There are foods that promote collagen production within your body naturally!
Recently there’s been a huge upward movement of taking collagen supplements or a vegan collagen booster, but for those who have dietary restrictions or don’t want to take supplements, there’s tons of foods that promote collagen naturally.
Adding these foods to improve skin elasticity into your diet is going to be much easier than you think once you see how many foods, both vegetarian and not, can increase collagen production.
TL;DR: Bone broth is the best food source for collagen. This bone broth, simmered for 20+ hours and sold every 46 seconds, is a delicious must-have in your kitchen. Keep reading for vegan, vegetarian and animal-derived collagen sources.
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Vegan and Vegetarian Foods That Boost Collagen
If you want to know how to restore collagen in face naturally, then RUN to the fruit and vegetable aisle of your grocery store. A vegan collagen booster won’t give you collagen directly, but eating fruits and vegetables will help boost the body’s natural production of collagen!
Bell Peppers, Kiwi, Grapefruit & Oranges
Foods like bell peppers, kiwi, grapefruit and citrus fruits are high in vitamin C, which help boost collagen production in your body.
They also provide important amino acids and antioxidants, which are valuable for your gut health, immune system and general skin health.
Leafy Green Vegetables
Leafy green vegetables like kale, arugula and broccoli also have the vitamin C you need to increase collage production in your body and antioxidants to prevent collagen breakdown.
These leafy greens are nutrient-dense and low in calorie so they’re overall a great food to add to your diet.
Flaxseeds, Chia Seeds, Walnuts & Hemp Seeds
Foods like flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts and hemp seeds have omega-3 fatty acids. They help maintain health skin cells, which have a protective, fatty layer that promotes plump, youthful looking skin!
Don’t get enough collagen-boosting foods or protein in your diet?
We recommend this 5-Star Plant Based Collagen Building Protein Peptides.
Get 10% off with coupon ‘wholehab10’.
Omnivore and Pescatarian Foods That Boost Collagen
Bone Broth
Learning how to stimulate collagen production in skin is as easy as drinking bone broth! It’s one of the best foods out there for collagen production because of its source.
Most types of collagen come from parts of the body like bones, joints and ligaments, which is exactly what you’ll get when making bone broth.
You can get collagen from all different types of bone broth such as beef bone broth, chicken bone broth and even fish bone broth.
To make homemade bone broth, every time you eat chicken or beef, save the bones in a bag in the freezer. Then when the bag gets full, use an Instant Pot to pressure cook all the bones in water.
Making delicious bone broth can be quite time consuming so if you want something more convenient, Kettle and Fire makes excellent bone broth has been slow-simmered for 20+ hours. They have a bunch of flavors such as classic beef, chicken, coconut curry lime, mushroom chicken and more.
See why over 6,500 people gave their grass fed bone broth 5-stars.
Salmon
Salmon is one of the most collagen rich foods for skin and hair. It’s packed with essential and non-essential amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids necessary for health collagen production. Omega-3 fatty acids help promote plump and youthful-looking skin.
Try to buy wild-caught salmon over farmed salmon. Wild-caught salmon has less calories and half the fat content of farmed salmon of the same size (USDA). It does have less omega-3 fatty acids than farmed salmon but it has 20% less saturated fat so wild-caught salmon is overall healthier than farmed salmon.
If you don’t get enough salmon in your diet, there is collagen made from wild-caught, non-GMO fish from Alaska. Since it’s made from fish, it’s good for omnivores, pescatarians and even halal diets. It’s dairy free and gluten free collagen!
See why this marine collagen got 5-stars.
Eggs
Egg whites not only have collagen but they also contain large amounts of lysine and proline (amino acids). They help your body’s production of collagen.
They’re good for so many different types of diet, which makes this a versatile collagen boosting food.
If you’re eating eggs because you need keto-friendly collagen sources, you might like our post about keto collagen powder.
Why People Take Collagen Supplements + Recommendations
Even though there are so many collagen rich foods, people still may take collagen supplements to really increase the levels of collagen in their body. This will allow for more noticeable results in the skin, hair and even the joints.
Others may take collagen supplements simply because their diet isn’t as varied or good enough to see a noticeable difference in collagen production.
If you feel like you need collagen supplements in addition to adding these collagen rich foods into your diet, we recommend these supplements.
- For omnivores (meat eaters), you’ll want bone broth and/or this multi-collagen that’s good for skin, hair, nails, joints and bones.
- For pescatarians, you’ll want collagen made from wild-caught, non-GMO fish from Alaska.
- For vegans and vegetarians, you’ll want this collagen peptides booster that also has 14g of protein. Get 10% off with coupon ‘wholehab10’.
Note: More often than not, plant based collagens being sold are actually boosters, not actual vegan collagen made from yeast. Read more about them here.
Will you be drinking this 20+ hour simmered, 5-star bone broth or adding these foods that promote collagen to your diet?
Comment below!