Copper is essential for the body to manufacture collagen, the structural protein that comprises most of our tissues---including skin, joint cartilage, muscles, bones and blood vessels. While collagen supplements are a popular trend, there’s no guarantee that supplementary collagen will be used for one specific purpose or area of the body. That’s because instead of being absorbed intact, it’s broken down into individual amino acids by the digestive system. Taking copper to support the body’s structural proteins makes more sense than taking collagen because copper does not actually undergo changes during digestion. Combined with the ever- important vitamin, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), copper can be utilized to manufacture our own collagen. This is significant to vegetarians as a way of supplying the building blocks for collagen without the use of animal products, but also to meat-eaters who are looking to support their joints, muscles, and skin.