Top 10 Foods Rich in Collagen for Natural Beauty

What is collagen?

Collagen is an essential body protein that helps maintain healthy joints, retains the natural beauty of the skin and also plays a part in other bodily maintenance. 

How can I maintain collagen levels?

If you’re looking for an answer to the question above, you’re in the right place. Collagen supplements are easily available on the offline and online markets. Supplements like collagen powders and collagen tablets may help regulate the collagen counts and thus result in slowing down the wear and tear of the body. 

As an example of variety, there’s collagen powder for skin, collagen tablets for skin as well as collagen capsules for skin that you can choose from. Collagen supplements for men and women have gained huge popularity in recent years. 

As mentioned above, you could choose to buy and use the best collagen supplement in India. However, if you’d prefer to try out a food-first approach, tons of collagen rich food items can be added to your daily diet.

Small changes and additions to your diet can help your body make more of its collagen, if you’re still unsure about taking other supplements.

Below is a list of 10 food items rich in collagen that could boost the levels in your body:

Bone broth is a great and delicious source of collagen type I. Collagen type I plays a huge role in maintaining hair, skin and nail health. Adding this to the diet may help slow down skin wear and tear, helping you retain your natural beauty for longer. 

Skin-on chicken is another great and tasty source of collagen. If you’re choosing this option for the collagen, then make sure that the skin is included in whatever form you buy the chicken. So remember to tell the butcher to keep the skin on, even if you’re getting smaller pieces. 

Fish collagen is predominantly found in the bones, skins and scales. That’s why it’s important to choose a fish that you would eat most of or a fish you would gobble up whole. Sardines is an example of such a fish that can be easily added to your daily diet. 

The animal organs such as the kidney, heart, liver and brain are known to be rich in collagen type I. However, if you’re not a big fan of eating animal organs, you could always still stick to the animal skin, bones and ligaments - which are enjoyed more commonly. 

Aloe Vera is found to have spiked collagen numbers in the middle layer of the skin (dermis layer). Aloe vera is also a widely popular ingredient in most skin-care thanks to its hydrating properties, and can help increase the longevity of your natural beauty. 

Proline is an amino acid necessary for collagen production in your body. Egg whites are a healthy source of proline, and can be added to the diet in several ways. They’re also a protein-rich option to add to the diet, making them quite the all-rounder.

We all love our citrus fruits, don’t we? While citrus fruits aren’t directly rich in collagen, they are rich in vitamin C which helps the body produce collagen. Citrus fruits are highly recommended for other benefits as well, so it’s always a good idea to include them in the diet.

Berries, similar to citrus fruits, are another rich source of vitamin C. You can eat berries as they are, pair them with a bit of yogurt, or even enjoy a berry smoothie! 

Another important contributor to collagen production is copper, which cashews are fairly rich in. So while cashews can’t directly help in the natural production of collagen in the body, they can definitely help boost it. As a bonus, cashews are also rich in zinc. Zinc helps speed up the body's repair system which essentially helps the body in it’s collagen production. 

There’s a reason why we’ve always been encouraged to maintain a diet that includes leafy greens. The leaves of greens like spinach and kale are rich in chlorophyll which helps boost collagen in the skin. 

Whenever you’re adding something to your diet, remember to keep the intake in moderation, as too much of something could possibly be harmful. 

So, Which one is a better supplement, collagen rich food items or collagen peptide tablets?

The answer could be different for each individual as it completely depends on your preferences. 

You could just as easily look for something like ‘collagen supplements for men’ and use them regularly, or you could add one of the foods listed above to your diet. 

There are a lot of different collagen products out there; such as collagen peptide tablets, collagen for skin whitening, collagen tablets for skin and collagen capsules for skin that can assist in maintaining collagen levels. Similarly, the food items listed above are widely available as well, so you could easily get your hands on either of these options.

You could always try one method first and then shift to the other, and choose the one that fits your liking. 

If you’re looking for collagen tablets for skin in India, we would recommend buying from known and reliable retailers. While collagen may help in maintaining natural beauty, it needs to come from an uncontaminated and reliable source. There are plenty of sites that sell the best collagen supplements in India, such as Amazon, Flipkart, Your Happy Life and Nykaa.