Collagen is a vital protein for the functioning of the body, as it nourishes, hydrates and gives flexibility to the skin, muscles and tendons. The only natural source for obtaining this protein is through mammals and although there is no collagen of plant origin, there are some that, due to their composition, stimulate its production.
Personal care and wellness trends often position trends such as the so-called “vegan collagen,” a very attractive term that hides a reality, since experts maintain that the terms “vegan” and “collagen” are incompatible.
What is collagen and what is it used for?
Nutritionist at Clínica Menorca, María José Crispín, explains to Cosmopolitan that collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and is also essential.
“It accounts for 30% of total protein and is essential for the health of the skin, joints, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bones. It is essential for them to be healthy and young. It is also necessary for the intervertebral discs, blood vessels, cornea, and teeth.”
From the age of 25, the body begins to lose collagen and this accelerates from the age of 35 at a rate of 1%.
“In addition to age, collagen loss is also associated with excessive sun exposure, smoking, alcohol abuse, not sleeping properly and excessive physical activity,” adds Crispín.
Myths about “vegetable collagen”
The head of Internal Medicine and Anti-Aging at SHA Wellness Clinic and partner of Kobho Labs, Dr. Vicente Mera, assures that plant collagen does not exist, it is only possible to obtain collagen from natural sources and through protein extraction processes.
“Hydrolyzed collagen (soluble in water or liquids) is 100% of animal origin. There is no natural vegan source of collagen. It can be obtained either from natural sources or semi-synthetically, using genetic procedures from microorganisms (bacteria or fungi), insects or mammalian cells,” he said.
He clarifies that technical and financial factors are key in collagen extraction processes. “Most of the hydrolyzed collagen on the market comes from higher animals, specifically mammals (cows and pigs), certain birds or even marine sources.”
While Crispín states that collagen is extracted, above all, from the skin in the case of mammals, but also from bones, cartilage and tendons and in the case of marine collagen, spines and scales are rich sources of collagen.
How “vegan collagen” came about
Although collagen is an exclusively animal protein that only exists in animals, not in plants, as specialists claim, “all proteins consist of the sum of some constituent ‘bricks’ called amino acids,” adds Crispín.
Details that “when we eat a protein, any protein, when it passes through the stomach, digestion breaks down that protein into the amino acids it contains. And then, through these amino acids, the body uses them to form the proteins it needs. If we eat collagen, not necessarily after it has been broken down in the stomach, our body will form collagen through the amino acids that this decomposition, digestion, has produced.”
This means that amino acids are necessary to generate collagen, because if we do not have the amino acids that make up collagen (glycine, lysine, proline and hydroxyproline), our body could not form it.
To stimulate collagen production in the body, amino acids, vitamin C, zinc and magnesium are necessary, which are essential for forming collagen.
She adds that “collagen cannot be vegetal because it is a protein that is only found in the animal kingdom, but the amino acids that compose it can be present in other products that are not of animal origin. That is why we must take proteins in our daily diet, because our body digests them and breaks them down into amino acids, helping it to form.”
Learn which vegan foods help produce collagen
Collagen loss over the years can be combated by stimulating its production, especially with proper nutrition or through supplementation with plant or mineral sources. This process is not as effective as the direct synthesis method has generated through animal products, since it stimulates collagen production.
Among the vegan sources mentioned by specialists is bamboo, which is rich in silica, phytoceramides, certain amino acids and some vitamins, especially ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
These are components that, although they stimulate collagen production, “are chemically heterogeneous and have very uneven effectiveness,” which is why Dr. Mera recommends the consumption of hydrolyzed collagen.
She explains that “unless there are restrictions that may limit the consumption of hydrolyzed collagen of animal origin, whether for religious, cultural or dietary reasons, the ideal is to associate this product with lubricants and stabilizers, such as hyaluronic acid, and with promoters of the production of collagen itself, such as vitamin C.”
For these reasons, specialists recommend nutritional supplements containing collagen from animal sources, as well as a diet with plant foods that help preserve and stimulate collagen production.
Keep reading:
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- What happens to your body when you take vitamin B12 every day