For centuries, Chinese women have viewed collagen — a protein that binds tissues in fish and animals — as a fountain of youth, routinely consuming foods like pig’s feet, shark fins, and donkey skin in hopes of smoothing withered skin and preserving aging joints. In the United States, collagen became best known in the 1980s as an expensive injectable filler to plump lips and soften lines.
But only in recent years, as companies have come up with more appetizing ways to take it (including fruity chews, vanilla-flavored-coffee creamers, single-serving sachets, and easy-to-swallow capsules) has edible collagen begun to catch on here.