Plant-based products are all the rage right now. More and more plant-based foods, beauty supplements, and protein options are filling the shelves at your local supermarket. You might have seen plant based collagen on the shelves at your local health food store. However, is it really collagen? Well, it depends.

Your body creates collagen daily. It combines amino acids from the high-protein food you eat, like cage-free chicken, grass-fed beef, and fatty fish, and turns them into collagen protein. Collagen also exists in animal bones and eggshell membranes.

What about plants? Some plants do contain the amino acids needed to create collagen. However, true collagen is not found in plants. What’s more, your body may have a more challenging time making collagen from plant based collagen.

If this sounds confusing, don’t worry! I’ll explain how your body builds collagen protein and what amino acids are needed to make collagen. I’ll also discuss why animal-based collagen is the best source and why you need a collagen supplement. First, let’s talk more about whether or not plant based collagen is really collagen.

Can Collagen Come From Plants?

Our ancestors relied on animal protein for survival. However, there are environmental factors that have not done our planet any favors. Industrial animal and fish farming, antibiotics and GMOs, and the prevalence of chronic illness have led many people to turn to a plant-based diet. This has increased the market for plant-based products, including plant based collagen.

At first glance, you might believe these plant based collagen products are really collagen. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Collagen protein contains 19 amino acids. The thing is, plants lack the complete combination of amino acids necessary for collagen production. 

Take, for example, “vegan” bone broth. Bone broth is made by boiling the bones of an animal, such as a cow or chicken. This process transfers the bones’ vitamins, minerals, and amino acids into the broth.

So, how do you make “vegan” bone broth without animal bones? You can’t! “Vegan” bone broth is made with ingredients that promote the production of the nutrients found in bone broth from animals. The same concept applies to plant based collagen products.

Let me explain. Instead of getting the collagen from animals or eggshells, plant based collagen is typically composed of a lot of vitamin C. Vitamin C, an antioxidant, helps your body naturally produce collagen.

Unfortunately, as we age, our bodies' natural collagen production slows down. I’ll talk more about that in just a minute. Additionally, many plant based collagen products rely on rice bran solubles, which can block the absorption of other amino acids essential for collagen production. 

As a result, plant based collagen products often fail to deliver what you’re paying for. To help you better understand why, let’s talk about how collagen is made.

How Is Collagen Produced In the Body? 

As I mentioned, collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. You can find collagen in your bones, skin, muscles, tendons, and cartilage.

Your body produces collagen naturally. However, at about age 35, your body’s collagen production begins to slow. By age 40, collagen breaks down faster than your body can replenish it. Moreover, by age 60, your body has lost over half of its collagen supply. (1)

Since collagen is a protein, it is made from amino acids. The amino acids needed to make collagen are proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline, nonessential amino acids. Nonessential amino acids are ones your body produces on its own. Glycine is the primary amino acid in collagen production. (2)

Your body creates glycine by modifying the amino acids serine, hydroxyproline, and threonine. Threonine is an essential amino acid, meaning it can only be found in food. However, the best food sources for threonine include dairy and grains, two foods I suggest everyone remove from their diet because they cause inflammation.

These amino acids bond together to form protein in a triple helix structure. For this process to occur and for the helix to form its structure, your body needs optimal amounts of vitamin C, zinc, copper, and manganese. (3)

Food sources for each amino acid needed to make collagen exist. Some of those sources are plants. The issue is no one food source contains all three amino acids required to produce collagen. Let’s talk more about these food sources.

Important Nutrients for Collagen Production

Both animal and plant sources produce the amino acids needed to create collagen. However, plant based collagen relies on your body’s ability to turn the amino acids into collagen and does not contain natural collagen. 

On the other hand, animal-based collagen provides actual collagen. Your body breaks it down into amino acids during digestion using the enzyme protease. These amino acids enter the bloodstream and are used to rebuild collagen where it is needed.

