Collagen: The Forgotten Superfood

A revival of ancient wisdom

For thousands of years, collagen-rich foods supported human health around the globe. Broth, high in gelatin (cooked collagen) from long-simmered connective tissue, has a history dating back to the Paleolithic era. ^[1] Traditional dishes like boiled fish heads, Scottish haggis, head cheese, jellied pigs feet, Mexican menudo, French consommé, and various forms of aspic (meat jelly) served as staples in regional cuisines, utilizing collagen-rich animal parts to form unique and nutritious specialty foods.

Collagen even enjoyed a revival in midcentury America, when gelatin-based dishes took potlucks, dinner parties, and formal events by storm. A quick flip through vintage cookbooks and homemaking magazines reveals long-forgotten uses of this food—ranging from elaborate desserts to jiggly salads to meat-filled Jell-O molds.

Today, traditional sources of collagen have largely fallen by the wayside. In contrast to the nose-to-tail eating that characterized much of human history, muscle meat is now favored over cartilage-filled animal parts like tendons, skin, tail, hocks, trotters, tripe, ears, and various other offal. Broths brewed with bones or collagen-rich meat cuts—once used even in commercial soups—are often replaced with mixtures of isolated vegetable protein, MSG, and starch to mimic the texture of gelatin. While it’s unclear why this has become so common, we can only speculate that it allows food manufacturers to cut costs through the use of cheap ingredients.

And while nutrition discourse often focuses on the problematic foods we’re eating more of, less discussed are the nourishing ingredients that have been disappearing from the menu—including collagen!

What is collagen?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. In fact, it makes up about 30% of the body’s total protein content. ^[2] Found predominantly in connective tissues like skin, bones, tendons, and ligaments, collagen acts as a scaffold that helps maintain the integrity and structure of these tissues. ^[3] [4]

Collagen is made up of long, intertwined chains of amino acids—primarily glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. These chains form a triple helix structure, giving collagen its unique strength and resilience. ^[5]

Dozens of different types of collagen exist, each characterized by their molecular arrangement. But these 3 are most prevalent in human tissue:

• Type I collagen, found in skin, tendons, bones, teeth, the cornea, organs, artery walls, and fascia ^{[6] [7] [7]}
• Type II collagen, found mostly in cartilage ^[8]
• Type III collagen, found in skin, blood vessels, arteries, lungs, bowel tissue, and uterine tissue ^[9] [10]

What happens when we consume collagen?

Our bodies can’t absorb collagen in its whole form. Instead, our digestive system breaks it down into smaller pieces that can then be used to build our own collagen, as well as perform other important activities. These pieces include short protein fragments (amino acid strings) called bioactive peptides, as well as single amino acids.

Collagen peptides have well-studied benefits. These protein fragments interact with biological systems in ways that individual amino acids cannot, giving them unique functions and health effects. ^[11]

For example, collagen peptides trigger the synthesis of extracellular matrix proteins, which form a supportive network outside of cells in tissues—akin to the “glue” that holds everything together in our bodies. ^[12] [13] Various collagen-derived peptides can also:

• Exert anti-inflammatory effects ^[14]
• Act as antioxidants ^[15] [16]
• Increase skeletal muscle remodeling ^[17]
• Get directly incorporated into cartilage ^[18]
• Improve calcium retention ^[19]
• Support digestion and gut barrier integrity ^[20] [21]
• Release growth hormones involved in bone formation ^[19]

The amino acids in collagen have important biological roles as well! Glycine, for example, is particularly impressive, boasting effects such as:

• Serving as a precursor for other important molecules (like creatine and glutathione) ^[22]
• Potentially helping treat metabolic diseases and cancer ^[22]
• Enhancing sleep quality ^[22]
• Supporting neurological function ^[22]
• Improving insulin sensitivity ^[22]
• Exerting powerful anti-inflammatory effects ^[22] [23]

When cooked, collagen breaks down into another protein called gelatin. While collagen and gelatin differ in their molecular structure, they contain the same mixture of amino acids, and both supply bioactive peptides that contribute to their wide-ranging health effects. ^{[24] [25] [26] [27]} Gelatin has the additional perk of being highly bioavailable, due to already being partly broken down and ready for absorption. ^[28]

An ancient food meets modern science

Today, we have a wealth of studies demonstrating the benefits of dietary collagen. Randomized controlled trials—the gold standard for scientific research—have shown that boosting our collagen intake can:

