Chuck cuts are rich in collagen, which adds a great deal of flavor when cooked low and slow. Aside from burgers, these cuts perform at their highest when slow cooked with wet methods, like roasting, stewing, or braising.
Cows and pigs have higher amounts of collagen in the legs, chest, and rump. Pork is generally more tender than beef because pigs are usually slaughtered at a younger age than cows, and so their muscles are less developed and have less collagen than do those of cows.
Collagen in Beef
Steak is delicious, but it doesn't offer much collagen protein. The more tender the cut (e.g. tenderloin), the lesser the collagen.
The rib eye steak is one of the most beloved, flavourful, and tender cuts of beef both here in Australia and around the world. It is also known as the rib fillet or the scotch fillet steak, depending on where you go.
You may be surprised to hear that chicken breast has the most protein in it compared to all types of meat. It has an impressive 30.9g of protein per 100g/3.5 ounces.
Meats—especially red meats including beef, pork, and lamb—are among the best high-collagen foods. These animals have lots of connective tissue that requires collagen for the same reason humans have it: It helps them move their muscles properly.
The protein in meat is made up of essential amino acids the body can't make on its own. But meats like beef and chicken also contain non-essential amino acids, some of which make up collagen. Eating meat, then, provides your body with additional stores of the amino acids it needs to produce collagen.
In food, collagen is found mostly in the “odd bits” and tougher cuts. For example, in beef, the most collagen is found in the bones, cartilage, ligaments, and skin.
Liver. Liver, particularly beef liver, is one of the most nutritious meats you can eat. It's a great source of high-quality protein; vitamins A, B12, B6; folic acid; iron; zinc; and essential amino acids.
Cured meats, cold cuts, salami, and hot dogs are just a few examples of processed meats to limit or avoid. Scientific consensus confirms that eating large amounts of these processed meats will raise your risk of colon cancer. These meats are often high in both sodium and saturated fats, Malkani says.
Bone Broth
This tops the list of food sources that contain high amounts of collagen. You can buy bone broth at the grocery store or make it yourself. To make bone broth at home, simply cook beef, pork, poultry, or fish bones in water.
Foods like white rice, white pasta, rice cakes, white bread, popcorn, and other simple carbohydrates are quickly converted to glucose, just like sugar. This causes your blood sugar to shoot up while the glucose attacks the collagen in your skin.
Beef has more collagen per gram of protein
These are two amino acids that make up collagen, along with hydroxyproline and arginine. Chicken broth still has collagen, however it is around 10% less per serving than beef.
Fish collagen is absorbed up to 1.5 times faster (and more efficiently) into your body. This means that marine collagen has superior bioavailability over beef or porcine collagen. This is due to its smaller particle size compared to other types of collagen.
Beef bones are more dense than chicken bones, which yields a higher concentration of minerals and collagen compared to chicken. The high concentration of minerals may help boost energy levels and provide extra nourishment.
Eating foods rich in vitamin C and amino acids can increase the levels of hyaluronic acid and collagen in the body as both are important for skin. Foods such as oranges, red peppers, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and strawberries are all rich in vitamin C.
Eating foods that contain vitamin C and antioxidants, avoiding smoking, limiting caffeine intake, and protecting the skin from sunlight may all help preserve collagen or boost its production.
Chicken, Turkey, Lean Beef and Pork all high high levels of protein combined with low levels of fat which is really what you should be aiming for if you're trying to build lean muscle.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world (36%) followed by poultry (33%), beef (24%), and goats/sheep (5%).
Goat meat is considered the healthiest of red meats as a rich source of nutrients, including protein, vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and potassium. It is also low in total fat and saturated fat compared with other red meats.