The Best Foods For Collagen Production
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Dr. Andrea Suarez gives us the low-down on collagen synthesis and maintenance. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our body, and it can be fairly described as “the stuff that holds us together”. It’s particularly important for joints and bones too, though many people’s focus on it is for the skin. Whatever your priorities, collagen levels are something it pays to be mindful of, as they usually drop quite sharply after a certain age. What certain age? Well, that depends a lot on you, and your diet and lifestyle. But it can start to decline from the age of 30 with often noticeable drop-offs in one’s mid-40s and again in one’s mid-60s.
Showing us what we’re made of
There’s a lot more to having good collagen levels than just how much collagen we consume (which for vegetarians/vegans, will be “none”, unless using the “except if for medical reasons” exemption, which is probably a little tenuous in the case of collagen but nevertheless it’s a possibility; this exemption is usually one that people use for, say, a nasal spray vaccine that contains gelatine, or a medicinal tablet that contains lactose, etc).
Rather, having good collagen levels is also a matter of what we eat that allows us to synthesize our own collagen (which includes: its ingredients, and various “helper” nutrients), as well as what dietary adjustments we make to avoid our extant collagen getting broken down, degraded, and generally lost.
Here’s what Dr. Suarez recommends:
Protein-rich foods (but watch out)
- Protein is essential for collagen production.
- Sources: fish, soy, lean meats (but not red meats, which—counterintuitively—degrade collagen), eggs, lentils.
- Egg whites are high in lysine, vital for collagen synthesis.
- Bone broth is a natural source of collagen.
Omega-3 fatty acids
- Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and protect skin collagen.
- Sources: walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, fatty fish (e.g. mackerel, sardines).
Leafy greens
- Leafy dark green vegetables (e.g. kale, spinach) are rich in vitamins C and B9.
- Vitamin C is crucial for collagen synthesis and acts as an antioxidant.
- Vitamin B9 supports skin cell division and DNA repair.
Red fruits & vegetables
- Red fruits/vegetables (e.g. tomatoes, red bell peppers) contain lycopene, an antioxidant that protects collagen from UV damage (so, that aspect is mostly relevant for skin, but antioxidants are good things to have in all of the body in any case).
Orange-colored vegetables
- Carrots and sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A, which helps in collagen repair and synthesis.
- Vitamin A is best from food, not supplements, to avoid potential toxicity.
Fruits rich in vitamin C
- Citrus fruits, kiwi, and berries are loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants, essential for collagen synthesis and skin health.
Soy
- Soy products (e.g. tofu, soybeans) contain isoflavones, which reduce inflammation and inhibit enzymes that degrade collagen.
- Soy is associated with lower risks of chronic diseases.
Garlic
- Garlic contains sulfur, taurine, and lipoic acid, important for collagen production and repair.
What to avoid:
- Reduce foods high in advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which damage collagen and promote inflammation.
- AGEs are found in fried, roasted, or grilled fatty proteinous foods (e.g. meat, including synthetic meat, and yes, including grass-fed nicely marketed meat—although processed meat such as bacon and sausages are even worse than steaks etc).
- Switch to cooking methods like boiling or steaming to reduce AGE levels.
- Processed foods, sugary pastries, and red meats contribute to collagen degradation.
General diet tips:
- Incorporate more plant-based, antioxidant-rich foods.
- Opt for slow cooking to reduce AGEs.
- Since sustainability is key, choose foods you enjoy for a collagen-boosting diet that you won’t seem like a chore a month later.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of ← our main feature research review about collagen
Take care!
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Is there much COVID around? Do I need the new booster shot LP.8.1?
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COVID rarely rates a mention in the news these days, yet it hasn’t gone away.
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, is still with us. It continues to infect thousands of Australians each month, still puts vulnerable people into hospital, sadly still causes deaths and leaves a steady stream of people living with disability from long COVID.
As the virus continues to evolve, booster vaccines have been updated to better match the version of the virus currently circulating.
Here’s what we know about how much COVID is around, prominent viral subvariants and the latest booster shots.
The graph above shows Australia’s COVID notifications for the past 24 months taken from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.
Although the December 2025 data are incomplete, we can see that in November 2025 there were still nearly 8,000 notifications nationally.
Two clear peaks appear: a summer wave in January and a winter wave in June. While 2025 levels are lower than those seen in 2024, the virus continues a pattern of rolling, seasonal mini-waves – just quieter ones than in previous years.
Of course, these numbers underestimate the number of true infections because most people no longer test for COVID or report positive results.
Luis Alvarez/Getty Which versions of the virus are circulating?
At the moment, Australia is seeing a mixture of the subvariants NB.1.8.1, PQ.17, PE.1.4, RE.1.1, and an increasingly common arrival, LP.8.1.
The World Health Organization classifies LP.8.1 as a “variant under monitoring”. That’s because of its rapid growth and its strong ability to evade existing immunity.
Each subvariant is simply a virus that has picked up a slightly different set of mutations as it continues to evolve. All of the above subvariants belong to the broader Omicron family and are descendants of JN.1. They share many core mutations that help them partially escape immunity, but each has added its own small tweaks.
Because they are so closely related genetically, they tend to cause similar illness and respond similarly to vaccines and prior infection.
In other words, these are not brand-new strains, but rather a swarm of closely related offshoots jockeying for position.
Booster shot has been updated
Given this ongoing evolution, our vaccines need occasional updating. For instance, in 2024, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved a new booster based on the JN.1 subvariant – the best available match at the time. Since then, however, the viral family tree has continued to branch.
Now in 2025, the TGA has registered Pfizer’s LP.8.1 vaccine, designed specifically to target the spike protein of LP.8.1. This vaccine should now be becoming available across Australia. It uses the same mRNA platform as earlier versions but updates the immune profile to better reflect the subvariants currently circulating.
We don’t yet have head-to-head vaccine effectiveness studies comparing the LP.8.1 vaccine directly with the previous JN.1 boosters.
Instead, decisions to approve an updated booster vaccine rely on immunogenicity data (how strongly the vaccine stimulates neutralising antibodies) and experience from earlier vaccines.
Early laboratory data suggest the LP.8.1 update should generate stronger neutralising responses against LP.8.1-like viruses than a JN.1 vaccine, while still offering good cross-protection to other JN.1 descendants such as NB.1.8.1.
Who is eligible for the new booster?
Whether Australians are “recommended” or are asked to “consider” a free COVID booster, and how often, depends on their age and risk.
Healthy adults aged 18–64 are eligible for a booster every 12 months. The advice is to consider a dose, particularly if a new vaccine becomes available that better matches circulating strains.
For older Australians and those with a weakened immune system, the recommendation is stronger, reflecting their higher risk of severe disease.
Children are only recommended a booster every 12 months if they are aged 5–17 and immunocompromised.
You can also check your eligibility online. And you can find the closest place to get vaccinated by searching for a “COVID-19 vaccine clinic”. This includes nearby pharmacies, which often have walk-in availability, as well as GP clinics, where you’d generally have to book ahead.
How safe is the vaccine?
Because the vaccine is so new, we do not have long-term safety data on it. However, a statement from the manufacturer Pfizer says the safety profile should be similar to their previous mRNA-based vaccines.
According to the vaccine surveillance system AusVaxSafety, 24% of people had a mild and short-lived reaction after being vaccinated with Pfizer’s earlier JN.1 vaccine. This included pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache or muscle and joint pain. Fewer than 1% reported seeing a doctor or going to the emergency department after vaccination.
Why vaccination still matters
COVID has become less disruptive, but it has not disappeared. A single infection can still result in days or weeks of illness, missed work, and, for some people, long-term complications.
Vaccination remains one of the simplest ways to reduce the risk of severe outcomes, especially for people who have not had a booster in more than a year.
Elderly people are one of the highest risk groups for severe COVID, yet only 32% of Australians over 75 are up to date with their booster shot.
Updating our vaccines to match the virus gives our immune system the best chance to recognise new subvariants quickly. That, ultimately, keeps more Australians out of hospital.
As we prepare for the festive season and summer holidays, it’s easy for a COVID booster to fall off our to-do list. But with many pharmacies accepting vaccination walk-ins, it’s never been easier to protect yourself and your family, and help keep community transmission low.
Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Celery vs Carrot – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing celery to carrot, we picked the carrot.
Why?
In terms of macros, carrot has more protein, carbs, and fiber, and is thus the “most food per food” option. The carb:fiber ratio is such that they have about the same glycemic index (when raw, anyway).
In the category of vitamins, celery has more of vitamins B9 and K, while carrot has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, C, E, and choline. An easy win for carrot here.
When it comes to minerals, celery has more calcium and selenium, while carrot has more copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Another clear win for carrot.
In short, both are very respectable foods, but carrot simply has more in it, and it’s all good.
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Level-Up Your Fiber Intake! (Without Difficulty Or Discomfort)
Take care!
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How To Get More Nutrition From The Same Food
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How To Get More Out Of What’s On Your Plate
Where does digestion begin? It’s not the stomach. It’s not even the mouth.
