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25/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 26/07/2024 01:22

7 Foods With Collagen and What to Know About Them

Key takeaways:

  • Collagen is a protein that's only in animal foods and seafood. Collagen-rich foods can have a variety of nutrients, but they can also be high in fat.

  • Collagen supplements may help improve skin, joint, and bone health. But it's unclear if eating foods with collagen has the same health benefits.

  • Plant-based foods don't contain collagen. But foods like legumes, whole grains, and fermented soy contain amino acids, which might increase collagen production in the body.

hxyume/E+ via Getty Images

Collagen is a protein that gives your tissues structure and support. It has become a popular supplement for boosting skin, hair, and joint health. Your body naturally makes collagen, but the amount you produce decreases as you age.

Many people use collagen supplements. But does eating foods high in collagen have any benefit as you age? Let's look at natural sources of collagen that you can get from your diet.

What are collagen-rich foods?

Collagen occurs naturally in animal foods and seafood. Plant foods don't contain it. But if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, there are certain foods that might help your body make more collagen (more on this later).

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It's important to note that there's no evidence that collagen-rich foods actually help your body make more collagen. The research that does exist around collagen food sources comes from animal and lab studies.

Studies suggest that increasing your collagen intake through supplements may help treat conditions like aging skin, wound healing, and arthritis. It's hard to know if eating collagen-rich foods would have the same effect.

It's hard to study just one ingredient in someone's diet. That means there probably won't be much new research in the future on the health effects of collagen-rich foods. But many people still want to know which foods are high in collagen because of their possible health benefits.

Here are seven collagen-rich foods and what science says about their potential benefits.

1. Bone broth

Bone broth is a common food source of collagen. It's made by simmering the bones and connective tissue of animals for many hours to break down the collagen.

One study in mice found that bone broth (made from pork bones) raised collagen levels and improved skin firmness. But the way bone broth is made can affect how much collagen ends up in our bodies. Some research has found that commercial bone broth probably doesn't deliver enough collagen to make a difference.

You might have heard of concerns about bone broth containing lead or trace metals. Studies have shown that animal bones contain trace amounts of metals, but the amount that ends up in bone broth is very low.

You can find bone broth in most grocery stores. You can also make your own using beef, chicken, or pork bones.

2. Jellyfish

Jellyfish is a popular staple in many Asian cuisines. It's also used to make collagen supplements that are thought to help with wound healing. A study that looked at three types of jellyfish found that about half of their protein content was from collagen.

Jellyfish is also low in fat and contains a variety of micronutrients, making it a nutrient-dense food. Outside of some Asian countries, it's not that common to find jellyfish on the menu. But that may be changing as more people try out this cuisine. If you want to try jellyfish, you can find it at most Asian grocery stores. You can use jellyfish to make a flavorful salad.

3. Beef

Beef is an excellent source of collagen, but you won't get high amounts from just any type of beef. To maximize the amount of collagen you get, look for the toughest cuts of beef. These cuts take the longest to cook because they're filled with collagen-rich cartilage and tendons.

The collagen from beef is mostly type 1 and type 3 collagen. These types of collagen work to slow skin aging and help with wound healing.

Try making slow-cooked meals like roast beef, brisket, and oxtail. When you slow-cook these cuts, the tendons and cartilage create a gelatinous quality that's rich with collagen.

4. Chicken skin and cartilage

Chicken skin is another source of collagen to consider. Lab and animal studies have found that collagen peptides from chicken skin might have anti-cancer properties.

Chicken cartilage is also used to make many collagen supplements that can help reduce pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis. Cartilage is especially high in collagen and protein. If you're eating barbeque chicken wings, chewing on or eating the cartilage may increase the amount of collagen in your meal.

Chicken dishes that are prepared with the skin on will also have a higher collagen content. But this also means they have more saturated fat, which can be harmful to heart health (more on this below).

5. Pork skin

Pork skin is another popular source of collagen. One study showed that collagen supplements sourced from pig skin improved osteoarthritis symptoms and the quality of life of people with arthritis of the knee.

Pork skin is used to make pork rinds, a popular snack. It's also used in dishes like Korean jokbal, which involves braising pigs' feet in soy sauce with herbs and spices, and in pickled pigs' feet found in Latin American and Caribbean cuisine.

6. Salmon

Fish and other marine life are rich in collagen. Scientists have been finding ways to use fish collagen to make supplements. The collagen from salmon may help with wound healing, especially when it's combined with vitamin C.

