When it comes to beauty, health, and wellness, the keto diet along with collagen protein are becoming more and more popular. But the question is, should you be combining the keto diet and collagen protein together? According to experts and doctors, the answer is yes. Here’s how boosting your collagen protein intake can add amazing benefits to your keto lifestyle.

What is Keto? 

The trending high-fat keto diet gained its popularity for a reason – with promises of weight loss, reduced inflammation, lower blood sugar and insulin levels, increased energy, and less cravings. 

On the keto diet, you commit to eating 60 to 70 percent of your calories from fat, 15 to 30 percent from protein, and 5 to 10 from carbohydrates. This process transitions your body from burning glucose – energy that comes from carbohydrates and sugar – to burning ketones, energy that comes from fat, ultimately resulting in weight loss. 

However, in this process, an excessive intake of protein on the keto diet can switch your body’s fat-burning abilities from burning ketones back to glucose. Despite this, Dr. Josh Axe, D.N.M., C.N.S., D.C, member of The Vitamin Shoppe Wellness Council and author of Keto Diet, stresses that it is still important for your overall health that you get enough protein. 

And, when it comes to what type of protein to get while on keto, Dr. Axe emphasizes collagen.

Why Collagen? 

Collagen is the most abundant type of structural protein in the human body, comprising over one-third of your body’s total protein makeup. Collagen is the glue that holds your body together, forming connective tissues and aiding in the healing of wounds. It can be found in a variety of areas across the body including: 

Our body naturally produces collagen, however as we age, starting in our early 20’s, our body produces less and less collagen at a steady rate of 1.5% per year. This leads to signs of aging such as: 

With this in mind, keto dieters and average eaters alike can benefit from supplementing with more collagen. An increase in collagen intake has been proven to support digestive health, relieve joint issues, and fight anti-aging with the boost in appearance of our skin, hair, and nails.

Collagen and The Keto Diet

So, how do the keto diet and collagen work together?

According to Dr. Axe, consuming more collagen – like through collagen peptide supplement powders – works to boost your body’s collagen production and is especially beneficial when on the ketogenic diet.

Overall, the ketogenic diet has been shown to reduce inflammation, ease joint pain, promote cognitive function, and result in weight loss. However, despite these incredible benefits, the keto diet can result in some drawbacks like muscle mass, gut health, and joint health over time. 

For this reason, doctors recommend the use of collagen while on the keto diet. Collagen can be used as a protein source that offers many benefits including improving muscle, joint, and gut health. Collagen while on the ketogenic diet can also help you get the best return on your investment from the protein you do consume while on keto.

How To Add Collagen to Your Keto Diet

To maximize the anti-aging and health-boosting benefits of keto, Dr. Axe recommends following along his ‘Keto Collagen-Boosting Plan’.

To start, limit your total protein intake to between 0.8 and 1 gram of protein per kilogram of your body weight per day. For example, this is 55 to 68 grams of protein for a 150 pound person.

After this, incorporate collagen-rich foods, collagen-boosted nutrients, and a collagen supplement into your diet at least twice daily. It’s safe to say that 10-20 grams of your daily protein intake should come from a collagen source. 

The easiest way to make sure you are getting this amount of collagen per day is to take collagen supplements, like Wholy Dose’s collagen.

4 Ways to Boost Collagen on Keto 

Now, here are four ways that collagen and the keto diet work together without disrupting ketosis.

1. Avoid Habits that Deplete Collagen 

Apart from supplementation, in order to boost collagen in the body it is best to limit or avoid lifestyle factors that reduce collagen synthesis and can negatively impact your overall health and collagen. This includes:

2. Try A Bone Broth

Collagen is found in connective tissues like bones and cartilage, which is why it is not regularly consumed in the average diet. 

However, just like collagen supplements, drinking bone broth can be another way to boost your daily collagen intake because it’s packed with collagen.

If you’re not into drinking soup every day to get your collagen intake, swap out bone broth for a collagen peptide supplement powder like Wholy Dose’s UNFLAVORED Beauty Superfood Powder – you can mix it into your favorite beverage or recipe, making it versatile to use at all times.

3. Eat More Collagen-Boosting Nutrients

Aside from collagen supplements, eating nutrients your body needs in order to produce collagen and create energy is also important. 

Vitamin A and vitamin C (both are known as ‘collagen co-factors’) are needed by your body to produce collagen and have been found to boost collagen levels when paired with a supplement:

For best practice, take a daily collagen supplement and eat at least one serving of the above foods per day to boost your vitamin A and vitamin C intake.

Up your vitamin C and antioxidant intake with fruits like:

4. Take A Keto-Friendly Collagen Supplement

The most effective way to incorporate collagen into your keto diet is with a keto-friendly collagen protein supplement. 

Look for a collagen supplement that is clean, pure, and clinically proven – like Wholy Dose supplements, which contain a dose of collagen along with silica and biotin for added health and beauty boosting benefits. 

Mix your collagen supplement into any of the following keto recipes to curb hunger and boost protein intake while on the keto-diet: