Keeping your skin, hair, and nails healthy is as easy as taking a few bites of collagen-boosting foods. If you know which foods are rich in collagen, you can add them to your diet and get all the fantastic benefits that come with them. If you want to look and feel better, have a look at this article to see the best collagen-rich foods for skin and nails.

What is Collagen?

Collagen is one of the main proteins in your skin, and it is known as the framework that holds everything in place. As we age, our collagen synthesis slowly depletes and the proteins become weaker. This can lead to irritating skin aging problems such as weaker skin elasticity and wrinkles. By keeping your collagen levels up, you can prevent a dull-looking complexion while getting extra benefits like fantastic hair and strong nails. 

People also take collagen supplements for its medicinal benefits, and many seniors have found it helps them when it comes to their aching bones and joints. It is also involved in keeping our organs protected and our cardiovascular system working properly. Collagen depletion isn’t something that you can avoid, the body’s natural collagen production is going to slow whether you like it or not, but you can definitely help balance out those levels by taking a collagen supplement. 

What Are the Benefits of Collagen?

Collagen is found in many different parts of our body, including our intestines, connective tissues, and our cardiovascular system. Using a collagen supplement can help you in so many different ways when it comes to your overall health. Let’s take a look at a few of the ways collagen can help your body look and feel much better. 

Stronger Bones

Your bones need quite a few things to make sure they stay strong, and collagen is one of them. Collagen aids in bone growth and it also helps the bones become stronger. You should consider adding a daily collagen supplement to your diet if you have brittle bones. This could include eating more bone broth, citrus fruits, and other collagen-rich foods.

Tight and Glowing Skin

Adding extra collagen to your body could be one of the best ways to keep your skin firm and healthy for a long time. Collagen is well known for its skin benefits, and it is used in many different supplements that are formulated to help your skin tone. If you want to get the best benefits, start using a supplement before your skin starts to age too much. 

Long Thick Hair

Some of the amino acids that are found in collagen can help your hair retain its strength. Proline is one of the three amino acids that are found in collagen, and this acid is one of the main components of keratin (the main protein that is found in hair). Extra proline might help your hair when it comes to strength, luster, and volume, and that’s why many beauty experts recommend adding collagen to your diet. 

Healthy and Strong Nails

If you have brittle and weak nails, then a collagen supplement might be the best thing to consider if you want them repaired. Studies have been done on the correlation between collagen and nail health, and many of them found a decrease in breakage and an increase in growth from those who used collagen supplements. The amino acid arginine is found in collagen, and this acid is responsible for nail growth and nail health. 

Gain Muscle Mass

Many fitness fanatics know all of the great benefits that come along with adding collagen to a diet, and muscle mass is another one to add to the list. Two of the amino acids found in collagen (arginine and glycine) are both used by the body to make creatine. Creatine is one of the most critical components of building up muscle, and it’s often added to pre-workout supplements to give the body a boost. Adding it to your daily routine is fantastic for anyone who wants those extra gains after putting in that hard work. 

Top 10 Foods to Eat to Boost Collagen

Adding collagen-rich foods to your diet is another fantastic way to make sure you are getting enough collagen in your system as your levels drop. Some of these foods contain collagen peptides that are easy for your body to absorb, while others contain vital nutrients that can help collagen rebuild itself. It’s easy to incorporate these foods into your diet, and they all have extra benefits beyond collagen that make them ideal for anyone who wants a healthier diet. 

A healthy diet is one of the best ways to keep your skin under control, your nails strong and your hair looking healthy. These foods are a great addition to those who are worried about their collagen production. Have a look at some of the best foods you can eat to give your collagen levels a bit of a boost.

Bone Broth

Bone broth is definitely one of the most popular ways to get your collagen fixed, and it’s become a big hit in the last few years. Kylie Jenner mentioned drinking bone broth mixed with lavender and lemon in an interview, and many people started to flock to the shelves to get some of their own. 

It’s incredibly simple to make bone broth. It’s made by boiling animal bones to form a broth, and it’s packed with collagen and other essential amino acids. It also contains many other excellent nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, which makes it a fantastic way to give your body a boost of benefits. You can enjoy it in a variety of ways by itself or mixed into something else (like a sauce or smoothie) if you don’t enjoy the meaty flavor. 

Seafood

Seafood is a fantastic way to give yourself some extra collagen, but some seafood is actually better than others. We mentioned before how bones are one of the best sources of collagen, and many fish have edible bones, which are basically pure collagen. 

Other fish, like salmon, have collagen-rich scales, which makes tinned salmon very appealing to those who are looking for marine collagen. Eating the scales might not seem typical so consider making some salmon salad or mixing it with some breadcrumbs to form patties that will make for some delicious salmon burgers. 

Eggs

Eggs contain some excellent amino acids that help collagen build itself back up in your system. The shell membrane and egg whites are packed with rich nutrients that can help your collagen levels stay in a good place for a long time. The building blocks of collagen are just as important, and it’s good to have a well-rounded balance of foods that help your collagen and foods that contain collagen. 

