Collagen Rich Foods: Diet & Food High in Collagen (for Joints & Skin)

The older we get, the more we have to complain about, like our sagging skin and deepening forehead wrinkles—not to mention our aching joints.

Luckily, there are a number of things we can do to reverse or slow down these signs of aging and at the top of the list is improving our diet.

It may come as no surprise that the foods we eat can have a huge impact on the way we look and feel. While there are many different approaches to eating an anti-aging diet, there's are several reasons why collagen is one of the buzziest ingredients in the diet and skincare markets.

This little protein contains a few essential properties that can make all of the difference when it comes to rejuvenating our skin and body from the inside out.

It plays an integral part in the health of our connective tissue, bones, muscles, and digestive system. It's practically what holds us together.

We can also thank collagen for giving our skin its shape, suppleness, and stretch. In fact, by eating collagen-rich foods, your body is able to amplify collagen production and create the building blocks that you need to achieve all of your anti-aging skin goals.

To find out more, let’s take a look at why it’s important to eat food with collagen, the benefits of collagen, and the best collagen foods to include in your diet for plump, supple skin and a healthier body.

Why Should We Eat Collagen-Rich Food?

While our bodies are able to produce collagen on their own, our body’s ability to produce this protein takes a nosedive around the age of 35. And, as we start to lose collagen faster than we can produce it, we start to notice things like joint pain, smaller muscles, digestive issues, thinning hair, and worst of all—more wrinkles, thinning skin, and sagging.

That’s why so many people turn to collagen-rich foods and supplements with specific collagen peptides to make up for the collagen they’ve lost.

Eating foods high in collagen provides a bioavailable form of this protein that your body is able to use immediately. And, as far as seeing visible results, eating dietary collagen is a far better way to boost collagen when compared to consuming most oral collagen supplements.

Benefits of the Collagen Diet

Some of the health benefits of incorporating more collagen in your diet include:

Collagen Food for Skin Health

Our skin relies on type I and type III collagen for its youthful, plump, and supple appearance. Without collagen—and its BFF elastin—our skin would be saggy, thin, and wrinkly.

Multiple studies have shown that taking collagen supplements can help improve skin elasticity, and the appearance of fine lines, and wrinkles, like crow feet eyes.

Collagen Foods for Muscles (Connective Tissues)

As we get older, our muscles begin to deteriorate. Consuming food rich in collagen or taking collagen pills can help slow down the loss of collagen and help us retain our muscle strength. A study that followed older men showed that those who took collagen supplements during a 12-week exercise regimen, when compared to those who didn’t supplement with collagen, gained much more strength and overall muscle mass. The men in this study took 15 grams of collagen per day. 10

Collagen & Amino Acids for Bones

Studies have shown that increasing your collagen intake can have a positive impact on your bone mineral density and bone markers. One study in particular showed that post-menopausal women were able to increase their bone mineral density with collagen peptide supplements. 11

Can Foods Damage Your Natural Collagen?

What do pasta, cake, donuts, and potato chips all have in common? While they’re all undeniably delicious, these foods can make us look older than we actually are.

Consuming sugar and processed foods can contribute to the production of excess free radicals. Over time, excessive free radicals can weaken our cells, trigger inflammation throughout the body, and cause premature aging.

Besides including more collagen food sources into our diet, saying goodbye to inflammatory foods can be just as helpful if we want to look our best. If you’re not ready to let go of the occasional sweet treat, supplementing with an antioxidant, like LAC Masquelier’s French Pine Bark Extract Original OPC, can help reduce oxidative stress throughout your skin and body.

The powerful antioxidants in each vegan, gluten-free tablet help neutralize free radicals, improve circulation, strengthen the immune system, and protect our own collagen from long-term damage.

4 Best Foods Rich in Collagen (Dietary Collagen)

Wondering what foods have collagen in them? While there are certain foods that can assist your body’s natural collagen production (which we’ll go over later), there are only a few foods that are natural sources of collagen.

The only foods that contain collagen itself come from animal sources because the connective tissues (skin, bones, cartilage, and tendons) of animals are rich in these vital fibrous proteins.

Unfortunately for our vegan friends, there are no naturally occurring plant-based sources of collagen. While you can find collagen supplements that are vegan, the source of this protein in these collagen supplements is a genetically modified product, or GMO. A vegan collagen supplement is made up of bacteria and yeast that have been manufactured to produce collagen.

If you’re ready to upgrade your healthy diet by consuming collagen-packed foods, take a look below. We’ve listed some of the top healthy foods containing collagen for skin, connective tissues, and joints.

1. Bone Broth

This collagen-filled superfood goes all the way back to the cavemen (and women). Bone broth has been around for centuries, but it's only come back in popularity recently.

