Yes, I’m saying it: Collagen is a SUPER food. Why?
Collagen helps with:
[+] Tissue repair
[+] Brain function
[+] Flexibility and mobility
[+] Muscle
[+] Weight Loss
[+] Skin and bone health
[+] Youthful appearance
[+] Sleep
Most of this isn’t news to me and, if you’ve been keeping up with health supplements, may not be news to you either.
Why, then, am I so intent lately on getting collagen in my body?
The answer to this question requires a bit of explaining…
To give you some context, here’s the definition:
Collagen is the largest and most abundant protein in the body – making up about 65% or your total protein!
Collagen is the “glue” that holds us together!
And, although your body makes its own collagen, we can often use a bit more.
(I’m healing an inguinal hernia so I’ve made it a point to get more collagen in my diet.)
Collagen not only helps us look young by keeping our skin healthy, it also slows aging and keeps us young – by keeping the entire structure of the body intact.
Glycine is a SUPER Amino Acid
To better understand the benefits from collagen, we need to look at the structure of collagen and, in particular, one if its star components, an amino acid called “glycine”.
The benefits of glycine for sleep are well supported by research, including scientific studies.
However, what I didn’t realize until recently is that glycine helps manage and reduce oxidative stress.
That’s right, glycine functions as an anti-oxidant (among many other things!).
This is great news if you’re eating undesirable foods – like seed oils that are oxidized and highly inflammatory.
(It’s worth noting collagen is also high in arginine, aka “the anti-aging amino acid”.)
Are you eating too much meat?
What most people miss is that muscle meat (what we in the western world simply refer to as “meat”) is high in methionine which is also pro-inflammatory.
How do you balance things out and bring that inflammation down?
Yep, glycine.
Better yet, eat whole foods high in glycine and collagen.
After all, glycine and collagen are supplements rather than foods.
Thus we could say that (clean) foods high in collagen are SUPER foods:
[+] Bone broth
[+] Skin
[+] Bones
[+] Tendons
[+] Ligaments
[+] Joints
Which animals are the best sources of collagen?
As you may have learned when you read about how to Eat Clean Foods, your best (cleanest and most nutrient dense) sources come from ruminant animals that graze on grass like:
[+] Cows
[+] Buffalo
[+] Bison
[+] Sheep
[+] Goats
…and of course wild animals like deer and elk.
You can also get clean collagen from wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, oysters, mussels and eggs.
Now you know why collagen is a SUPER food (really a SUPER supplement!) and where to get it.
If you’re in Thailand, go here to buy the highest quality collagen in the country.
Bonus question:
Can collagen help you build strength while burning fat?
A recent study set out to answer this question so, click here if you’re looking to utilize collagen improve your overall body composition by burning fat while building strength.
BONUS Tip:
Because your body needs Vitamin C to make collagen, be sure to eat foods rich in vitamin C like lemons, spinach, and broccoli.
What do YOU think…
Where do you get your collagen – and why do you take it?
Leave a comment and let me know!