Add These Foods To Your Diet for an Amazing Skin
Collagen is a skin protein that is known to give the skin a definite structure. It also gives the skin its elasticity and stretch, as well as its suppleness. Without collagen, your skin would be hard and dry, and all you would be experiencing would be skin breaks, which can be very painful and harmful to the body, as infections and diseases can gain access into your body from those breaks.
There are different types of collagen. However, according to experts, the human body is made up of types 1, 2, and 3. In addition, these collagen substances decline and depreciate as we age. That is, we begin to notice less production of collagen in our skins as we grow older. This is why you might begin to notice thinning skin and wrinkles on your skin in your old age. For these reasons, people, especially aged people who still want to always look as youthful as possible, supplement their diets with collagen supplements.
Collagen supplements are good and can be great sources of collagen production and release for your skin. However, it is best to consider healthy and natural foods that can do the same job as collagen supplements.
Some foods have been identified to contain compounds, substances, and properties that can help boost the body’s production of collagen. Considering foods first would provide some of the other benefits that supplements cannot provide. For example, some collagen-rich food sources contain bioavailable collagen that, when consumed, the body can make use of it instantly. This alone makes these foods more superior to supplements. In fact, skin experts have confirmed that skin vegetables and fruits are the best and safest foods to consume for boosting and enhancing skin health.
In addition, supplements are unregulated and do not have definite dosages. This can put you at the risk of taking an overdose. It is safer and more advisable to stick to natural foods that can provide collagen support to your health.
Other benefits of eating collagen-boosting foods include the creation of amino acids that are essential for the synthesis of collagen into lysine, proline, and glycine.
The following foods are collagen boosting foods. See why you should add these foods to your diet.
Bone Broth
Bone broth is made from the cooking of animal bones with different natural spices. Although there is no indication to prove that bone broth can supply collagen directly to the body. However, it contains bones and connective tissues that are packed with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, glucosamine, collagen, amino acids, chondroitin, and other essential nutrients.
The best way to get a nutrient-rich bone broth is by getting quality bones from a reliable butcher and making the broth at home by yourself.
Chicken
Chicken holds a lot of connective tissues, and this is why eating chicken can give your collagen levels a boost. In fact, it has been observed that most collagen supplements are made from chicken. This is as a result of chicken’s high amounts of essential nutrients that can boost collagen levels.
The connective tissues are said by experts to be the secret behind its collagen-boosting effects on the skin. This is why most arthritis treatments use chicken cartilage and chicken neck as a source of treatment.
Fish and Shellfish
Shellfish and fish both have collagen, just like every other animal. In fact, aquatic collagen boosting food sources have been discovered to be the easiest to be absorbed by the body.
Eating fish and shellfish can give your collagen levels a boost. Although, researchers suggest that more collagen-boosting properties reside in the skin of the fish than in the meaty part of the fish. Nevertheless, this does not suggest you should ignore other parts of the fish or shellfish, as they can supply your body with other essential nutrients that can keep your health on track.
Fish skin over the years has been used by experts to make collagen peptides.
Egg Whites
Eggs are on the top of the list of the most nutritious foods in the world. In addition to this, it is one of the easiest foods to incorporate into your diet. Although, from the above part of the article, we have identified connective tissues as the sources of a collagen boost. However, eggs do not have connective tissues. The question now is, how do eggs boost collagen in the body? To answer this, eggs contain a compound known as proline, and their proline contents are very high. This proline is one of the most important amino acids required for the boost or production of collagen in the body.
Citrus
All vitamins play prominent roles in the body. However, when it comes to the protection and boosting of skin health, vitamin C tops the list. Vitamin C, according to research, is an essential vitamin in the production of pro-collagen, which is what the body needs prior to the production of collagen itself. This is why getting enough vitamin C is important, as it makes it easier for your body to produce collagen on its own.
Certain fruits have been identified to be rich sources of vitamin C, and they include; lemons, grapefruits, oranges, and limes. You can enjoy these fruits by adding them to salads or boiling them, especially grapefruits.
Berries
Berries are also rich sources of vitamin C. in fact, people ascribe the glory of all its health benefits to its vitamin C contents. In fact, recent research showed that berries like strawberries contain more vitamin C contents than oranges, while other berries like raspberries, black, and blueberries also contain reasonable amounts of vitamin C.
In addition to these health benefits, berries contain high amounts of antioxidants that help in the protection of the skin against both internal and external damages.
Tropical Fruits
Tropical fruits are also known to be vitamin C-rich. Just as mentioned above, vitamin C provides pro-collagen to the body, a substance that makes the production of collagen in the body easier.
Some of these tropical foods that happen to be rich sources of collagen boost and production include; kiwi, pineapple, guava, mango. Another essential compound or nutrient that is required for the faster and easier production of collagen is zinc. Meanwhile, guava, tropical fruit, contains high amounts of zinc, thus, making it one of the best tropical fruits to be consumed for the boost and production of collagen.
Garlic
Garlic is not only used as a natural kitchen spice. It can also be used for different medicinal purposes. One of the renowned health benefits of garlic is the protection of skin health as a result of its high antioxidants levels. In other words, garlic can play a vital role in the production of collagen in the body. In addition, it has high sulfur contents, which prevents and synthesizes the breakdown or complete elimination of collagen in the body.
It is necessary to see that the amount of garlic you consume determines the results you will get. This means you might need a lot of garlic to get good results In your collagen levels.
You can supplement your regular diet with garlic, as it does not only support your skin health but can also enhance the aroma and taste of your foods by adding flavor to your diet.
Leafy Green Vegetables
Leaf green vegetables provide the body with numerous health benefits. Coupled with this, they can also be used as aesthetics for your foods. It is one thing to eat sweet foods. It is another thing to eat sweet foods that are appealing to the eyes.
Green leafy vegetables contain antioxidant properties that are known to play important roles in the support and enhancement of skin health. They get their greenness from chlorophyll.
Some of these healthy green leafy vegetables include; Kale, spinach, Swiss chard, and other greens that are good enough for salads.
Studies have found that the chlorophyll contents in green leafy vegetables are a precursor to collagen.
In conclusion, collagen is important if you must have healthy- and good-looking skin. It is responsible for your skin’s structure and suppleness. Due to aging, the collagen in your skin might begin to depreciate, and two ways have been identified to help you boost your collagen levels, both of which include the supplementation of your diet with collagen supplement and the consumption of foods that have properties that can boost your collagen levels.
