What is Collagen and How Can it Be Vegan?

Collagen is the most abundant protein present in the body. It is an integral component of ligament, cartilage, bone, teeth, and tendons. Soft keratin is also beneficial for skin elasticity and strength that otherwise leads to premature aging. What's more, collagen is vital for strengthening blood vessels, and it plays a good role in the development of tissues as well.

You might think collagen comes from only animal sources, but that is not the case. Vegan collagen is a healthy alternative to animal collagen, which helps you to get healthy nutrients in the body. Collagen coming from animal sources may come with a lot of disadvantages – poor farming standards, unhygienic feed and fillers, possible disease transmission, contamination with pathogens such as food poisoning, and allergic reactions to start.

‍What is Spirulina?

On the other hand, plant collagen does not come with any harm like this. Spirulina, for example, is a blue-green alga that grows in water and is loaded with anti-inflammatory properties. You get minerals and antioxidants, which help you get the best results for your health the right way.

Spirulina Collagen for Health

Foods that are rich in vegan collagen help in healing the gut lining, supporting a better immune system, detoxifying the inner systems of the body, and enhancing skin texture. Spirulina is among the most nutrient-dense sources of collagen and acts as a powerful source of protein for vegans. Arginine is an essential component of spirulina collagen which helps in the formation of healthy muscles. This is a reason why many athletes like to consume this collagen in their routine.

Collagen is also composed of amino acids like L-lysine and L-proline, both of which can be acquired from plant sources, such as spirulina.

Let’s see some of these amino acids:

L-lysine

L-lysine is especially important for making natural collagen, the most abundant connective tissue in the body. It helps to form bones, cartilage and increases strength for ligaments, tendons, and teeth. You can gain this amino acid from vegan sources, which include soybean and isolated soy proteins. Spirulina is also a great source for L-lysine, which helps in the development of healthy connective tissue.

L-proline

L-proline is a great amino acid for muscle function and wound healing. If you are recovering from a muscle injury or you want a stronger immunity, including L-proline in your diet will give you a lot of benefits. L-proline helps in the buildup of healthy tendons and muscles during the recovery process. What's more, it is excellent for maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system in the body. It is found in citrus fruits and spirulina.

Final Word

These are some of the healthier, risk-free sources of collagen. In fact, vegan collagen gives you the benefit of building up healthy muscle, ligament, bones, teeth, ligaments, and tendon in your body without the side effects perceived through taking animal sources for collagen. Get lots of minerals through vegan collagen as well, which maximize the positive results of this type of item.

Direct Vitality Vegan Collagen

At the end of the day collagen is already naturally occurring in our bodies and is a protein made up of amino acids, predominantly glycine, proline, hydroxy proline and arginine. Direct Vitality examined the amino acid profile of collagen and found spirulina which is protein dense has a lot of similar amino acids in good strengths. The formula was enhanced further by adding proline, lysine and vitamin c, which is crucial for holding hydrogen and oxygen molecules during collagen synthesis and zinc for remodelling. Another benefit of spirulina is the vitamin and mineral profile that also help collagen production, for example copper activates an enzyme called lysyl oxidase required for collagen maturation. Hence the formula is optimised and many animal based collagen products do not have this consideration of vitamins and minerals in their formula.

The industry has branded collagen comes from only one source i.e. located in abundance in the skin's and bones of animals. However this is a Vegan Collagen, a cleaner alternative to animal based collagen where you don’t have to worry about questionable animal sources and bad smelling odours. Remember protein in general (including collagen) is broken down to amino acids where the majority is absorbed in your small intestine to provide the necessary nutrients to your body.