Hello there, this is Monica Reinagle, welcome to the Nutrition Diva podcast.

Energy density and nutrient density are two phrases that get tossed around a lot in conversations

about food and nutrition, and both of these are really important concepts to understand,

but they describe completely different aspects or dimensions of food.

So today we're going to explore the differences between them and how you can use them to choose

the right foods for your goals.

But first, I had a question from Lena who wrote, there are many collagen products on the

market and I want to know if taking collagen of any kind can actually help improve my skin,

nails, hair and joints or if I'm just wasting my money.

And also, what about the collagen boosters for people who are vegan?

Do these products actually help your body produce its own collagen?

Lena, I'm so glad you asked and you're certainly not the only one I get this question all

the time.

Collagen is a protein and it's only found in foods or supplements that come from animals,

thus the emergence of collagen boosting supplements for vegans who can't take collagen itself.

Collagen is a structural protein, meaning that it's mostly used to build the scaffolding

bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, skin and so on, that contains all of our juicy bits,

you know, our blood, nerves, organs and so forth.

We get collagen from foods, in particular things like chicken or beef stock, more fashionably

known as bone broth, and of course we can also get it from supplements.

Now one of the unusual things about collagen protein is that it is not a complete protein

which most animal proteins are.

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