Collagen is responsible for the health of our skin! Our natural production decreases as we age, but there are easy things you can do to slow this process down and boost your body’s production. We’ll walk you through how you can encourage your body to produce more collagen – without the funky animal products – and achieve healthier hair, skin, and nails.
What is collagen? Why do we need it?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body! We need collagen to maintain the health of our hair, skin, and nails, but also our connective and structural tissues like bones, tendons, and cartilage. Unfortunately, collagen production naturally decreases as we age, which is what leads to sagging or wrinkled skin, usually starting in our 30s or 40s.
Many people supplement this loss of collagen by taking animal collagen supplements, which consist of actual collagen harvested from animal sources, like the hides of cows or the scales of fish. This sounds like a good idea, but since our bodies can make collagen all on their own, you don’t actually need to take animal collagen to help this problem – we can give our bodies the building blocks they need to do so in a healthy way.
Here are a few things you can add to your routine to help your body build collagen – all on its own:
- Vitamin C is one of the most important building blocks of collagen! Found in a wide variety of fruits and veggies, Vitamin C will help your skin stay plump and bright. Boost your intake with foods like berries, citrus, tomatoes, and tropical fruits.
- Protein is super important! A protein-rich diet provides you with essential amino acids that are crucial for collagen production.
- Hyaluronic acid is super hydrating for your skin all on its own, but a major study shows it can also improve collagen production!
- Certain minerals, like silica and zinc, are also crucial for collagen production.
Since your body can produce collagen all on its own, vegan collagen supplements give your body these critical building blocks it needs to boost your collagen production and give you healthier hair, skin, and nails. As we age and our natural collagen production slows down, supplementing with these nutrients can strengthen your skin and help protect against our collagen levels diminishing over time.
Our favorite way to add the benefits of vegan collagen to our routine is with a scoop of Coconut Collagen Boost! Coconut Collagen Boost contains both vegan hyaluronic acid and full-plant bamboo extract, which is the world’s richest source of silica. Coconut Collagen Boost also contains biotin to further help strengthen the skin. It tastes like a vanilla marshmallow and dissolves seamlessly in your coffee, matcha, smoothies, tea, and more – so you can ditch the animal products and keep the beauty benefits.