It’s when we see and smell our food; maybe even hear it! “Sell the sizzle, not the steak” has a biological underpinning.
At that point, when we begin to salivate, that’s just one of many ways that our body is preparing itself for what we’re about to receive.
When we grab some ready-meal and wolf it down, we undercut that process. In the case of ready-meals, they often didn’t have much nutritional value, but even the most nutritious food isn’t going to do us nearly as much good if it barely touches the sides on the way down.
We’re not kidding about the importance of that initial stage of our external senses, by the way:
- Food perception primes hepatic endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis via melanocortin-dependent control of mTOR activation
- Olfaction regulates organismal proteostasis and longevity via microRNA-dependent signalling
So, mindful eating is not just something for Instagrammable “what I eat in a day” aesthetic photos, nor is just for monks atop cold mountains. There is actual science here, and a lot of it.
It starts with ingredients
“Eating the rainbow” (no, Skittles do not count) is great health advice for getting a wide variety of micronutrients, but it’s also simply beneficial for our senses, too. Which, as above-linked, makes a difference to digestion and nutrient absorption.
Enough is enough
That phrase always sounds like an expression of frustration, “Enough is enough!”. But, really:
Don’t overcomplicate your cooking, especially if you’re new to this approach. You can add in more complexities later, but for now, figure out what will be “enough”, and let it be enough.
The kitchen flow
Here we’re talking about flow in the Csikszentmihalyi sense of the word. Get “into the swing of things” and enjoy your time in the kitchen. Schedule more time than you need, and take it casually. Listen to your favourite music. Dance while you cook. Taste things as you go.
There are benefits, by the way, not just to our digestion (in being thusly primed and prepared for eating), but also to our cognition:
In The Zone: Flow State and Cognition in Older Adults
Serve
No, not just “put the food on the table”, but serve.
Have a pleasant environment; with sensory pleasures but without too many sensory distractions. Think less “the news on in the background” and more smooth jazz or Mozart or whatever works for you. Use your favourite (small!) plates/bowls, silverware, glasses. Have a candle if you like (unscented!).
Pay attention to presentation on the plate / in the bowl / in any “serve yourself” serving-things. Use a garnish (parsley is great if you want to add a touch of greenery without changing the flavor much). Crack that black pepper at the table. Make any condiments count (less “ketchup bottle” and more “elegant dip”).
Take your time
Say grace if that fits with your religious traditions, and/or take a moment to reflect on gratitude.
In many languages there’s a pre-dinner blessing that most often translates to “good appetite”. This writer is fond of the Norwegian “Velbekommen”, and it means more like “May good come of it for you”, or “May it do you good”.
Then, enjoy the food.
For the most even of blood sugar levels, consider eating fiber, protein/fat, carbs, in that order.
Why? See: 10 Ways To Balance Blood Sugars
Chew adequately and mindfully. Put your fork (or spoon, or chopsticks, or whatever) down between bites. Drink water alongside your meal.
Try to take at least 20 minutes to enjoy your meal, and/but any time you go to reach for another helping, take a moment to check in with yourself with regard to whether you are actually still hungry. If you’re not, and are just eating for pleasure, consider deferring that pleasure by saving the food for later.
At this point, people with partners/family may be thinking “But it won’t be there later! Someone else will eat it!”, and… That’s fine! Be happy for them. You can cook again tomorrow. You prepared delicious wholesome food that your partner/family enjoyed, and that’s always a good thing.
Want to know more about the science of mindful eating?
Check out Harvard’s Dr. Lilian Cheung on Mindful Eating here!
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The Salt Fix – by Dr. James DiNicolantonio
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This book has a bold premise: high salt consumption is not, as global scientific consensus holds, a serious health risk, but rather, as the title suggests, a health fix.
Dr. DiNicolantonio, a pharmacist, explains how “our ancestors crawled out of the sea millions of years ago and we still crave that salt”, giving this as a reason why we should consume salt ad libitum, aiming for 8–10g per day, and thereafter a fair portion of the book is given over to discussing how many health conditions are caused/exacerbated by sugar, and that therefore we have demonized the wrong white crystal (scientific consensus is that there are many white crystals that can cause us harm).
Indeed, sugar can be a big health problem, but reading it at such length felt a lot like when all a politician can talk about is how their political rival is worse.
A lot of the studies the author cites to support the idea of healthy higher salt consumption rates were on non-human animals, and it’s always a lottery as to whether those results translate to humans or not. Also, many of the studies he’s citing are old and have methodological flaws, while others we could not find when we looked them up.
