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Forever young and beautiful – for most a dream coming true. The reality is mainly related to one of the most valuable proteins that our body can produce itself: collagen. Most collagen products rely on peptides or collagen that were obtained from animals’ bone cartilage or hide. What are the options for consuming plant-based collagen? And most importantly, how effective are plant-based collagen supplements?
Collagen is a natural protein found in skin, hair, nails, connective tissue, muscles, bones, and joints. In summary, collagen is the main protein found in almost all body tissues. This protein keeps the cells and tissues together. Premature signs of aging, especially in skin appearance and joint pain, are primarily due to a lack of collagen. Hence the body must always have enough amino acids (protein building blocks) required to perform the regeneration processes to the full extent.
Collagen comes from animal sources, primarily bovine or marine. The collagen used by Collamin is bovine sourced. At Collamin, we upcycle animal body parts (hides and connective tissues) that otherwise would be wasted and turn them into a high-quality bioactive ingredient.
Well, not really. Vegan collagen or plant-based collagen technically doesn’t exist since collagen is only found in animal sources. Any plant-based collagen product that you see on shelves doesn’t contain any collagen but rather various nutrients needed for collagen production.
While plant-based collagen isn’t truly collagen, it provides consumers who cannot take animal-based collagen a potential solution to boost collagen production. Nevertheless, consumers shouldn’t expect to get the same benefits as with an animal-based collagen supplement.
Now you might be wondering, what are the nutrients that can boost collagen production?
Vitamin C is the main factor the body needs to produce collagen. Therefore, a sufficient supply of vitamin C is necessary. In general, it can be said that the less vitamin C is available to the body, the less collagen can be produced. Also, the body benefits from high consumption of vitamin C because it catches free radicals and thus has an antioxidant effect. Further damage to the skin can also be prevented. You cannot take too much vitamin C. An excess of the vitamin is simply excreted. The richest sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, berries, watermelon, and kiwis. In vegetables, look for spinach, peppers, tomatoes, and cauliflower to find rich sources of vitamin C.
Vitamin E is the second most crucial factor involved in collagen synthesis. It neutralizes free radicals and protects the process. Moreover, vitamin E, just like vitamin C, is considered an antioxidant and protects the cell membranes. So less collagen can be destroyed by bad eating habits such as sugar and alcohol. Vitamin E is mainly found in vegetable oils, nuts, oatmeal, and dairy products. All seeds also contain a variety of oils with this healthy vitamin, which also keeps the cell walls in arteries and veins free.
Copper is the mineral that, along with vitamin C, is the most important factor for collagen production. Recent studies have found that collagen production is directly related to the amount of copper available in the cells. The more copper is available, the more collagen production is stimulated. Copper activates an enzyme in the cells called lysyl hydroxylase, which is responsible for the maturation of collagen. As a result, collagen peptides are bound together, giving them their typical triple-helix structure. Adults need about 1.2 mg of copper a day, which is best absorbed through pecans, kidney beans, dried fruits, and mushrooms.
Some scientific methods are being used to develop vegan or plant-based collagen. These methods use genetically modified yeast and bacteria to produce a structure similar to collagen. Firstly, four human genes that code for collagen are added to the genetic structure of the microbes. Once the genes are in place, the yeast or bacteria then start to produce building blocks of human collagen. Finally, pepsin (a digestive enzyme) is added to help structure the building blocks into collagen molecules with the exact structure of human collagen. However, products containing this substance are not widely available on the market.
COLLAMIN is high-quality collagen hydrolysate. COLLAMIN products are produced by the largest Swiss manufacturer of high-quality and 100% pure collagen. We are proud to have integrated an upcycling method into our collage sourcing. The purpose of upcycling is to reduce waste and improve the efficiency of resource use. We upcycle cow’s body parts (hides and connective tissues) that otherwise would be wasted and turn them into a high-quality health product. We use the purest raw material and natural ingredients. All our products are free of soy, fat, gluten, and sugar .
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