Smooth, firm skin and healthy joints are signs of vitality worth caring for at every stage of life. The secret to maintaining them is structural protein, whose natural production in the body declines with age. Fortunately, properly selected collagen in food can effectively support its regeneration.
What is collagen in food?
When searching for reliable sources of this important protein, you might wonder where collagen is found in food? It comes exclusively from animal tissues and provides amino acids such as glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which are essential for the body's own collagen synthesis. Eating collagen-rich foods provides ready-made "building blocks" that support tissue regeneration and maintain its structural integrity . This directly translates to their strength and elasticity.
The function of collagen is to provide tissues with tensile strength and maintain their proper structure. With age, after the age of 25, the body's natural production of this protein systematically declines. This leads to wrinkles, loss of skin firmness, and weakened joints, making them more susceptible to pain. A diet rich in natural sources of collagen can help slow down these processes, providing the nutrients needed to rebuild and maintain a youthful appearance and physical fitness.
Which products contain the most collagen?
As mentioned earlier, the richest sources of collagen are animal products, especially those containing large amounts of connective tissue. The top sources include:
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broths cooked with bones (so-called power soups);
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edible gelatin;
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animal parts such as skin, cartilage, tendons or chicken feet.
Collagen-rich foods are often overlooked in modern cuisine. However, their potential is worth rediscovering, as they represent the most concentrated and natural source of this valuable protein. Collagen in food is a high-molecular-weight protein, so it must be broken down into smaller fragments—peptides and amino acids—during the digestive process. Only in this form can the body absorb and utilize it for its own purposes.
The cooking process, especially long and slow heating in water, leads to partial hydrolysis of collagen, resulting in the formation of gelatin. This form is more easily digestible. Different sources, such as beef, poultry, or fish, provide slightly different peptide profiles, which may influence their specific effects in the body.
Which meats are the best sources of collagen?
When looking for collagen in food, it's worth considering beef. Beef is considered one of the most excellent sources of collagen. The highest amounts are found in the tougher cuts of the carcass that require long cooking times, such as the shank (shin), oxtail, and brisket. Bovine collagen is an absolute natural phenomenon, exceptionally rich in type I and III collagen. These are the two most important types for the human body, building skin, bones, tendons, and blood vessels, respectively.
Obtaining collagen from food that the body can quickly absorb is a lengthy process. It's much easier and faster to useeatyx Labs Collagen Premium 16,000 mg . This dietary supplement comes in the form of ready-to-drink shots with mango and passion fruit flavors. Each 80 ml serving delivers a high dose of 16,000 mg of hydrolyzed bovine collagen. The product is characterized by high bioavailability thanks to the hydrolysis process, which breaks the protein into smaller peptides with a molecular weight of 2-4 kDa.
Do fish and seafood contain collagen?
Fish and seafood are also valuable sources of collagen, also known as marine collagen. It's found primarily in skin, bones, scales, and cartilage . Therefore, soups made with fish heads and skeletons, or eating fish with the skin on (e.g., baked salmon), are excellent ways to incorporate this nutrient into your diet. Marine collagen is primarily type I collagen, which is the predominant type of collagen in human skin.
It's an excellent alternative for people who, for various reasons, avoid red meat or poultry. To reap its benefits, it's worth reaching for fish jellies, soups made with whole fish, or seafood such as squid or octopus, which also contain connective tissue. Of course, food allergies should be considered, and the type of supplementation should be tailored to your individual health status.
What plant products support collagen production?
It's important to emphasize that plant foods don't contain collagen, as it's a protein found only in animals. Nevertheless, a plant-based diet can significantly support the body's natural collagen synthesis. Nutrients that act as cofactors in this process play a crucial role:
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Vitamin C is absolutely essential, as collagen production is impossible without it. Rich sources include citrus fruits, berries, kiwi, peppers, parsley, and broccoli;
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zinc, which can be found in pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts and legumes, is involved in the formation of collagen fibers;
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Copper, present in nuts, sesame seeds and whole grain products, plays a similar role.
Even though the natural collagen in food comes from animals, a diet rich in these plant-based ingredients provides the body with the tools necessary for its effective production and reconstruction.
How to prepare collagen-rich dishes?
The most effective method for extracting collagen from food is long, slow cooking. Techniques such as braising, simmering, or baking at low temperatures for many hours break down tough connective tissue, releasing the collagen in the form of easily digestible gelatin. This process not only provides valuable protein but also makes tough cuts of meat incredibly tender and flavorful. An example is simmering bone broth for 8, 12, or even 24 hours.
Making homemade bone broth from beef, pork, or a whole chicken is one of the best ways to get a concentrated dose of collagen. Adding a little apple cider vinegar to the broth can help extract not only collagen but also valuable minerals from the bones. Another traditional method is meat jellies. They make a tasty snack rich in gelatin. Using collagen-rich meat pieces in stews and stews is also an excellent way to enrich your diet with this protein.
International culinary inspirations rich in collagen
The tradition of consuming collagen-rich foods is widespread worldwide. In Asian cuisine, long-simmered broths dominate, forming the basis for Japanese ramen (especially the tonkotsu version) and Vietnamese pho soup. Pot-au-feu, boiled beef with vegetables, is popular in France, while osso buco, braised slices of veal shank, is popular in Italy. These dishes demonstrate that natural collagen in food has been valued for centuries not only for its flavor and warming properties but also for its health-promoting properties, which are now being rediscovered by science.
Can diet increase collagen levels in the body?
A properly composed diet has a real impact on collagen levels in the body. The most effective strategy is based on a two-pronged approach:
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firstly, you should regularly consume foods rich in collagen, such as bone broths, gelatin and dishes made from tough cuts of meat;
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secondly, it is necessary to simultaneously take care of the supply of ingredients that support its internal production.
Combining these two dietary elements yields the best results – as does the use of high-quality dietary supplements such as eatyx LABS Collagen Premium 16,000 mg bovine collagen hydrolysate. Enriched with vitamin C and B vitamins, among other nutrients, this supplement has a holistic effect on the body.