One of the sources cited is “my friend Jose tried this and it worked for him”.
Bottom line: sodium is an essential mineral that we do need to live, but we are not convinced that this book’s ideas have scientific merit. But are they well-argued? Also no.
Click here to check out The Salt Fix for yourself! It’s a fascinating book.
(Usually, if we do not approve of a book, we simply do not review it. We like to keep things positive. However, this one came up in Q&A, so it seemed appropriate to share our review. Also, the occasional negative review may reassure you, dear readers, that when we praise a book, we mean it)
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What Teas To Drink Before Bed (By Science!)
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Which Sleepy Tea?
Herbal “tea” preparations (henceforth we will write it without the quotation marks, although these are not true teas) are popular for winding down at the end of a long day ready for a relaxing sleep.
Today we’ll look at the science for them! We’ll be brief for each, because we’ve selected five and have only so much room, but here goes:
Camomile
Simply put, it works and has plenty of good science for it. Here’s just one example:
❝Noteworthy, our meta-analysis showed a significant improvement in sleep quality after chamomile administration❞
Also this writer’s favourite relaxation drink!
(example on Amazon if you want some)
Lavender
We didn’t find robust science for its popularly-claimed sedative properties, but it does appear to be anxiolytic, and anxiety gets in the way of sleep, so while lavender may not be a sedative, it may calm a racing mind all the same, thus facilitating better sleep:
(example on Amazon if you want some)
Magnolia
Animal study for the mechanism:
Human study for “it is observed to help humans sleep better”:
As you can see from the title, its sedative properties weren’t the point of the study, but if you click through to read it, you can see that they found (and recorded) this benefit anyway
(example on Amazon if you want some)
Passionflower
There’s not a lot of evidence for this one, but there is some. Here’s a small study (n=41) that found:
❝Of six sleep-diary measures analysed, sleep quality showed a significantly better rating for passionflower compared with placebo (t(40) = 2.70, p < 0.01). These initial findings suggest that the consumption of a low dose of Passiflora incarnata, in the form of tea, yields short-term subjective sleep benefits for healthy adults with mild fluctuations in sleep quality.❞
So, that’s not exactly a huge body of evidence, but it is promising.
(example on Amazon if you want some)
Valerian
We’ll be honest, the science for this one is sloppy. It’s very rare to find Valerian tested by itself (or sold by itself; we had to dig a bit to find one for the Amazon link below), and that skews the results of science and renders any conclusions questionable.
And the studies that were done? Dubious methods, and inconclusive results:
Nevertheless, if you want to try it for yourself, you can do a case study (i.e., n=1 sample) if not a randomized controlled trial, and let us know how it goes 🙂
(example on Amazon if you want some)
Summary
- Valerian we really don’t have the science to say anything about it
- Passionflower has some nascent science for it, but not much
- Lavender is probably not soporific, but it is anxiolytic
- Magnolia almost certainly helps, but isn’t nearly so well-backed as…
- Camomile comes out on top, easily—by both sheer weight of evidence, and by clear conclusive uncontroversial results.
Enjoy!
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Eating on the Wild Side: – by Jo Robinson
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The author is an investigative journalist, and it shows here, as she leaves no stone unturned in her quest for the truth in the face of many food myths.
She covers a lot of “popular wisdom” things that are varyingly true or false, or sometimes even both—in the case of food lore that’s a good rule of thumb, but has notable exceptions (e.g. “more colorful and/or darker-colored fruits/vegetables contain more nutrients”, which is a very good rule of thumb until one meets a cauliflower, for example).
She also covers food preparation myths, and how, to give one example, in spite of the popularity of “less cooked is better”, in some cases certain cooking methods will indeed destroy nutrients; in others, certain cooking methods will improve nutritional availability. Either by destroying an adjacent antinutrient (e.g. phytates), or by breaking something down into a more manageable form that our body can absorb. Knowing which is which, is important.
The book is organized by kinds of food, and does exclusively cover plants, but there’s more than enough material for any omnivore to enjoy.
The style is… Journalistic, it would be fair to say. Which is not surprising, given the author. But it means that it is written in a fairly narrative way, to draw the reader in and make it an enjoyable read while still being informative in all parts (there is no padding). In terms of science, the in-the-prose science is as minimal as possible to still convey what needs to be conveyed, while 25 pages of bibliography stack up at the end to show that indeed, this journalist cites sources.
Bottom line: this is a really enjoyable book, packed with a wealth of knowledge, and is perfect to uplift your cooking by knowing your ingredients a little more intimately!
Click here to check out Eating On The Wild Side, and, enjoy!
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