Rebuilding collagen might sound complicated, but it’s actually much easier than starting from scratch. Another challenge is that no single plant-based food source provides all the amino acids your body needs to produce collagen. Let’s dive deeper into the sources of these amino acids.

Food Sources of Glycine

Many foods, including wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef, wild turkey, and free-range chicken, provide a rich source of glycine.These meats range from 1.5 to 1.8 grams of glycine per 100 grams, making them the best sources of glycine.

Tree nuts and quinoa also provide glycine, though not in abundant amounts. Each 100 grams of quinoa provides 0.7 grams of glycine. Meat is the best source of glycine. Remember, your body needs threonine to make glycine.

Food Sources of Threonine

I explained that grains and dairy foods typically contain threonine. If you have celiac disease or gluten or dairy sensitivity, you want to avoid those foods. However, there are plenty of other foods that contain threonine.

Lamb is the best source of threonine. For every 100g of lean lamb, your body is getting about 165% of the recommended daily intake of threonine. Pork, lean beef, and gelatin are also excellent sources of threonine. 

There are plant sources of threonine, such as tofu, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, nuts, and grains. However, you could eat those foods for every meal and still not get the amount of threonine in lamb!

Food Sources of Proline

Many animal foods, such as red meat, fish, eggs, pork, chicken, and bone broth, are rich sources of proline. Your body uses proline to make hydroxyproline, which is also needed for collagen production.

Your body needs vitamin C to make proline, so include plenty of vitamin C-rich foods in your diet.  Cabbage, soy, asparagus, and chickpeas are plant-based foods that contain proline. However, they aren’t as good sources as meat products and have less of this amino acid.

As you can see, only meat provides all the amino acids your body needs to produce collagen. Whereas for plants, you’d have to eat an array of foods just to get the amino acids you need, and they would still not be at optimal levels for collagen production. 

Another good way to get more collagen is through supplementation. Choosing between a plant based collagen and animal collagen comes down to the source. Here’s why animal collagen is better than plant based collagen.

Why Animal Collagen is Better than Plant-Based

Collagen is a protein, so the source of collagen is essential for optimal benefits. I’ve established that meat contains all the amino acids needed to produce collagen, while you’d have to eat various plants to get them. However, it’s a little more complex than that.

Animal Collagen

If you see an animal-based collagen product, there’s a good chance it contains actual collagen from animals. That’s because animals are the only source of collagen. Cows, chicken, fish, and eggs are excellent sources of collagen. Let’s quickly talk about why.

Bovine Collagen

Bovine collagen comes from breaking down cattle byproducts such as bones and supports skin elasticity and hydration. The bones of cows contain a high concentration of collagen.

Bone broth provides a fantastic source of bovine collagen because the cooking process extracts it from bones. Bones are an excellent food source of collagen and are rich in minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. 

Bone broth collagen delivers amino acids and peptides that support and promote optimal gut lining health. The cells lining your intestinal tract love bone broth!

Marine Collagen

Marine collagen comes from the skin of fish. This type promotes skin health and cartilage. The science of marine collagen is still new. However, research suggests marine collagen may help protect your skin from harmful UV radiation damage. It may also promote healing, bone tissue growth, and anti-wrinkling.

Chicken Collagen

Chickens naturally produce collagen, which promotes a healthy inflammatory response and supports healthy joints, cartilage, and ligaments.

Remember your mother or grandmother feeding you chicken soup when you were sick? That’s because chicken soup is a nutritional powerhouse. Thankfully, it’s also delicious! Drinking chicken bone broth is a great way to get chicken collagen.

Eggshell Membrane Collagen

Since collagen is in chicken, it only makes sense that it is found in eggs. Collagen-like proteins are in the eggshell membranes of the hen. This protein has essential amino acids supporting healthy tissue growth, promoting a healthy aging process and skin quality.

To fully power collagen production, your body needs vitamin C. Berries, broccoli, and leafy green vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin C. I like to use Liposomal Vitamin C for maximum absorption and an easy, tasty collagen production boost.

