What is Collagen?

Ok, so lately on Instagram I feel like everyone is talking about collagen. Putting it in their smoothies, coffee, oats, EVERYTHING. I didn’t know that much about collagen, but since everyone is doing it I wanted to too!!!!

So first off, what exactly is collagen? Collagen is a protein that is naturally found in our bodies. It’s found in muscles, bones, skin, blood vessels, digestive system and tendons. It gives our skin strength and elasticity, along with replacing dead skin cells. 

As we get older, collagen gets depleted. Hello wrinkles! Dull hair! So taking a collagen supplement can increase your collagen production to help keep your skin looking young, radiant, and all that good stuff.

Unfortunately, most collagen supplements are produced from the bones, skin, and connective tissue of animals, including cattle, fish, horses, pigs, or rabbits. Umm….no thank you.

So I’ve been scouring the Internet looking for vegan alternatives. Be careful when you look for a plant based collagen. For some reason they will say it is vegan/veg but they are only talking about the capsules that incase the non-veg collagen. Makes no sense.

The one I found that I take everyday is Plant-Based Support Collagen Builder™ With Pro-Collagen Nutrients & Vitamin C by Reserveage. I definitely have started to see a difference in my skin. Hands down, I highly recommend this one.

Another one I found on Amazon is BioSil. I haven’t tried it yet but all the reviews sound amazing.

Also, don’t forget what you eat can support collagen formation:

Dark Green Vegetables - they’re high in vitamin Cwhich has anti oxidizing properties that stabilize the messenger enzymes that break down collagen.

Carrots and Sweet Potatoes - any veggies that is orange contains a lot of vitamin A which restores and regenerates damaged collagen.

Berries - help fight off free radicals and also increase collagen levels

Citrus Fruit - they help amino acids convert to collagen. Also another great source of vitamin c.

Soy - Soy milk, tofu, and tempeh contain a collagen production element called genistein. Besides producing collagen, genistein helps block enzymes that break down and age the skin. 

I could write about the beauty benefits of EVERY whole food to be honest, but these are the top ones. Can you see that a whole food lifestyle will make you feel and look amazing? Just saying….

Hope this helps! Let me know in the comments if there are any other wellness trends that need demystifying!