Ultimate Collagen Drink for Skin, Hair, Nails, and Leaky Gut | Benefits of Collagen

Today, I’m sharing my Ultimate Collagen Drink Recipe for Skin, Hair, Nails, and Leaky Gut. I’ve been including collagen into my weekly diet for a while now and the benefits I’ve seen are quite impressive.

In addition to including collagen peptides into my collagen drink recipe, I also include foods that contain the support nutrients for collagen production, such as Vitamin C, Zinc, and Copper. So, be sure to continue reading to understand the reasoning behind each ingredient I’ve include in this drink recipe.

What is Collagen?

Collagen is a protein that provides structure to much of your body, including your bones, skin, tendons, and ligaments. It’s also found in many other parts of the body, including blood vessels, corneas, and teeth. In fact, it’s the most plentiful protein in your body.

Benefits of Adding Collagen to Your Diet

Your body can produce its own collagen, but as you age, your collagen production declines. In many elderly people you’ll see that their skin is very thin and it has lost much of its elasticity.

This is why consuming collagen-rich foods is important, especially the older you get. In ancient times, when our ancestors would make a kill, they would eat the animal nose-to-tail, including the bone marrow, ligaments, and skin. And, they’d even use the bones to make bone broth. All of these contain collagen.

The problem is that nowadays we only eat the muscles meats and many times without the skin (i.e. skinless chicken breast). Therefore, we’re not consuming nearly enough collagen in our modern-day diets compared to our ancestors, which can lead to faster aging, especially in terms of our appearance.

Adding collagen-rich foods and/or collagen peptides to your diet is great for your hair, skin, nails, and digestive tract. It’s also great for reducing arthritis and can help you to recover faster from workouts.

Personally, since including collagen peptides into my diet (along with other collagen rich foods), I’ve noticed thicker hair, thicker and faster growing nails, firmer skin, faster recovery from workouts, and better digestion overall.

Foods High in Collagen

Foods high in collagen includes bone marrow, bone broth, the skin of meats (i.e. chicken thighs with the skin on), fish (with skin), pastured eggs, and gelatin.

You can also start adding a collagen peptides protein powder to your weekly routine for an easy and convenient option. Just make sure you get one that’s pasture-raised and high quality.

Watch Recipe Video Below…

Ingredients in My Collagen Drink Recipe

Each ingredient in my collagen drink recipe has a purpose. In addition to adding collagen peptides to my smoothie, I also like to add foods that contain the support nutrients for collagen production.

• Vitamin C – This vitamin plays a critical role in the production of collagen. It’s actually a necessary component to help stabilize the collagen molecule. I’ve include blueberries and lemon juice in this smoothie due to their high Vitamin C content. Technically, any food high in vitamin C will work.
• Zinc – Hemp Seeds are a great source of zinc, which is an essential co-factor in the production of collagen. This means that it activates the proteins that are essential for collagen synthesis. And, one of those proteins is called collagenase, which allows your cells to remodel collagen during would healing. You can also use pumpkin seeds.
• Copper – Copper activates an enzyme called lysyl oxidase that’s required for collagen maturation. Active lysyl oxidase cross-links collagen fibers with other supportive fibers, helping to form the scaffold that supports your tissues. Avocados contain copper and also give your smoothie a nice creamy texture (plus extra healthy fats).
• Vitamin E – This vitamin is great for overall skin health because it’s a powerful antioxidant so it helps to neutralize free radicals that can cause harm to your skin cells. Vitamin E can help to slow down the aging process, reduce inflammation, and give you a better overall complexion. To get my vitamin E in this smoothie, I’m adding in some almond butter.
• Collagen Peptides – As I mentioned early, your body’s collagen production declines with age. So, I like to supplement with collagen peptides and include other collagen-rich foods in my diet. Additionally, collagen peptides contain all of the amino acids (building blocks) for collagen production.
• Bone Marrow Extract – Bone Marrow also contains collagen. But, additionally, it contains Vitamin A (great for skin), B12 (energy production), and CLA (a fatty acid that’s great for fat-burning).

Macro Information

Because this smoothie is so filling and full of healthy fats, I usually have it as a meal replacement for my breakfast or lunch. If you’re super active with a high metabolism, then feel free to have this smoothie as a healthy snack.

Looking for other healthy smoothie recipes?

If you’re on the search for more smoothie recipes, here’s a few of my favorites.

• 5 Fat-Burning Breakfast Smoothies
• My Top 3 Favorite Weight Loss Smoothies
• Gut-Healing Collagen Smoothie
• Vitamin C Immune-Boosting Smoothie