- What is collagen?
Collagen is a protein. Think of collagen as the building blocks for our hair, skin, nails, bones, muscles. It gives our bodies structure. Our body naturally produces this protein but as we get older, we produce less and less… and the protein that we do produce is lower quality. There are nutrients that can help increase production, like vitamin C.
2. Where can you get collagen?
You can also get collagen through eating chicken and pork skin, drinking bone broth, or supplementing with powdered… like gelatin and powdered animal tissue. Sorry! No fun way to put it.
3. What does collagen do for the body?
Collagen gives structure to the body. Supplementing with collagen can increase muscle mass when combined with strength training, improve symptoms of arthritis and decrease progression, increase bone density, and it can help to repair the gut wall lining which will help improve digestion. It also gives our skin a supple and smooth texture as well as helping with hair growth. (David’s arthritis in his finger joints has dramatically improved).
4. How concerned should we be about quality?
Very! If you are a meat-eater, I would venture to guess that you don’t want to eat the lowest quality of meat. Collagen is the same thing but companies can get even sneakier. Because these supplements usually come in powder or pill form, you can’t see the meat or which part of the animal you are ingesting. Make sure you do your research to find a brand that is transparent and trusted.
5. How do I incorporate it into my diet?
In powdered form, you can add a scoop to your morning coffee, matchalatte, herbal tea, or smoothie. It typically does not change the taste of the beverage unless it is flavored collagen. You can also take collagen in pill form. Or you can get collagen through foods rich in it… like bone broth.
The brand Taylor uses
I personally use marine collagen from wild fish scales and I like the brand WithinUs. For a bovine option, Great Lakes is my pick.
