The major factor affecting how old (or young) we look is the collagen in our skin.

Collagens are the most numerous proteins in our bodies, up to 30%. They're the major component holding us together. Not only skin, but ligaments, muscles, blood vessels, dentin, tendons and cartilage.

They're kind of like the internal concrete or rebar that holds us up and together. When it weakens, we sag.

Collagen makes up around 70% of the dry weight of our skin.

When we're young, our skin has lots of collagen. But we lose about 1% per year as we grow older. Also, as we grow older, our body's ability to manufacture collagen goes downhill too.

That's why people 80 years old have much thinner skin that sags and is wrinkled.

If we could only fill our skin with as much collagen as we had when we were 25 . . .

Science has Identified 28 Different Collagens

But the vast majority of the collagen in our bodies is Type I, Type II and Type III.

Your skin contains primarily Types I and III.

So Let's Just Take Supplements, Supplements and More Supplements

Right?

That's the usual reaction to learning about a nutrient - let's swallow a magic pill.

Collagent supplements are available. Of course.

Collagen is made up of thousands of amino acids, but primarily glycine, proline and hydroxyproline.

The collagen in supplements is usually hydrolyzed. That means collagen has been broken down into peptides - which are smaller chains of amino acids. 

This happens in relation to cooking as well. When you cook foods containing collagen, the heat breaks the collagen down into shorter chains of amino acids, forming gelatin. 

From my research, supplements of hydrolyzed collagen may have some theraputic benefits, including improving skin health.

Yet, if taking collagen supplements could make 80-year-olds look 25 again - wouldn't we all be taking these supplements?

If it were so easy, collagen supplements would be the most popular pills in the world.

I also suspect that any benefit that comes from taking collagen supplements is temporary, going away if you stop taking the supplement.

Consuming large amounts of animal protein is the standard American diet. Admittedly, most people don't eat as much bone broth as when we lived on farms and had to used every part of the animals. But most Americans do consume plenty of amino acids in meat, cartilage and chicken skin.

If that's all there is to looking 25 throughout life, why don't we?

The Risk of Lead Contamination from Bone Broth

When lead gets into our bodies, it's stored in our bones - and that's true of animals as well.

In one experiment, researchers found chicken soup made by boiling the chicken's bones exceeded the maximum allowable level for food.

Therefore, many experts caution you not to follow the bone broth fad.

Many experts also caution you not to take collagen supplements made from bone.

There is a better way... 

What About Topical Application of Collagen Creams and Lotions?

Collagen is widely used in skin care formulas and cosmetics. 

However some forms of collagen do not get into your skin. Hydrolyzed collagen can penetrate the first layer of your skin, but that's all.

Therefore, putting hydrolyzed collagen on your skin does not make up for how much your body decreases production as you grow older.

However, it can still help to moisturize your skin.

So, What to Do?

You manufacture your own collagen, and have since before you were born, or you wouldn't have been born with skin.

Admittedly, what we manufacture goes down as the years pile up. That's not only why we have wrinkles, stretch lines and crow's feet, but why our joints ache too.

The various collagens are all proteins our body manufactures from the amino acids we consume. 

Unless you're literally starving, you're already eating plenty of amino acids. They're in both animal and plant foods.

The Critical Factor Making Us Appear Older May Be Insufficient Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a cofactor for the enzymes that stabilize collagen production. It also increases the gene expression for manufacturing collagen.

That's why researchers added 100 mg of Vitamin C to the liquid hydrolized collagen supplement they fed daily to 32 women for 12 weeks.

At the end of that period, those women showed 10.5X improvement in wrinkle appearance compared to the control group. Their skin's net elasticity also improved.

But the women of the control group, who also received the Vitamin C, did improve too - just not as much.

Eat Much More Vitamin C

That appears to be an important key to encouraging your body to manufacture more collagen no matter your age.

The average person's skin strength and elasticity declines with age because the average person does not eat nearly enough Vitamin C.

You don't have to Google "foods high in Vitamin C."

Instead, eat your favorite fruits and vegetables as much as possible.

Eat the ones you enjoy so you don't lose steam.  Consistency is important.

You're already eating the required amino acids. 

Get the recommended 9 to 13 servings per day of fruits and vegetables, and your body will have the Vitamin C it needs to turn those amino acids into collagen.

Vitamin C is the key to ten times the affect retaining lifelong younger skin tone, elasticity and support.

https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/collagen-food-boost#bell-peppers

https://www.foundmyfitness.com/topics/collagen

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-lead-is-in-organic-chicken-soup-bone-broth/

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/lead-contamination-bone-broth/