Plant Based Collagen

Plant based collagen lacks actual collagen. However, it provides the amino acids and vitamin C your body needs to produce it. Even so, it depends on your body’s ability to produce collagen. 

Smoking, exposure to toxins, chronic illness, and a sedentary lifestyle can hinder this process. Moreover, many plant-based proteins cause more issues than provide benefits. Soy, hemp, grains, and legumes typically serve as the sources for plant based proteins.

Soy is a very common source of plant-based proteins. Manufacturers create it from processed soybeans. That said, nearly all soybeans in the U.S. are genetically modified. 

There’s a reason people are up in arms about GMOs. They’re linked to rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease, thyroid disease, and infertility. Soybeans are also legumes, which are inflammatory foods for many people.

Pea protein comes from legumes and is a popular choice among vegetarians and vegans. However, plant proteins digest more slowly than animal proteins because of their high fiber content. This can limit the number of amino acids bioavailable to make protein.

As you can see, animal-based collagen and plant based collagen differ significantly. The good news is that adding a high-quality, animal-based collagen powder to your routine is simple. You can easily mix it into a smoothie or your morning coffee. I recommend virtually everyone supplement collagen because our body’s natural production slows as we age.

Why You Should Supplement Collagen

As a medical doctor, I can tell you that plant based collagen powders on the market simply do not work! I have struggled with choosing a natural collagen powder from animal sources. That’s why, after doing months of research, I formulated my Collagen Protein powder and Spectrum 5 Collagen™.

Both of my pharmaceutical-grade multi-collagen protein powders undergo hydrolysis for easy absorption. They include multiple types of collagen and come from natural sources. Each powder is third-party tested to ensure quality and contains optimal amounts of collagen in every scoop.

So how do you choose the best collagen powder for you?

Collagen Protein

Collagen Protein delivers 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine collagen. It supports a healthy gut lining and intestinal permeability. In addition, it promotes vibrant hair, skin, and nails. It also facilitates healthy bones and joints. It does a lot!

I use this collagen powder every single day because it’s one of my favorite supplements! Collagen Protein is the most essential supplement to get all the great benefits to your skin, bones, hair, nails, and connective tissue.

Spectrum 5 Collagen™

Spectrum 5 Collagen™ is also made from 100% natural sources. It also has chicken collagen, marine collagen, and eggshell membrane collagen. Spectrum 5 Collagen™ is the first-ever physician-formulated complete collagen complex on the market.

This formula has both marine and chicken collagen. Marine collagen promotes smoother, firmer skin. It enhances elasticity and hydration, and supports rapid skin cell repair and renewal. The collagen from chickens and eggshell membranes is essential for your joints and cartilage. These two sources of collagen are a one-two punch that provides structure to your cartilage, promotes flexible joints, and supports bone formation!

If you’re looking for bone, cartilage, and joint support, I recommend adding Spectrum 5 Collagen™ to your morning coffee or smoothie. 

The Final Word

Collagen is essential for healthy hair, skin, nails, and joints. However, not all collagen is created equal. Plant based collagen may seem like a healthier alternative. Still, they don’t provide the complete benefits your body needs. That’s where high-quality, animal-based collagen comes in.

If you’re looking for a simple and effective way to boost your collagen levels, my Collagen Protein and Spectrum 5 Collagen™ are good options.

Collagen Protein contains grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine collagen. This will give your hair, skin, and nails the support they need to stay hydrated and look vibrant. If you want full-range high-quality collagen to support your hair, skin, nails, joints, and cartilage, then Spectrum 5 Collagen™ is the perfect multi-collagen protein powder for you. 

Plant based collagen is a trendy product that does not contain actual collagen. I believe animal sources are the only way to get high-quality collagen. 

Adding collagen to your routine is easy—just mix it into your coffee, smoothie, or favorite drink! Ready to give your body the collagen it deserves? Choose Collagen Protein or Spectrum 5 Collagen™ today and feel the difference!