,” from which this text was excerpted.
