I don't take a lot of supplements. I like to get my nutrients from food as much as possible because I believe my body absorbs and uses those nutrients in a way that goes way beyond ingesting specific vitamins and minerals isolated from the foods they appear in.
What I do take daily is a Flourish probiotic (available as an add-on when you order before you checkout) for a healthy microbiome and a serving of Collagen protein. I recently turned 46, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't more focused on my beauty routine than ever! Keeping my skin wrinkle-free and my hair thick and shiny are two of my top priorities and, since I believe that beauty comes from the inside out, I keep a clean diet with the help of Provenance Meals and make sure I’m getting enough collagen.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is the ultimate beauty food. It’s the protein responsible for the vitality and elasticity in skin, giving you the glowy radiance of youth, and keeping your hair shiny and your bones strong. It also protects your gut lining. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and is found in the skin, joints, cartilage and bones of animals. In the Standard American Diet, we tend to eat just the lean muscle meat (not to mention refined sugars and inflammatory foods that promote rapid aging), but it’s in the bones and cartilage of pasture-raised animals where you find a tremendous amount of collagen protein.
Now if bone marrow or tendons don’t sound terribly appetizing to you, I have good news. Collagen from bone broth and supplements are an easy, bioavailable way to get your beauty food. Your body also produces its own collagen, although the amount declines with age, and you can boost collagen production with the foods you eat.
How to add more collagen to your diet:
Bone Broth - At Provenance, we simmer grassfed beef bones from local farms for hours until the marrow, gelatin and collagen proteins are extracted, providing an easy-to-digest broth that packs in the nutrients you need. Our bone broth is available as an add-on when you order before you checkout. Hot broth in the hot weather not your thing? Try bone broth ice cubes and add them to your green smoothies!
Supplement - Add collagen protein powder to your coffee, smoothies, or oatmeal for a super easy, bioavailable dose. We like the Vital Proteins brand.
Eat collagen boosting foods - Help your body produce more collagen by consuming dark leafy greens, citrus, berries, garlic, avocado, carrots, sweet potato, sustainable fish, tomatoes and beets. Next week’s menu is chock full of these ingredients. Personally, I’m super excited for the Sweet Potato Paleo Muffins, Lemon Curry Vitality Bowl, and Beetroot Bites with Mint Crema!
Beautiful skin starts with nutrition, and collagen is key to protecting your health as you age. Protect your youth and radiance by adding collagen to your diet in the ways outlined above, and enjoy the results!
Caroll Lee - Founder of Provenance Meals
Caroll is an avid cook, mother of two, Board Certified Health Counselor and the founder of Provenance Meals. Her passion in life is to feed people real food -- food that is raised, grown and prepared in traditional ways that are good for your health and good for the planet. Caroll practices holistic nutrition, understanding that a healthy diet must be combined with other sources of nourishment—loving relationships, enjoyable physical activity, meaningful work and spiritual connectedness—to reach true health and happiness.