The highest amount of collagen is in the salmon skin and scales. So you might consider roasting or grilling fish with the skin on - or using fish bones to make a broth.

7. Sardines

Most of the collagen in fish is in the bones, skin, and scales. This makes sardines a great choice for a collagen-rich food, since people usually eat them whole. Sardines are filled with type 1 collagen, which is the most common type of collagen in the human body.

Most sardines are sold canned. You can eat sardines straight out of the can, grilled, or on top of toast or a salad.

How much collagen do high-collagen foods contain?

Here's a side-by-side comparison of how much collagen is in a serving size of our top collagen picks.

Serving size

Amount of collagen

Bone broth (beef)

1 cup

5 g

Jellyfish

1 g

120-600 mg

Beef

85 g

2.5 g

Chicken skin

1 kg

8.6 g

Pork skin

14 g

5 g

Salmon

1 kg

2.9 g

Sardines

150 g

5 g

Are there negative effects of eating collagen-rich foods?

Many collagen-rich foods, like animal skin, are high in saturated fat. And having a diet that's high in red meat and fat - particularly saturated fat - is linked to:

  • High cholesterol

  • Inflammation

  • Higher risk of heart disease

  • Higher risk of cancer

This doesn't mean you can't enjoy meat or fish with the skin on. But eating them for the sake of increasing your collagen intake may not be worth the health risks.

If you're looking for more healthy-fat options, unsaturated fats are considered "good fats." These can have health benefits like lowering your cholesterol and improving your heart health. Salmon, sardines, and jellyfish all have more of these unsaturated fats, like omega-3 fatty acids.

So, if you're looking to eat more foods high in collagen, keep in mind that these collagen-rich foods may be the better choice for your overall health.

What are other ways to increase collagen naturally?

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. And remember that collagen is a type of protein. So, when you consume the kinds of amino acids involved in collagen production, it might help your body to make more collagen. These amino acids include:

These amino acids are in some animal foods, but they're also in certain vegetarian-friendly foods. These include:

  • Eggs

  • Legumes and beans

  • Whole grains, like barley, wheat, and amaranth

  • Dairy products

  • Fermented soy

  • Seaweed

Does vitamin C increase collagen production?

You can also help your body naturally increase collagen by eating foods that are rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C plays a critical role in helping to make collagen. So eating more oranges, red peppers, and strawberries can give your body an extra boost for collagen production.

Collagen-rich foods vs. collagen supplements

So, is it better to get collagen from your diet or from supplements? It's unclear.

Most researchers looking at the health benefits of collagen have studied collagen supplements. There aren't good studies looking at collagen-rich diets, so it's hard to know how their potential health benefits compare. There also aren't studies that directly compare collagen supplements to collagen-rich foods.

It's also important to note that companies that sell these supplements fund a lot of the research on collagen supplements. So, there could be a conflict of interest that might bias results.

And there's no standard dosing on what amount of collagen is recommended. Since collagen supplements are considered a dietary supplement, they don't need to be approved by the FDA.

Eating more collagen-rich foods is usually less expensive than buying supplements. If you decide to eat more collagen-rich foods, remember that sardines, salmon skin, and chicken have less fat than red meat, so they're probably a more nutritious choice overall.

Frequently asked questions

Which fruit has the most collagen?
expand_more

Fruit doesn't contain collagen. But many fruits are high in vitamin C, which helps with collagen production. Fruits high in vitamin C - like oranges, grapefruits, kiwis, and papayas - can help your body make more collagen.

What increases collagen the most?
expand_more

Scientists don't know what increases collagen the most, whether collagen supplements or eating collagen-rich foods. Researchers need to do more work to find the answer.

Likely, the best and least expensive way is through your diet: eating nutritious foods with collagen and vitamin C.

What are the symptoms of low collagen?
expand_more

Collagen is an essential part of skin, bone, and joints. And your body makes less collagen as you age. So, what symptoms might you experience if your collagen is low? These can include:

The bottom line

Collagen is linked to better skin and joint health. But it's unclear whether eating whole foods high in collagen has the same potential benefits. Certain collagen-rich foods, like bone broth and jellyfish, may offer more nutrients and less fat compared with beef or animal skins. And if you don't eat meat or seafood, you can try eating beans, seaweed, and fermented soy to help your body make more collagen.

References

Ahmed, M., et al. (2020). Collagen extraction and recent biological activities of collagen peptides derived from sea-food waste: A review. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy.