• Combat skin aging. This includes reducing wrinkle formation, increasing skin elasticity, improving skin hydration, and increasing the collagen density of the skin—a protective factor in age-related skin damage. ^[29]
• Enhance bone health. Collagen can help increase bone strength, mass, and density, as well as shift bone markers in favor of increased bone-building and decreased bone degradation. ^[29] [30] Over time, this may help reduce the risk of fractures and protect against osteoporosis. ^[29] [30]
• Improve joint mobility. By supporting and restoring our own cartilage, dietary collagen can help improve joint mobility, including extending the range of motion in joints like the knee. ^[31] [32]
• Relieve symptoms of joint disease. In people with the degenerative joint disease osteoarthritis, collagen can reduce symptoms such as pain and stiffness. ^[33] [34]
• Improve hair health. Combined with vitamin C, collagen supplementation can increase total hair count (as number of hairs per unit area), reduce scalp scaling, and improve visual assessments of hair appearance. ^[35]
• Improve strength and body composition. When combined with resistance training or other daily activity, collagen can help reduce fat mass, increase muscle and bone mass, and enhance physical strength. ^{[36] [37] [38]}
• Improve circulation and cardiovascular health. Collagen supports a healthy circulatory system, and several cardiovascular risk factors decrease in response to collagen intake—including LDL cholesterol levels, systolic blood pressure, the LDL/HDL ratio, and the formation of advanced glycation end-products. ^{[39] [40] [41]}
• Reduce activity-related joint pain. Studies have shown that collagen can alleviate joint pain associated with exercise, including among athletes and Achilles tendinopathy patients. ^[42] [43]
• Reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Oral collagen supplements can help alleviate exercise-induced muscle soreness and fatigue, making it potentially useful for exercise recovery. ^[44] [45]

How much collagen do we need?

In general, supplementing with 2.5 - 10 g of collagen daily produces significant, measurable benefits in studies. ^[46] [29] 15 g of collagen per day appears most helpful for increasing muscle mass and strength, especially in conjunction with resistance training. ^[29] Keep in mind, these amounts are in addition to the collagen from meat, poultry, and seafood already present in the average diet, which ranges from about 3 to 23 g. ^[47]

However, the optimal amount of collagen varies based on our individual circumstances. Extra collagen could be particularly helpful during times of increased bone or cartilage loss, such as from:

• Strenuous exercise (especially with high joint impact) ^[29]
• Certain cancer therapies ^[29]
• Dental implants ^[29]
• Skin implants ^[29]
• Hormonal changes, such as during menopause ^[48]
• Burns and other physical trauma ^[29] [49]
• Rheumatoid arthritis ^[50]
• Osteoarthritis ^[50]

Factors like sun exposure, smoking, and air pollution can likewise deplete collagen levels, potentially raising our requirements for dietary collagen and its precursors. ^{[51] [52] [53] [54]} In addition, vitamin C, vitamin D, iron, copper, zinc, and silicon play important roles in collagen synthesis, and insufficient intakes can inhibit the body’s collagen production. ^{[55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] [62]}

Our body’s natural collagen production also declines as we age, contributing to visible signs of aging (such as wrinkles and sagging skin) and physical impairments (such as joint pain and decreased mobility). ^[63] As a result, dietary collagen may help support healthy aging, and becomes increasingly beneficial as we get older. ^[29]

Restoring collagen’s place at the table

Thanks to renewed interest in collagen and its benefits, collagen supplements are now widely available—sold under terms like “collagen peptides,” “hydrolyzed collagen,” or “collagen protein.” These are derived from animal parts like beef hide or fish scales, which are then processed into bioavailable collagen powders.

However, collagen supplements aren’t the only way to boost our collagen intake! In fact, consuming collagen from whole-food sources has the advantage of supplying additional nutrients, including those required for collagen production. Arginine, ornithine, and glutamine, abundant in many animal foods, also increase collagen synthesis by serving as precursors for the amino acids in collagen. ^{[64] [65] [66]} So, by consuming collagen as part of its natural food matrix (rather than as an isolated dietary supplement), we’re supporting collagen production in an even more powerful way.

That brings the question: how can we add collagen-rich foods to our modern diet? Some of the best sources include:

• Bone-in, skin-on sardines and anchovies
• Pork rinds, cracklins, or chitlins
• Meat with collagen casing (such as sausages, hot dogs, or jerky sticks)
• Meat cuts high in connective tissue, such as beef brisket, oxtail, lamb shanks, short ribs, or pork shoulder
• Broth made from bones or other cartilage-rich animal parts

Bone broth has become particularly popular in recent years, with surging interest in its health benefits and versatility. And while it indeed contains collagen precursors (along with valuable nutrients like calcium and potassium), it can be difficult to obtain enough collagen from bone broth alone to receive maximum health benefits. ^[67] As a result, it’s helpful to include diverse collagen sources in your diet.

True Primal soups are packed with collagen not only from delicious bone broth, but also from additional grass-fed beef gelatin. In fact, each serving of soup contains more collagen than most supplements—at least 8 grams, which is over 3 times the amount shown to have anti-aging and joint pain-relieving benefits in human trials. ^[68] [69] Our chicken soups also use meat with skin, supplying additional collagen from connective tissue.

Incorporating collagen-rich foods into our diets is more than just a trend: it’s a return to a lost pillar of health, backed by both science and centuries of culinary tradition. True Primal soups are a delicious way to bring this superfood back to the table!

Published 2024-12-04, by Denise Minger.

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