What foods contain collagen

What is collagen

Collagen is the most abundant protein in our body, account for almost 30% of these compounds. It is the main building material for skin, muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels and other organs and tissues.

Proteins are made up of amino acids. The main amino acids for collagen assembly are proline, glycine and hydroxyproline. They are collected in chains, and then twisted into threads (fibrils) in the form of a triple helix.

In addition to amino acids, this requires vitamins and trace elements:

• vitamin C;
• zinc;
• copper;
• manganese.

Why you need collagen

Collagen does fabrics are strong and elastic, able to resist stretching. This protein:

• helps to grow new fibroblasts - cells in the deeper layers of the skin that produce hyaluronic acid and proteins;
• participates in the renewal of cells of the surface layers of the skin;
• enters the protective shell of organs;
• provides joint density;
• gives firmness and elasticity to the skin;
• helps blood to clot.

To put it simply, collagen holds together the whole body to each other.

Is it possible to get collagen from foods

Our body produces collagen for life. But with age or under the influence of harmful factors, it becomes less. For example:

• Smoking reduces collagen production and also damages collagen and elastin, leading to wrinkle formation and delayed wound healing. Nicotine constricts the blood vessels near the surface of the skin, which reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues.
• Due to the abundance of sweets in the diet, collagen becomes brittle and inelastic, because sugar attaches to proteins and damages their structure.
• Excess UV light reduces collagen production and accelerates its destruction.

This cannot be measured, but you can see that the wrinkles have become deeper, and the joints work worse. Therefore, people are trying to get valuable protein from the outside - from products and additives.

But here it is important to understand that in the gastrointestinal tract all large molecules break down into smaller ones so that they can be absorbed. This is how collagen from food is broken down into amino acids. So eating collagen-rich foods does not directly increase collagen levels in the body. The maximum that you can count on is getting additional building material. But even here there is a nuance: we cannot specify where the amino acids should go. For example, if the body as a whole lacks protein, then amino acids are more likely to be used for muscle maintenance than for collagen synthesis in the skin.

What foods contain collagen

As we already understood, foods rich in collagen will not transfer protein to our skin and joints, but only provide building material. But this is already something, because without amino acids to build proteins will not work.

bone broth

Bone broth is made by slowly simmering pork, beef, chicken, or fish bones with a small amount of vinegar added. This allows the bones to be broken down in order to "pull out" all the collagen and minerals. Usually it is not made at home, because it takes a very long time, but they are bought ready-made.

Countswhat it outputs toxins from the liver, improves digestion, smoothes wrinkles, strengthens bones and relieves joint pain. But it's still exaggerated. But such promotion is bearing fruit: marketers predict that in 2024 the bone broth market will approach $ 3 billion.

Fish

Collagen a lot of in the bones and skin of freshwater and marine fish. Bones, of course, do not need to be eaten, but it is quite possible to leave the skin on the carcass.

Meat

Collagen There is in meat, especially in hard pieces that have a lot of veins (connective tissue). But an excess of red meat is harmful to the body, so you should not abuse it.

Other products

Gelatin is essentially dried bone broth, only with the addition of skin and cartilage, also rich in collagen. So he too May be source of building materials for this protein.

What foods stimulate the production of your own collagen

You can also collect collagen from other proteins, because they are all made up of amino acids, which, in principle, are few in number. Therefore, in different chains, links are repeated in one way or another. You will also need zinc and vitamin C for synthesis.

Foods rich in protein

It is believed that certain foods high in protein contribute collagen production, since they contain the amino acids from which collagen is produced - glycine, proline and hydroxyproline. These include:

• fish;
• bird;
• meat;
• eggs;
• dairy products;
• legumes, including soy.

Foods Containing Vitamin C

Vitamin C can get of such products, How:

• citrus;
• red and green peppers;
• tomatoes;
• dark green leafy vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts).

Products containing zinc

Zinc also There is In some products, For example:

• in shellfish;
• legumes;
• meat;
• nuts;
• seeds;
• whole grains.