Welcome to the Dr. Gundry podcast, where Dr. Stephen Gundry shares his groundbreaking research from over 25 years of treating patients with diet and lifestyle changes alone.

Dr. Gundry and other wellness experts offer inspiring stories, the latest scientific advancements, and practical tips to empower you to take control of your health and live a long, happy life.

First of all, what is collagen actually? Well, it's actually the most abundant protein in the human body.

Now, collagen is made in all mammals and animals, but it's not made in plants.

So why is collagen associated with looking younger?

And does it support hair, skin, and nails?

Well, in fact, collagen, since it's the most abundant protein in the body,

is a large part of what your hair, your skin, and your nails are

composed of. So, in fact, that's why collagen is so important. But the big question is, does

collagen in and of itself promote longevity? There is no evidence that eating collagen, drinking collagen, is going to

change how long you live. But getting collagen, producing collagen, is going to make sure that you

have the building blocks for tendons, bones, skin that are going to definitely contribute to longevity.

So why do people swear by collagen shakes and bone broth?

First of all, let's take a trip back down memory lane.

The original source of most collagen in people's diets was actually animal gristle.

The tendons and the connective tissue that was present in animals, whether it was chicken, beef, pork, that were grazing.

And unfortunately, we had to cook these for a very, very long time.

And the tendons and the gristle would break down, and we would eat it.

We would have consummate, which was actually gelatin as a treat at a fancy restaurant. We would have

consummate as a soup for lunch. We had a great source of gelatin almost every day of our lives growing up,

and that's jello. Most people don't realize that jello was actually rendered beef tendons and gristle the stuff

that you would normally throw away.

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