How to Get Collagen in Your Diet?

How to Get Collagen in Your Diet

We just got back from a mini-vacation (like, just over 36 hours long) to Palm Springs. Our hike up to the peak of San Jacinto provoked an interesting conversation about skin and how to preserve its youthfulness. It’s a problem most people think about at some point in their lives.

Almost all of us (especially those of us who’ve hit any age over 21) have admired someone else’s smooth, healthy, young-looking skin, right?

Chances are, their complexion is thanks in large part to collagen, so let’s talk about how to get collagen in your diet.

Collagen: The Glue Holding You Together

Before we talk about how to get collagen in your diet, let’s first learn more about what collagen itself is!

Collagen is a protein comprising about one-third of your body’s total proteins, and it literally holds your body together — from the bones and connective tissues to the organs, including the most visible one: the skin. Our skin is about 75 percent collagen, and along with keratin is what keeps the skin elastic and youthful looking.

That’s because thanks to a triple-helix structure, this protein has remarkable capacity to be stretched without breaking. In fact, the type of collagen found in our skin has even greater tensile strength than that of steel!

And not only is it great for strengthening healthy skin, but it’s also a powerful healer. It’s often used in plastic surgery and burn surgeries to help repair the skin. It’s also the magic ingredient in certain wound care ointments, such as Nu Skin.

Here’s the scary part, though: Without healthy levels of collagen, your skin can get dry and wrinkly. Sun exposure, smoking, poor diet, etc. can cause all kinds of damage to the collagen fibers in your skin, causing it to sag and stretch. So, you must be wondering by now how to get collagen in your diet. Well, the upside? As long as you make sure to eat foods that stimulate collagen production, you’re probably not going to turn into a human raisin (at least as quickly)!

Eat Foods to Stimulate Collagen Production

Then the ultimate question: how to get collagen in your diet? Well, because gelatin is a well-known source of collagen, a lot of companies will try to sell gelatin supplements to help combat those conditions. But that doesn’t answer our question, ‘how to get collagen in your diet’, does it? That’s because the problem is that gelatin is a denatured form of the nutrient — meaning it’s been processed at high heat and/or with chemicals. That processing, studies show, at least partially breaks down collagen’s ability to heal and repair our tissue.

In that case, you have two options. First, you can find collagen peptide supplements that have been hydrolyzed so it’s easy for your body to absorb. This is an easy and effective way of how to get collagen in your diet, as well as all of it’s health benefits. Another option is to get your collagen as close to the original, natural source as possible.

In order to learn how to get collagen in your diet, it’s important to know that your body needs help producing it. To stimulate production of this all-important nutrient, it’s key to eat vitamin C-rich foods like citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, etc.), which helps synthesize important types of collagen. And as some of you already know (and hopefully more of you are learning), bone broth is an excellent way to answer the ultimate question, ‘how to get collagen in your diet’.

The collagen in bone broth is broken down into its most bio-available form, making it easy and accessible for your body to put it right to use. Now you know a sure-fire way of how to get collagen in your diet. You’re giving your body the building blocks to keep you feeling AND looking young!

How to Get Collagen in Your Diet? Give it a Scoop!

It’s simple to make a positive change in your daily routine. Adjust your diet to include more collagen promoting foods or simply dump a scoop of collagen protein into your shake. It’s easy to know how to get collagen in your diet, but you must make that first step!

You can read more about the top 10 collagen promoting foods that you can eat to look and feel your best here! And let us know how collagen has made a positive impact in your life and if this helped you learn how to get collagen in your diet in the comments below!