The eggs themselves don’t actually contain collagen, but the connective tissue in between the egg and the shell will have quite a bit. The shell membrane is one of the best places to find nutrients, and some people choose to eat powdered shells in order to get all of the calcium they can. Grinding them into a powder (while including the egg membrane) and adding it to drinks or food is a fantastic way to get some of the best calcium sources on the planet. 

Chicken

Chicken is one of the healthiest proteins for your body, but you can also use it to add some extra collagen. Many clean sourced collagens use grain fed chicken in their formulas. If you make chicken soup, make sure you are adding all of the great connective tissues and bones into your soup so you can get all of the great collagen from them. Chicken soup is a great way to get a considerable amount of collagen from the scraps of a rotisserie. 

Many people from cultures all over the world also eat chicken feet, and these little snacks are packed full of chicken collagen due to the small bones. All chicken contains some collagen which makes it one of the most popular animals that collagen supplements are derived from, but the connective tissues are where it’s at. 

Broccoli

Broccoli is full of vitamin C and calcium, which can help your body when it comes to collagen production. It is also full of antioxidants which can help prevent your collagen breakdown while encouraging new collagen production, so you get twice the benefits! Broccoli is also a fantastic choice for those who want healthier skin and nails.

Another major nutrient that helps your body is vitamin K, and broccoli is known as one of the best sources, with a cup of broccoli equaling about 64%-86% of your body’s daily needs. Steamed broccoli is delicious (and it’s easy to mix into a smoothie or sauce) but if you are looking for a crunch, try it raw or even air fried. 

Milk

We already mentioned how vital calcium is when it comes to collagen production, and milk is the best place to get the calcium that your body can easily absorb. Dairy is full of fantastic proteins and amino acids that aid in building collagen and keeping it intact. Milk is also usually enriched with additional vitamins and nutrients that can help your body start strong. 

If you prefer plant-based milk, look for one made from legumes, or consider cashew-based milk. These kinds of milk have similar proteins to animal-based milk, and they can help build up your collagen system. Almond milk is full of great collagen-boosting building blocks, and it’s also rich in elastin, which will help your skin stay firm.

Berries

Berries are one of the best ways to add antioxidants and collagen to your diet. Red berries like raspberries are full of great vitamins that can help you keep your skin healthy and hydrated. Strawberries are also full of great stuff, including ellagic acid, which protects your skin against UV rays by halting the enzymes that often cause collagen disruption. 

Darker berries like blueberries and blackberries both contain collagen along with all of the other nutrients that are typically found in berries. Adding berries to your morning breakfast or snacking on them throughout the day is a quick and delicious way to make sure your body is getting the extra collagen it deserves. 

Walnuts

Amino acids, proteins, and vitamins aren’t the only things that can help build up your collagen. You also need to incorporate naturally occurring minerals like iron and copper in small amounts. Raw walnuts are great for this, and they can provide you with about 50% of your day’s value if you have a serving with your food. 

Walnuts also contain a plant-based protein that helps aid in collagen building. These are perfect for snacking on throughout the day or adding to a trail mix full of other healthy nuts and fruits. 

Brown Rice

Brown rice is well known for its protein, and it’s one of the main things that many vegetarians use to help keep their protein levels up. It contains plenty of great vitamins and copper and zinc, which can help strengthen your collagen proteins. 

Brown rice can be eaten by itself or incorporated into a dish so that you can get some bonus proteins. Why not mix some in with the chicken soup we mentioned earlier so you can give yourself a major boost of collagen and collagen helpers? 

Avocados

In the last few years, avocados have become the hottest food for a quick and healthy snack. People have finally started to see how many excellent health benefits these little green guys have, and it’s made them more popular than ever. 

The oils in avocados contain sterolins which are fantastic for keeping skin hydrated and healthy. Adding these to your diet will allow the collagen in your body to bond together for much longer, and it will reduce any dryness while plumping up the skin. Plump and healthy skin is much less susceptible to wrinkles and fine lines that accompany aging. 

The Bottom Line

Collagen is so important when it comes to keeping your body healthy, and it’s one of the best ways to reduce signs of aging. Adding a few of these collagen-boosting foods to your diet is a great idea, but you need about 2.5g -15g per day to see some results, so it’s a good idea to consider a supplement like one of the great ones from Organixx. 

Giving your body all of the additional nutrients it needs during aging is one of the best ways to make sure it stays healthy. Supplements come in many different forms, and they are easy to incorporate into your day. Collagen depletion is something we can’t avoid, but we can do our best to make sure it doesn’t happen faster than it needs to by ensuring our bodies have the extra collagen we need. It’s a good idea to start adding some collaging boosters to your body before you begin to see the signs of aging so you can hold onto that young-looking skin for as long as possible. 

For more information, check out these other great health articles to keep your body in tip-top shape!

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