"How to Boost Collagen Synthesis with Diet"
As we age, the synthesis of collagen decreases
by about 1 percent a year,
which may contribute to the development of wrinkles.
Though we don't have evidence
that collagen is superior to any other proteins for aging skin,
those who do want to try it are advised to contact
the manufacturers to clarify its source.
Most collagen supplements don't disclose this information
and for good reason.
Terrestrial sources can include a witch's brew
of kangaroo and rat tails, duck feet, horse tendons,
alligator bones, and frog skin.
Aquatic sources are mainly from fish skins, bones, heads,
scales, fins, and entrails.
Recommended questions for manufacturers include
"What measures were used to protect against
contamination or adulteration?
If sourced from fish, were low-mercury fish used?
If sourced from cows,
what steps were taken to ensure that
no brain or nervous system matter was included,
in order to prevent prion disease?"
In the United States,
collagen is exempt from FDA prohibitions
against using risky tissues like brains--
prohibitions in place to protect consumers
against bovine spongiform encephalopathy,
also known as mad cow disease.
So, for food safety, religious, ethical,
or allergy-related reasons,
there have been calls for non-animal alternatives.
For example, 2 to 4 percent of the population
is allergic to bovine collagen.
To solve the mad cow conundrum,
there have been calls to genetically engineer
cattle without prions
to "offer a safe source of collagen-based materials."
But why not just get plants to make it?
A technique has been perfected to produce collagen from plants,
but it has not yet reached commercial viability.
It's hard to beat the cost of feet.
But what about all of the vegan collagen products on the market?
If you look closely, you'll see the small print:
vegan collagen builder or vegan collagen booster.
It's not actually collagen,
since collagen is made by animals,
but you're an animal, you make collagen.
So they're suggesting
their supplements can boost production,
but since it appears
none of them have actually been put to the test,
I assume it's all a load of bunk.
But there are some foods and nutrients
that have been investigated.
Researchers burned the butts of 20 women with a UV lamp
before and after half of them
ate three tablespoons of tomato paste each day
for three months.
And there was a significant reduction in MMP-1 levels
in the derrieres of those who had been randomized
to the tomatoes.
(That's a major collagen-eating enzyme
that plays a role in skin aging caused by the sun.)
Butt biopsies also show that the amount of beta-carotene
found in about one and a third cup
of sweet potato can boost collagen production
as much as four-fold within three months.
To test the effects of greens,
Korean researchers randomized older women
to the amount of chlorophyll found in a few tablespoons
of cooked spinach a day.
After three months, skin biopsies showed
a significant increase in collagen production,
accompanied by an increase in skin elasticity
and a decrease in facial wrinkles.
Unfortunately, this was just a before-and-after comparison
to baseline study with no control group,
but there have been
placebo-controlled randomized trials,
and of kale no less!
Compared to placebo, there was a significant improvement
in a noninvasive measure of skin collagen status
after 10 months of being randomized
to an extract of curly kale.
The researchers concluded that "a healthy lifestyle
including a diet rich in carotenoids
is the best prevention strategy
against premature skin aging."
That led to dermatology journal commentaries
with titles like "Eat plenty of green leafy vegetables
for protection from the pro-aging rays of the sun,"
but might it actually be more than that?
Sulforaphane, the cruciferous compound in kale and broccoli,
may be able to mobilize cellular defenses
that protect skin against damage by UV radiation,
as well as mitigate the premature skin aging
induced by air pollution particulate matter,
though this was on skin cells in a Petri dish.
Soybean compounds can increase collagen deposition
and prevent wrinkles in mice, but what about in people?
Given improvements of skin aging
seen with menopausal hormone therapy
but concerned about the side effects,
researchers in Brazil tried giving phytohormones,
plant hormones in the form of soy phytoestrogens.
Twenty-nine postmenopausal women
were given the amount in four servings a day
of soy foods for six months.
Unfortunately, there was no control group,
but they did take skin biopsies before and after
and found a significant improvement in skin thickness,
along with increased collagen content
and elastic fibers.
The biopsies of 25 out of 29 women
showed an increase in collagen.
You could also throw in some vitamin C-rich foods,
as vitamin C appears to stimulate collagen production
from human skin cells.
Defective wound healing has long been known
as a major manifestation of scurvy,
the vitamin C-deficiency disease.
In fact, a remarkable series of grisly experiments
performed on British conscientious objectors
during World War II
involved being subjected to cuts and stab wounds
after being randomized to different levels
of vitamin C.
The researchers found
that the average daily vitamin C intake
to prevent weak scar formation was about 95 milligrams,
which is actually higher than the current recommendations
but nothing you can't get from half a bell pepper.
Vitamin B12 also appears to be necessary
for maximum collagen synthesis,
which may explain why collagen synthesis rates
appear to be about 10 percent lower in vegetarians,
because the prevalence of B12 deficiency
among those eating plant-based diets is so high.
That's one of many reasons why it's critically important
that everyone consuming a plant-based diet
ensures a regular, reliable source of vitamin B12.