Although we may make bone broth a little bit different now, benefits have stayed the same.

To make collagen bone broth, you need to have three things: Animal bones, water, and time. Similar to how gelatin is made, bone broth is made by simmering animal bones for anywhere from 36 to 48 hours.

As the broth slowly simmers, the bones and connective tissues are break down and release collagen, nutrients, and amino acids that give this concoction its health benefits.

Far beyond improving skin elasticity, nutrients like calcium, magnesium, glucosamine, and chondroitin are what make bone broth one of the best collagen rich foods for joints and joint pain.

You can make bone broth from any animal bones you may have, like chicken, pork, lamb, or goat. But, if you want to get the most out of your broth, then beef bones are the way to go since they are one of the best sources of collagen type I.

Whether you use bone broth as the base of your soup or drink it on its own, consuming collagen rich food by the spoonful has never been easier (or tastier).

2. Poultry

Did you know you can treat your turkey neck with poultry? Chicken and turkey are chock-full of connective tissue, making them great options for those of us who want to boost our collagen intake.

It may surprise you that the part of the chicken with the highest amount of collagen is the feet. While they might not be the most attractive part of the bird, the feet are made up of 70% collagen.

With respect to your joints, a few studies have shown that the connective tissue in the chicken’s neck and cartilage can help improve or relieve joint pain related to arthritis. 5

3. Fish

Not into eating meat? You’re in luck! One of the most easily absorbed versions of dietary collagen is marine (fish) collagen. It’s really the chicken of the sea.

What makes marine collagen stand out above the rest is its high levels of three amino acids that are essential for collagen production: Lysine, proline, and glycine. 3

Unfortunately, the meaty flesh of the fish isn’t where the majority of collagen is stored. You can find most of the fish’s collagen located in its bones, scales, and eyeballs.

If you’re not ready to chew on fish skin and eyeballs for the sake of beauty, you can get all of the skin health benefits, without the fishy flavor by supplementing with Taut Premium Collagen Powder.

The hydrolyzed collagen formula is combined with hyaluronic acid and grape seed extract, to boost collagen production, deeply nourish the skin, and improve skin elasticity.

Since liquid collagen supplements have been shown to be more readily absorbed, this premium collagen peptide powder quickly dissolves within seconds of hitting your tongue, providing a better and more efficient delivery system for enhancing your skin and reversing skin aging.

Just one to two sachets of these peptides can provide that collagen boost that you’ve been looking for.

4. Organ Meats

These may be some of the least popular items on this list, but organ meats such as liver, kidneys, and heart, are some of the best collagen food sources. For those of us with joint pain, sagging skin, and excess wrinkles, eating collagen rich offal is worth a try. How do wrinkles form? RenewSkin Inc. explains.

Organ meats also provide vitamins and nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin B-12, zinc, vitamin C, iron, protein, folate, selenium—the list goes on and on. 4

If you’re hesitant to try organ meats, don’t worry, once they’re cooked they’re not as awful as they sound.

Top 6 Collagen Production Foods (Collagen Synthesis)

Collagen rich foods aren’t the only things we can eat to support our skin. There is a wide range of foods that contain vitamins and nutrients that help our bodies with collagen synthesis. Specifically, foods containing zinc, vitamin C, copper, and protein can promote healthy collagen production and younger-looking skin. Here are the top 8 best foods that increase collagen synthesis:

1. Eggs

We’re not sure whether the chicken or the egg came first, but eggs certainly do come on top as far as protein-rich foods that offer a boost to your collagen levels and overall skin health. What is dead skin? RenewSkin Inc. explains.

While most of the egg’s benefits can be found in the yolk, the whites contain high amounts of the amino acids glycine and proline. These two amino acids are essential when it comes to collagen production.

2. Oysters

Oysters: You either love them, or you hate them. If you’re still on the fence, you may be swayed by their skin and health benefits.

These shellfish have high levels of two collagen-loving minerals: Zinc and copper.

Zinc and copper are needed for your body to synthesize collagen. Without these two minerals, your body would have a hard time producing enough collagen to keep your connective tissues, skin, and digestive system working properly.

Oysters also have vitamins and minerals like vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, manganese, and selenium. 6

3. Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits are famously full of vitamin C, giving them their immune-boosting benefits. However, vitamin C is just as incredible when it comes to supporting collagen and overall skin health.

Vitamin C is needed by our fibroblasts to create collagen throughout our body, including our connective tissue and our skin.

Besides helping our skin produce more collagen, the antioxidant properties of vitamin C help defend our skin’s collagen fibers from free radical damage. 7, 8

4. Berries

Berries, like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries, are some of the best healthy foods you can reach for when you’re in the mood for a sweet treat. Not only do they have benefits for your skin, but they may also lower your chance of developing certain health conditions and diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.

