Collagen is the most abundant structural protein in animals, and in humans, it accounts for about 30% of the total body protein content. ‘Collagen’ is a generic term that stands for a large family of proteins, with 28 types of collagen have been identified and described so far. Fibril-forming type I collagen represents about 70% of the whole collagen family, being it the most abundant subspecies in connective tissues, such as bones, skin, tendons, ligaments, cornea, and blood vessels (1).

 

    Right after I posted the blog on the benefit of collagen for Wound Healing, Muscle Building, and Wrinkle Reducing, a lady friend asked about what food sources are rich in collagen. It sounds that someone is thinking about how to maintain young and beautiful skin.

 

    There is a Chinese saying that “Eating certain food (organ) is going to replenish the same (organ)” since the main components exist in that particular food source which would be easier for our body to utilize to produce a similar structure with those components within. The collagen-rich food sources are animal bones, skin, and connective tissues.

 

    Beef bones, pork bones, chicken bones, and even fish bones are rich sources of collagen. There are usually some connective tissues on the bones so that a long-simmered bone broth can have collagen from both the bones and the connective tissues. Soups and dishes made from such bone broth can be tasty and healthy food choices. Beef tendons themselves can be a delicious dish.

 

    Skins of all kinds, pigskin, chicken skin, or fish skin, are rich in collagen. The next time when you eat fish, you may eat the fish skin as well. Fish skin contains nearly 50% collagen based on dry weight (2).

 

    If you live near the ocean, you are lucky since many types of seafood can provide a good amount of collagen. For example, clams contain a good amount of collagen (3). Even some uncommon seafood, such as jellyfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumber are also good sources of collagen. The total collagen content of edible jellyfish varied from 122.64 to 693.92 mg/g dry weight, accounting for approximately half its total protein content (4).

 

    Collagen plays important roles in maintaining skin, hair, and nail health, helping with wound healing, preventing bone loss, alleviating osteoarthritis (a common cause of joint pain), and benefiting healthy aging. Want to living a healthy life and having youthful skin? Drink plenty of bone soup and eat a lot of seafood.

 

    References:

 

1. Luca, S., Nunzia, G., Lucia, N. M., Lorena, C., Paola, L., Marta, M., … Alessandro, S. (2020). Marine collagen and its derivatives: Versatile and sustainable bio-resources for healthcare. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 110963.

2. Coppola, D., Oliviero, M., Vitale, G. A., Lauritano, C., D’Ambra, I., Iannace, S., & de Pascale, D. (2020). Marine Collagen from Alternative and Sustainable Sources: Extraction, Processing and Applications. Marine Drugs, 18(4), 214.

3. Tabakaeva, O. V., Tabakaev, A. V., & Piekoszewski, W. (2018). Nutritional composition and total collagen content of two commercially important edible bivalve molluscs from the Sea of Japan coast. Journal of Food Science and Technology.

4. Khong, N. M. H., Yusoff, F. M., Jamilah, B., Basri, M., Maznah, I., Chan, K. W., & Nishikawa, J. (2016). Nutritional composition and total collagen content of three commercially important edible jellyfish. Food Chemistry, 196, 953–960.