Collagen is a protein that can be found all over the human body and is the substance that gives our connective tissues, skin, hair, and nails their elasticity and strength. After the age of 25, our bodies start producing less collagen each year, which ultimately results in wrinkles, thinning hair, and joint pain. This begins to happen around the age of 25. The good news is that there are foods that are abundant in collagen and can help boost your production. These foods can be found. I’m going to share with you the top five foods that are packed with collagen that I believe you should immediately begin including in your diet. There are three primary types of collagen, and they are denoted by the numbers 1, 2, and 3. Different components of the body can reap the benefits of each of these varieties. It is common to find types 1 and 3 together, and this combination is optimal for the health of your hair, skin, and nails. Together, types 1 and 3 make up about 90% of all the collagen in your body. Because type 2 is the most beneficial for your joints, you should prioritize it if you’re recovering from an injury or if you’re an athlete.
1. Bone broth.
If you’ve done any research at all on collagen, the inclusion of bone broth on this list won’t come as a surprise to you. Since collagen accounts for nearly 30 percent of the mass of our bones, it stands to reason that bone broth contains a significant amount of this protein. In order to extract the collagen from the bones, the process requires a protracted simmering in liquid, which breaks down the collagen. I’ve read a lot of articles that list foods that are good for collagen production, but many of the foods on these lists don’t actually contain collagen; rather, they assist your body in producing its own collagen. Collagen is present in the foods, or, more specifically, the beverages, that we are talking about, and it is present in a form that is bioavailable, meaning that our bodies can immediately put it to use. There is no specific type of bone that must be used when making bone broth; any bone will do. The most amount of type 1 and type 3 collagen can be found in beef bone broth, while the most amount of type 2 collagen can be found in chicken bone broth, and the most amount of type 1 collagen can be found in fish broth. Although it’s not difficult to make bone broth at home, making it for the first time can be a little tricky. You’ll find a link to the video of my recipe for bone broth up above; it’s a minute and a half long, so if you want to make your own, check out that video after you finish reading this. You can also purchase bone broth already prepared from a number of different brands.
Unfortunately, our kettle and fire are only available in the United States. The other brand is called Meadow and Marrow, and their version of bone broth is a concentrate that requires you to dilute it with boiling water using one teaspoon. Although they are based in Australia, I believe that they ship all over the world. Because this is a question that I’ve been asked before, let me explain how you actually consume bone broth. You can reheat it and enjoy it out of a mug, as it tastes great no matter how you consume it. Additionally, you can put it to use in the kitchen. It is one of my favorite ways to cook, but if I have a tougher cut of meat, I put it in the slow cooker with a little bone broth and let it cook all day. The end result is so delicious.
2. Salmon skin.
Salmon skin is another good source of collagen. It has about one-third collagen, most of which is type 1. In addition, the skin of salmon contains the highest concentration of omega-3 fatty acids of any fish, in the form of DHA and EPA, both of which are beneficial to skin health and can be found in salmon.
EPA specifically helps block the release of substances that eat away at your collagen, and fish collagen actually has a smaller particle size than other types of animal collagen, which makes it even more bioavailable—up to 1.5 times other types of collagen, yes, they are very bioavailable, but fish is just more so, and you might be starting to see a bit of a trend here in that the parts of the body that collagen benefits are actually the same parts of the body that it comes from in a circular fashion. Fish collagen has been
Make sure that the skin is still on the fish that you buy, whether it’s salmon or any other kind of fish for that matter. In addition to the fact that your skin and hair will thank you, eating crispy salmon skin is incredibly tasty.
3. Egg Shells.
I’ll wager that you did not anticipate this turn of events. It is not the egg shell itself that contains the collagen; rather, it is the eggshell membrane that coats the inside of the shell and is rich in type one collagen. The egg shell itself does not contain any collagen. It’s possible that you’re wondering how on earth you’ll be able to eat egg shells, but the process is actually quite simple. You can turn them into a really fine powder by pulverizing them in a blender or food processor and then adding them to your food in that form.
In addition to having a high concentration of collagen, the shells of our eggs are also an excellent source of calcium, which contributes even further to the improvement of joint health. Because the recommended daily allowance for calcium is one thousand milligrams and one gram of eggshells has approximately 400 milligrams of calcium, it is not necessary to consume a very large quantity of eggshells in order to experience the health benefits associated with eating them. Eggshell powder and capsules made of eggshell membrane are both available for purchase.
4. Pork skin.
This includes scratching crackling and rinds, and once again because these foods are made out of pork skin, it makes sense that they are rich in collagen. Pork skin can be cooked by the individual, and you can prepare pork skin in a variety of ways. My preferred method is to cut it into pieces and then cook them in an air fryer. In addition, you can acquire pork skin by purchasing a pork roast that has the skin still attached to it.
You also have the choice of purchasing these items already manufactured. You can buy all of them at the market, but there is one thing you need to watch out for, and that is that they have not been cooked in vegetable oil. Because eating foods cooked in vegetable oil causes DNA damage, eating foods like pork rinds that have been cooked in vegetable oil is going to have a negative impact on the health of your skin, hair, and nails.
5. Shellfish.
The last item on our list is shellfish, which includes foods like oysters, crab, and shrimp. These have the highest concentration of type one collagen, and they are frequently used as the source material for marine collagen powders, which are also sold commercially.