Ask Your Chiropractor: What is Collagen?

If you’ve been through the health section of a store lately, you may have seen tubs of collagen supplements for sale. What exactly is collagen, and what is its role in our bodies?

Collagen is Protein.

In fact, collagen is the kind of protein that makes up most of our body. It’s the scaffolding that all our tissues are built on. There are at least 16 different kinds of collagen, and they make up about a third of the protein in our bodies, by mass. Collagen is what makes our skin, bones, ligaments, and cartilage. There are four main types of collagen.

Type 1 - this is the most abundant form of collagen in our bodies, and provides structure to our skin, bones, tendons, cartilage, connective tissue, and teeth.

Type 2 - this type is less densely packed than type 1, and makes up the elastic cartilage that cushions joints.

Type 3 - this type provides structure to muscles, organs, and arteries.

Type 4 - this type is found in the layers of our skin.

Where does collagen come from? Our bodies make all the collagen we need. The primary nutrients used in collagen production are vitamin C, copper, proline, and glycine. It is also necessary to have the amino acids available to make new proteins. When we eat protein, our body takes it apart into its component amino acids and recombines them to form the specific proteins that we need. Our bodies can make some amino acids, which are referred to as nonessential, while the ones we must eat to obtain are referred to as essential. Meat, dairy, soy, and quinoa are sources of complete protein, which means they contain all the essential amino acids. Other foods, like whole grains, nuts, and seeds, contain some but not all essential amino acids. These are called incomplete proteins. This is why some traditional diets pair plant foods together. For example, rice and beans are incomplete proteins by themselves, but when eaten together they form a complete protein.

Besides diet, other factors influence our collagen production. Collagen production decreases with age. This process can also be accelerated by exposure to UV rays, smoking, and eating too much sugar.

Collagen supplements may provide a protein boost if you need one, but the truth is most of us don’t need more protein. And our bodies are adapted to use the protein available to us in food. Food is our fuel in every way. It provides the energy for our cells to function, and also provides the building blocks they need to make everything we need.

Here are some foods to eat if you want to support your body’s collagen production:

1. Bone broth is rich in collagen, and that form is easily digested and used by your body. Make sure you are getting bones from a reliable source. Gelatin also contains all the amino acids used to make collagen.

2. Vitamin C is found in citrus fruits, peppers, berries, tomatoes, broccoli, and kale.

3. Copper is found in seafood, nuts and seeds, mushrooms, beef liver, and dark chocolate.

If you are working out hard and focusing on building muscle, you may need more protein and may be interested in supplementing with collagen. If you choose to supplement, make sure you choose a supplement from a reliable source.