Why Vegans & Vegetarians Are Facing A Collagen Dilemma (Plus An Easy Solution)

Every few years it seems there’s a new “it” trend when it comes to skin care. 

You remember the headlines you saw about coconut oil and turmeric, right? And let’s not forget about charcoal! What most people don’t realize is that these are not just “phases” but merely ancient knowledge resurfacing decades, and even centuries later. 

What’s the latest trend sweeping through the natural skin care web? As Delicious Living recently spotlighted in their blog, the “newest” Anti-aging all star is… drum roll please… collagen!

What is collagen?

Found all throughout our bodies organs and tissues—skin, bones and joints, nails and hair—collagen is the most abundant protein that helps to keep wrinkles at bay by improving skin’s firmness, elasticity, and integrity, as well as keeping our bones and joints in tip top shape.

What’s the main problem people face with collagen?

While abundant in our younger years, once we reach 25, our body’s collagen production starts to noticeably decline. After this age, it becomes much harder to reverse the effects of aging and collagen loss.

How can I build up my collagen?

Health practitioners all over the world agree that the most readily available forms of collagen come from bone broth, poultry broth, as well as marine collagen. All these food sources have been shown to improve skin’s elasticity and smoothness. But where are vegetarians and vegans, who naturally consider the above foods strictly “off limits” supposed to turn to for their collagen supplementation?

For the vegan who follows a meat-free lifestyle, don’t give up on collagen yet...

Remember a few paragraphs up when we mentioned that collagen is a protein? Just like other proteins, this means that it is made up of building blocks, or, amino acids.

 Amino acids come together with a little help from vitamin C. Dean Nuels from AlgaeCal put it this way, “Think of amino acids like Lego pieces and vitamin C like your brilliant grandchild who can build the entire castle set with only one glance at the instructions.” 

To put it even simpler… without vitamin C, there simply is no collagen! So, any high quality, preferably plant and organic based source of vitamin C is an excellent collagen precursor, and right at the collagen frontier in skincare. With ten times the amount of vitamin C content of oranges, sea buckthorn is a plant based method of naturally stimulating collagen production in the body. 

A few other vegetarian-friendly sources of vitamin C that will stimulate collagen include broccoli, red peppers, papaya, kiwi, and kale.