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Boost Your Collagen While on a Vegan Diet

Collagen is getting a lot of hype nowadays because of its role in giving your skin a younger appearance and strengthening your nails and hair. Unfortunately, your body’s collagen production declined as you age. However, this doesn’t mean that you should take supplements. There are plenty of ways to boost your collagen while on a vegan diet. To give you a better view, here are some nutrients that help boost collagen production.

Vitamin C

One of the most common and easiest ways to boost your collagen while on a vegan diet is to consume foods rich in vitamin C. Remember, this nutrient plays a vital role in producing collagen. To be specific, vitamin C add hydrogen and oxygen to amino acids. Through this, the amino acids can do their role in collagen production.

The best vegan sources of vitamin C are broccoli, bell peppers, Brussel sprouts, strawberries, kiwi, and citrus fruits.

Zinc

Aside from boosting your immune system, zinc is also collagen-boosting nutrients. To be specific, this mineral activates proteins necessary for the production of collagen.

Although animal products are the best sources of zinc, you can still get this essential nutrient by adding beans, seeds, and nuts to your diet. Foods, like hemp and sesame seeds, have high concentrations of zinc.

Lysine

As a protein, collagen is made up of various amino acids, and lysine is an essential amino acid needed to create collagen. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t produce lysine, so you need to get it from the food you eat. Fortunately, various vegan foods contain this amino acid, such as beets, tofu, spirulina, tomatoes, avocados, and bell peppers.

Proline

Like lysine, proline is also a vital amino acid necessary for collagen production, and it plays a crucial role in the stability of collagen.

The best plant sources of proline are peanuts, soy, buckwheat, asparagus, watercress, chives, cabbage, and garbanzo beans.

Manganese and Copper

One of the best ways to boost your collagen while on a vegan diet is to eat legumes, seeds, and nuts. The reason is that these food products contain manganese and copper, minerals necessary for collagen production.

Aside from nuts, seeds, and legumes, you can also get these minerals in various vegan foods, including seaweed, apricot, pineapple, brown rice, mushroom, dark chocolate, and green leafy vegetables.

Vitamin A

Aside from those ways to boost your collagen while on a vegan diet, you should also consume foods rich in beta-carotene. Keep in mind that vitamin A stimulates collagen production. Unfortunately, this vitamin is only found in animal products. However, your body can convert carotenoids or beta-carotene to vitamin A. The best vegan sources of beta-carotene are carrots, squash, apricots, kale, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.

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