5 Top Collagen Foods to Include in Your Diet

Essential for maintaining healthy skin, collagen is a protein that helps keep skin looking youthful and firm. Collagen also aids in the healing process, eliminating age spots and wrinkles, and helping to protect skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Fortunately, collagen can be found in a wide variety of foods, making it easy to incorporate into your diet. Here are five top collagen foods to include in your diet for optimal skin health.

The most abundant source of dietary collagen comes in the form of animal sources. Beef, chicken, fish, and eggs all contain dietary collagen, and they are especially helpful for skin that is sensitive or exhibiting signs of aging. Beef, in particular, yields the highest concentration of collagen, making it an ideal choice for those looking to maximize their intake. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, legumes such as chickpeas, kidney beans, and lentils contain plant-based collagen that can also supply your body with the needed protein levels.

Additionally, bone broth is an excellent source of collagen. Traditionally used for healing an array of illnesses, bone broth is made by simmering beef bones for a length of time. The long cooking process releases the collagen from the bones, giving bone broth an incredibly powerful concentration of collagen that infuses the broth with its nutrient-dense properties.

Leeks, potatoes, and red bell peppers are also excellent sources of dietary collagen. All of these vegetables contain high amounts of Vitamin C, which helps the body to synthesize collagen, making them ideal for boosting skin health from within. Furthermore, increasing your daily intake of carbohydrates can also up your collagen levels. Specifically, incorporating complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, quinoa, buckwheat, beans, and oats will help supply your body with the protein it needs for optimal collagen production.

Finally, it’s important to balance your diet with foods that are rich in antioxidants to help combat the effect of free radicals. Full of antioxidant-packed berries, leafy greens, nuts, and seeds, a diet balanced with collagen-rich foods will do wonders for your skin.

In summary, incorporating these five collagen-rich foods into your diet will help ensure your skin is firm, smooth, and youthful. Eating a balanced diet that contains animal sources, leafy greens, and complex carbohydrates is essential for providing your skin with the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and youthful. Eat healthy, and your body will thank you with glowing skin!