Plant-Based Collagen Vs. Animal Collagen: What’s The Difference?

Do you know what collagen is? It is the main structural protein in the connective tissues that help build ligaments, skin, muscles, and tendons. And strengthens your bones and provides your skin with a structure.

Now how will your body receive the necessary collagen? You can eat either plant-based collagen or animal collagen. Now, what are they?

To know them in detail and build your bones stronger and increase natural protein production in the body with collagen supplement sources, read the whole article.

 

What is Collagen?

Collagen is a naturally produced protein in your body. But as we get older, the production of collagen reduces through age. Around 35 or 40, your body slows down its production and becomes half till 60 years of age. The daily need for collagen in your body is 2.5 grams to 15 grams. And the only way to increase collagen in the body is by taking supplements.

Your body needs amino acids, protein, and vitamin C to form collagen through the food you eat. When you consume food, the three elements, amino acids, protein, and Vitamin C, together form procollagen. When more procollagen molecules attach, they form fibrils. And then, these fibrils glue to form collagen.

Without any of the above three elements, your body can not produce collagen, and you may lose your teeth, hair, and bones. Therefore, eat the food with all the essential elements. Increase the number of collagen supplements according to your age and the need for collagen in your body.

 

Reasons for the drop of collagen at a younger age

What are the reasons for less collagen in your body? Not only age but your lifestyle may also be responsible for lower production of collagen even at a younger age. But what is the lifestyle you must live to maintain the collagen level in the body? And what if your lifestyle is healthy and still there is a loss in collagen level?

The reasons could be,

1. Exposure to ultraviolet light 

UV radiations break down the collagen. But how? When your skin is exposed to sunlight for a longer time, the UV rays get deep into your skin to penetrate the middle layer and cause an abnormal buildup of elastin in the skin.

 

2. Tobacco or smoking

The chemicals present in tobacco harm the elastin and collagen supply. The one who smokes, their body lacks Vitamin C, and it is the essential element to form collagen in the body.

 

3. Excessive intake of sugar

Excessive sugar intake increases inflammation in the body, which breaks the collagen and elastin in your skin.

 

4. Pollution

Besides the dirt stuck to your skin because of the pollution, the free radicals penetrate deep into the skin, triggering inflammation. And now you know that when inflammation increases, the collagen, and elastin break.

 

5. Autoimmune diseases

These diseases attack the healthy cells in your body and cause inflammation. And if you specifically have collagen vascular disease, then the immune system will directly attack the collagen and joint tissues by increasing inflammation there.

 

Plant collagen vs. animal collagen 

A healthy diet can contribute to balancing the level of collagen production in your body. Now the question arises, what to consume? You must eat collagen supplements which could be plant-based or animal-based. Let us see which one is better, and the difference between them.

Plant-Based Collagen	Animal-Based Collagen
Plant collagen is found in plant-based ingredients like fruits, vegetables, and plant products that boost the body’s collagen production.	The animal-based collagen supplements come from the hooves, hides, bones, and joints of animals.
The plant-based collagen supplement helps the natural collagen in the body to boost up.	On the other hand, animal-based collagen is the original collagen of animals, which replaces the body’s lost collagen.
As the plant collagen supplements are all-natural, green vegetables, seeds of pumpkin and chia, alfalfa sprouts, and much more, it doesn’t have contaminants.	As the animal collagen supplements are collagens of animals, they may have contaminants that are not good for the body.
Plant-based collagens have enzymes that are easy to digest. Even if they are peptide-building powders, they have natural ingredients which easily digest.	A few of the animal-based collagens are difficult to break down during digestion. And some may be too large to cross the intestinal wall.
Plant collagen is a self-proclaimed collagen-boosting vegan product.	Animal collagen is not natural as they are ingestible animal-based products to boost collagen production in the body.

Collagen supplements may have side effects like heartburn, stomach fullness, and bloating for some people. And for others, these supplements are safe to consume and do not cause any digestion problems. And as mentioned above, you may experience the side effects only in the case of animal-based collagen supplements consumption.

That is why plant-based collagen supplements are more effective in boosting collagen production in the body with no added contaminants. Plant collagens have Vitamin C, silica, and amino acids that help the inbuilt collagen of your body to produce more of it.

 

Name of plant-based collagen supplements

The plant-based collagen supplement sources provide you with the essential three elements, amino acids, Vitamin C, and protein, and other fruitful minerals, Vitamin A, E, B, copper, zinc, and many more. If you prefer plant-based collagen supplements for healthy skin, hair, nails, bones and to prevent sagging skin and wrinkles, go for,

• Citrus fruits (orange, grapefruits, lemons, and limes)
• Green vegetables
• Nutritional seeds like pumpkin seeds
• legumes
• Sunwarrior collagen-building protein peptides
• Vegan collagen-boosting powder supplement.
• Organic plant collagen builder
• Vegan collagen-boosting gummies
• Rae wellness vegan collagen boost
• Future kind+ vegan collagen booster

And many more plant products that are natural and provide many more other benefits with boosting up the body’s collagen level.

 

Name of animal-based collagen supplements

The animal-based collagen supplements are mostly made from the animal products of fish, pig, and beef. You get the bone broth of these animals in the market, but at home, you can consume these animals as it is if you want to avoid powdered animal collagens.

 

FAQs

1. Can you consume collagen supplements daily?

Collagen is healthy for the body, and it’s nontoxic, but too much intake of it regularly, for some, may result in stomach issues and unpleasant taste. Otherwise, collagen supplements do not show any adverse side effects. It only makes your bones denser and slows down aging.

 

2. How much time does the supplement take to show the results in the body?

If you consume a collagen supplement daily, it may show results in 4 to 5 weeks. You may see the difference in skin’s flawlessness and hair growth, less joint pain, and bone issues after a month or so. Therefore, it is the healthiest if you recommend consuming supplements to keep yourself healthy.

 

3. What will happen if you do not eat collagen-based products at a certain age when your body needs more of them?

The skin becomes thinner, drier, and less elastic at a certain age because your body loses collagen, which leads to wrinkles on the skin. If you stop eating collagen-full products, your body may lose the elastin-producing protein and decrease the skin elasticity because of the lesser production of elastin fibers. You might slow down the aging process by continuing your daily intake of collagen supplements.

 

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Bottom line

Collagen is a protein produced in your body that plays a vital role in keeping your skin and bones healthy and more muscular. You can intake any plant-based or animal-based collagen to boost collagen production.

Animal-based collagen supplements come as powders made from animals’ collagen, which may contain contaminants and become difficult to digest. In contrast, plant collagen is made from natural plant products having all the essential elements to boost the level of collagen in the body. It is easy to digest and has no harmful elements in it.

Now, the difference between animal and plant-based collagen supplements must be clear to you. And also now you can easily identify the best choice for yourself. Which one will you prefer? Animal or plant-based collagen? Do share with us in the comment section below.