Aidos, I., et al. (1999). Collagen content in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

View All References (30)
expand_more

Alcock, R. D., et al. (2018). Bone broth unlikely to provide reliable concentrations of collagen precursors compared with supplemental sources of collagen used in collagen research. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.

Alcorta, A., et al. (2021). Foods for plant-based diets: Challenges and innovations. Foods.

Asai, T., et al. (2019). Amount of collagen in the meat contained in Japanese daily dishes and the collagen peptide content in human blood after ingestion of cooked fish meat. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Boyera, N., et al. (1998). Effect of vitamin C and its derivatives on collagen synthesis and cross-linking by normal human fibroblasts. International Journal of Cosmetic Science.

Chotphruethipong, L., et al. (2022). Combined effects of defatted hydrolyzed collagen from salmon skin and vitamin C on proliferation and migration of human fibroblast cell. Fishes.

Cliche, S., et al. (2003). Extraction and characterization of collagen with or without telopeptides from chicken skin. Poultry Science.

Cooperman, T. (2021). Bone broth review. ConsumerLab.com.

Cordeiro, A. R. R. A., et al. (2020). Collagen production from chicken keel bone using acid and enzymatic treatment at a temperature of 30°C. Food and Science Technology.

Dave, D., et al. (2019). Availability of marine collagen from Newfoundland fisheries and aquaculture waste resources. Bioresource Technology Reports.

De Paz-Lugo, P., et al. (2018). High glycine concentration increases collagen synthesis by articular chondrocytes in vitro: Acute glycine deficiency could be an important cause of osteoarthritis. Amino Acids.

Deng, G., et al. (2023). Authentication of chicken-derived components in collagen-containing foods using natural macromolecular marker fragments by LC-MS method. Polymer Testing.

Felician, F. F., et al. (2019). The wound healing potential of collagen peptides derived from the jellyfish Rhopilemaesculentum. Chinese Journal of Traumatology.

Hsu, D., et al. (2017). Essential and toxic metals in animal bone broths. Food and Nutrition Research.

Hwang, Y. J., et al. (2016). Sensory property improvement of Jokbal(Korean Pettitoes) made from frozen pig feet by addition of herbal mixture. Korean Journal for Food Science of Animal Resources.

Khong, N. M. H., et al. (2016). Nutritional composition and total collagen content of three commercially important edible jellyfish. Food Chemistry.

Kumar, S., et al. (2015). A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, clinical study on the effectiveness of collagen peptide on osteoarthritis. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

Langyan, S., et al. (2021). Sustaining protein nutrition through plant-based foods. Frontiers in Nutrition.

Liu, T., et al. (2022). Chicken skin-derived collagen peptides chelated zinc promotes zinc absorption and represses tumor growth and invasion in vivoby suppressing autophagy. Frontiers in Nutrition.

Lugo, J. P., et al. (2016). Efficacy and tolerability of an undenatured type II collagen supplement in modulating knee osteoarthritis symptoms: A multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Nutrition Journal.

Naomi, R., et al. (2021). Current insights into collagen type I. Polymers.

Raposo, A., et al. (2022). Jellyfish as food: A narrative review. Foods.

Razak, M. A., et al. (2017). Multifarious beneficial effect of nonessential amino acid, glycine: A review. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.

ScienceDirect. (n.d.). Search results for collagen.

Silvipriya, K. S., et al. (2015). Collagen: Animal sources and biomedical application. Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science.

Singh, D., et al. (2023). Regulation of collagen I and collagen III in tissue injury and regeneration. Journal of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine.

Song, H., et al. (2017). Effect of orally administered collagen peptides from bovine bone on skin aging in chronologically aged mice. Nutrients.

Srinivasan, S., et al. (2021). Collagen isolation and characterization from Sardinella longiceps. Journal of Advanced Veterinary and Animal Research.

Wang, H. (2021). A review of the effects of collagen treatment in clinical studies. Polymers.

Wang, J., et al. (2015). Oral administration of marine collagen peptides prepared from chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) improves wound healing following cesarean section in rats. Food and Nutrition Research.

Wu, G., et al. (2013). Proline and hydroxyproline metabolism: Implications for animal and human nutrition. Amino Acids.

GoodRx Health has strict sourcing policies and relies on primary sources such as medical organizations, governmental agencies, academic institutions, and peer-reviewed scientific journals. Learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate, thorough, and unbiased by reading our editorial guidelines.

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