We all need collagen to keep our skin soft and smooth, our hair and nails strong, and our joints loose and pain-free. Collagen is also important for the stability of many of the skeletal systems in the body. It plays a role in how our skin, nails, skeleton, ligaments, and tendons are built and how they work.
As you age, your body needs more and more collagen. Given how important collagen seems to be, it makes sense to wonder what kinds of foods will give our bodies the most protein. So, what kinds of foods have the most collagen?
Collagen is often found in foods made from animals, but it can also be found in foods made from plants. Collagen can be found in chicken broth, bone broth, berries, broccoli, aloe vera juice, and other foods.
Let’s learn about the different foods that give our bodies collagen.
What kinds of foods have the most collagen?
Collagen is a part of an animal’s connective tissues, so it is found in a lot of animal products. Still, collagen can also be found in some plants. So, here are some foods that have a lot of collagen:
1) Broth of bones
One of the best places to get collagen is from bone broth. Collagen and minerals are taken from chicken, beef, or other animal bones by cooking them. During this process, collagen is taken from the bones and skin and added to the broth.
This is how nutrients, like glycine and collagen, are taken out of bones. The bones are then taken out, leaving a collagen-rich, nutrient-dense soup.
Still, the amount of collagen is different for each bone and tissue. At the grocery store, you can buy or make bone broth.
2) Fish
Fish is another meal that is high in collagen. Like other animal products, fish has bones and connective tissues that are made of collagen. Some people say that marine collagen is one of the easiest to absorb.
Research shows that fish collagen has the same anti-aging effects as cow collagen. You’ll get more collagen if you eat a tuna sandwich for lunch or salmon for dinner, but keep in mind that the “flesh” of fish has less collagen than its bones or other parts that don’t look as good.
3) Eggs
Glycine and proline are two of the most important amino acids that make up collagen. They are found in egg whites. But don’t throw away the yolks. They are full of vitamin D and healthy fats that help keep your skin, bones, and muscles healthy.
Eggs are a great way to start the day because they are full of protein, whether you like them soft-boiled or scrambled.
4) Chicken
There is a reason why chicken is used to make a lot of collagen supplements. There is a lot of the substance in the most popular white flesh. If you’ve ever cooked a whole chicken, you know that there’s a lot of connective tissue in the meat.
Because of this, chicken is a great way to get more collagen into your diet. Collagen is found in a lot of chicken parts, but especially in the feet.
5) Meat
Collagen is found in meat, especially red meats like beef, pork, and lamb.
These animals have a lot of connective tissue that needs collagen for the same reason that humans do: it helps their muscles work right. So eating these collagen-rich foods can help you get more collagen in your body.
6) Citrus Fruits
Vitamin C is an important part of making pro-collagen. It is also the building block for collagen in the body. So, getting enough vitamin C is very important.
Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes are all good sources of this vitamin. You could grill a grapefruit for breakfast or put orange segments in a salad.
7) Berries
Many people know that citrus fruits are a good source of vitamin C, but berries are also a good source. Strawberries have more vitamin C per ounce than oranges. Vitamin C is important for the body to make collagen. There are also a lot of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Berries are also full of antioxidants, which protect the skin from damage.
8) Broccoli
Broccoli is another nice and easy way to get more vitamin C into your diet. A cup of cooked or raw broccoli has all the vitamin C you need for a day. Vitamin C is needed to make collagen.
Vitamin C is needed to make collagen, but you don’t have to eat it at the same time as collagen-rich foods or supplements. It’s fine to eat both of these things throughout the day.
9) Garlic
Garlic might give stir-fry and pasta recipes more than just a good taste. It may also cause the body to make more collagen. Garlic has a lot of sulphur, which is a trace mineral that helps make collagen and keeps it from breaking down.
But it’s important to know how much you’re consuming. Collagen’s benefits are likely to require a lot of it.
10) Beans
Beans are a good source of protein and often contain the amino acids that are needed to make collagen. Also, many of them have a lot of copper, which is another ingredient needed to make collagen.
11) Leafy Greens
Everyone knows that leafy greens are a key part of a healthy diet. As it turns out, they may also be nice to look at. Spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and other salad greens get their colours from chlorophyll, which is known for its antioxidant effects.
Some research shows that eating chlorophyll makes the skin have more of a substance that turns into collagen.
Bottom Line
All of this was about which foods have the most collagen. So, we put them all in order based on how much collagen they have. Some don’t have collagen right away, but they do have nutrients that our bodies need to make collagen. Bone broth is the best place to get collagen. So either make it at home or buy one from a store to add it to your diet.
We hope this article helped and taught you something. Please share your good ideas and thoughts in the comments section.
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