Berries pack a powerful punch of antioxidants, which can help improve or maintain your skin elasticity by supporting your existing collagen levels. Several studies on the antioxidants in berries have been shown that berries may help lower chronic inflammation.

Antioxidants can also eliminate excessive free radicals that cause skin imperfections, hyperpigmentation, and age spots. Dietary supplements, like Taut Bright, can provide our skin with the right amount of powerful antioxidants and active ingredients to shed excess free radicals and lighten the skin naturally. 9

These skin whitening pills by RenewSkin Inc. contain 7 ingredients that have been proven by science to help lighten and brighten the skin. One of which is the mother of all antioxidants, L-Glutathione. L-Glutathione is a protein that is abundant in our cells. Supplementing with glutathione helps detoxify the body by reducing oxidative stress and boosting the immune system. Along with a few other powerful antioxidants, like l-cysteine, grape seed extract, and alpha-lipoic acid, this supplement also contains vitamin C, which has strong anti-aging benefits due to its ability to stimulate collagen production.

5. Nuts and Seeds

A healthy diet isn’t complete without nuts and seeds. Certain nuts and seeds, like pistachios and pumpkin seeds, are high in lysine, an amino acid that is necessary for the creation of collagen.

Nuts and seeds also contain collagen-friendly vitamins, minerals, and nutrients like protein, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, and copper.

6. Bell Peppers

This nightshade is rich in vitamin C. So much so, that one whole bell pepper can provide you with the necessary daily intake levels that your body needs.

As we’ve mentioned before, vitamin C can give your body a collagen boost since it is an essential cofactor for your body to create collagen.

Along with vitamin C, bell peppers contain the nutrient capsaicin, which has been shown to enhance the stability of the collagen fibers in our connective tissues and promote the regeneration of new cells.

To maximize your skin benefits, choose red bell peppers since they have the highest amounts of vitamin C and capsaicin when compared to green and yellow peppers.

Give Your Skin a Boost With Taut Collagen Supplements

Jumpstart collagen production with the highest-quality, top-notch collagen peptides to make your dream skin a reality.

We know by now that collagen is the most essential building block for youthful and plump skin. And, losing collagen as we get older leads to more wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging.

Unfortunately, collagen molecules in their native state are too large for the human body to break down and digest—which is where Taut comes in.

Our Taut Liquid Collagen Advanced Formula uses a revolutionary patented hydrolysis technology to break down collagen—that’s been sourced from wild-caught red snapper fish from the Indian Ocean—into micro-sized pieces called collagen peptides. Only after this process are these collagen peptides small enough to be easily absorbed into our bloodstream, trigger the ‘would repair response’ and produce new collagen.

This collagen supplement contains a powerful 13,000mg of hydrolyzed marine collagen peptides (type I and type III collagen) that are the right molecular size to supercharge your skin by restoring collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid and stopping the aging process in its tracks.

To experience a radiant transformation and a true collagen boost, daily oral collagen supplementation is recommended. That’s why we’ve developed our Ms. Magnifique Transformation Program.

This bundle combines our most effective and synergistic products to target wrinkles, fine lines, sagging skin, skin elasticity, uneven skin tone, and other skin imperfections. Our unique skin transformation program comes with 3 boxes of our liquid collagen supplements, so you can jumpstart collagen production in as little as 3 weeks.

The program also comes with 1 box of Taut Bright, to support your existing collagen and minimize hyperpigmentation and age spots, and Taut Collagen Mask, for those days when your skin needs a quick-me-up. Our collagen masks are brimming with premium, nano-sized hydrolyzed collagen peptides which are tiny enough to penetrate deep into your pores to give your skin instant rejuvenation.

Not sure which transformation program is best for you? Use our skincare guide to find a program that’s right for your skin.

References

1. Collagen
2. Anti-Aging and Redox Effects of Marine Collagen Peptides and Plant Antioxidants: A Single-Blind Case-Control Study
3. Marine Collagen: 6 Health Benefits, Side Effects & More
4. Are There Health Benefits to Eating Organ Meat?
5. Ingestion of BioCell Collagen®, a novel hydrolyzed chicken sternal cartilage extract
6. Oysters: Are They Good for You?
7. Efficacy of Vitamin C Supplementation on Collagen Synthesis and Oxidative Stress After Musculoskeletal Injuries
8. The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health
9. Berries: anti-inflammatory effects in humans
10. Collagen Peptides with Resistance Training Improve Body Composition and Muscle Strength in Elderly Sarcopenic Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial
11. Specific Collagen Peptides Improve Bone Mineral Density and Bone Markers in Postmenopausal Women