Let’s talk collagen!

Let’s talk collagen! Why do I add collagen to my smoothies?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body and one of the vital building blocks for bones, skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Collagen is like the glue that holds all of these structures together.

As you age there is a decline in the amount of collagen your body produces. The most visible sign of this decrease is in your skin, which becomes less firm and supple.

There are several nutrients that aid your body in naturally producing collagen, these include:

Vitamin C – Whole citrus fruits, Kakadu plums, kiwi, chili peppers, thyme & parsley

Proline –  Asparagus, mushrooms, cabbage & egg whites

Glycine – Tofu, peanuts, kidney beans, gelatine powder, organic bone broths and catfish

Copper – Shiitake mushrooms, raw cocoa, sesame seeds, cashew and lentils.

In addition to the nutrients listed above, our body requires amino acids found in high quality sources of protein, such as grass fed meat, organic poultry, sustainable seafood, legumes and tofu. These amino acids assist with creating new proteins; one of them being collagen.

The amino acid and peptide composition of dietary collagens, like the powdered version I add to my smoothie bowls, are very similar to those in human collagens, making dietary collagen peptides ideal for supporting body collagen turnover and renewal.

Today’s smoothie bowl recipe was…
¼ large avocado
1 large frozen banana
1 cup frozen mango
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1 tbsp raw peanut butter
1/3 cup macadamia milk
1 scoop collagen powder

I’m currently using the Whole Body Collagen by @designsforhealthaus, which has been prescribed by my Naturopath @sanctumskin. I can also vouch for the @kissedearth brilliance collagen. Both options blend really well!

Adding collagen to your coffee? There is still debate around what temperature collagen can be exposed to before it starts changing in structure, rendering the supplement useless. The general consensus seems to be 150ºC, thus as long as your coffee is below this temperature (average temperature of coffee is 90–96ºC) the quality of the supplement shouldn’t be affected.

Enjoying these informative posts? Let me know in the comments below. Look forward to seeing your smoothie bowl creations. Tag me so i can share @danielarose930