Should You Take Collagen?

Collagen is definitely having a moment. Thousands of people (maybe yourself included?) are taking the white powder daily, adding it to smoothies, their morning coffee and even in home baking. It’s advertised with wonderful sounding claims about muscle, joint, hair, skin and gut health - often labelled as particularly “clean” and digestible. 

But is it actually true? Let’s find out!

What is Collagen?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies. It is found, among others, in our skin, bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Actually, “collagen” is an umbrella term for different types of collagen - type 1 can be found in our skin and bones, type 2 in cartilage and type 5 in hair, just to name a few examples. When we get older or suffer from health conditions, our bodies naturally produce less collagen, which is one of the main reasons why we get wrinkles and cracking joints. [1]

Where does Collagen Come From?

Typical food sources of collagen would include fish, meat and poultry, but the collagen content of muscle tissue only amounts to around 1-2%. This is why the collagen sold as powder or in capsule form usually comes from animal skin, where it is highly concentrated. The most common sources are cow (bovine hide) and fish (marine collagen) skins. [2] Actually, gelatin is nothing other than cooked collagen! Nutritionally speaking, both are the same - but gelatin is a lot cheaper. 

Some brands out there advertise vegan collagen options. However, these are either amino acid blends that match the proportions in collagen proteins, or just “collagen boosters”. The latter don’t contain any protein, but vitamins and minerals that are supposed to increase your body’s own collagen production.

Benefits of Collagen Supplements

Fun fact: most of the research on collagen actually comes from gelatin. Here is what we know so far:

Collagen and Joint Pain

The argument goes as follows: Our bones and cartilage are made of collagen, so eating collagen must be a great way to restore them. If only that were true! A lot of medical issues could be solved a lot easier.

The truth is, just like any other protein, collagen gets broken down into its individual amino acids when it’s digested. Your body will then use these amino acids to produce hormones, neurotransmitters or muscle tissue as it sees fit at the time - without specifically allocating them exclusively to new collagen structures. 

Consequently, research has so far failed to back up the miraculous claims around collagen. There is some saving grace coming from a few studies showing that supplementation with very specific types of collagen could help in the management of osteoarthritis, but more research is desperately needed - especially the type that is not funded by the manufacturers of these supplements. [3] 

Collagen and Skin Health

We said it in the introduction - once our body produces less collagen, we’re starting to see more wrinkles on our skin. It’s what keeps it nice and plump. That’s why you can see a lot of anti-ageing creams containing collagen, as well as collagen pills that claim to help your skin “from the inside out”. 

When it comes to creams, we have bad news: collagen is actually too big to penetrate the skin, so it has absolutely no effect on its own. It’s more likely that other ingredients in the formulation do the heavy lifting. And when it comes to collagen pills, the argumentation is pretty much the same as it is on the joint health side - your body will break down the protein and then use it as it would use any other protein. There is some evidence pointing towards collagen improving skin hydration, but a lot of studies are highly biassed (aka were funded by skincare companies), and overall more research is needed to solidify findings. [4]

Collagen, Pregnancy and Postnatal Recovery

Glycine is a non-essential amino acid that your body can produce by itself. It is, however, in high demand in the later stages of pregnancy, making it “conditionally essential” - meaning you need to take in some extra through your nutrition [5]. This has led to the suggestion of supplementing with collagen during this period, as it is particularly high in glycine. Now, while this certainly isn’t harmful, it might also not be necessary as other protein sources contain this amino acid too. So as long as you consume sufficient amounts of protein in your regular diet (1.5-2.0 grams/kilogram of body weight per day), there should be no need to resort to collagen.

There is also anecdotal evidence that collagen helps to speed up recovery postpartum, but, again, you might achieve the same results by just consuming sufficient overall protein. 

Collagen as a Protein Source

Here’s the thing: It is actually quite surprising to see collagen advertised as a protein supplement, as it is a fairly low-quality protein with a poor amino acid profile! Collagen is low in essential amino acids, including leucine, which is crucial for muscle protein synthesis. And not only this, it is missing the essential amino acid tryptophan entirely! 

This means that collagen is an incomplete protein source - and simply not worth your money. You are better off buying a whey or plant-based protein powder (like our Protein+ with added leucine). 

So Should You Try Collagen?

If you ask us, we think it’s a waste of money. 

The evidence backing the alleged benefits of collagen is weak, and it is a low-quality source of protein that shouldn’t take the place of higher quality protein sources in your diet. If you want to do your joints, skin and muscles a favour, get enough overall protein from a balanced diet and pair it with vitamin C and E to help your body make its own collagen! [23] 

References

[1] Morimoto T, Hirata H, Sugita K, Paholpak P, Kobayashi T, Tanaka T, Kato K, Tsukamoto M, Umeki S, Toda Y, Mawatari M. A view on the skin-bone axis: unraveling similarities and potential of crosstalk. Front Med (Lausanne). 2024 Mar 4;11:1360483. 

[2] Mundra S, Shetty PJ, Shetty NJ. Tilapia fish waste: An asset for tissue engineering - A review. J Indian Soc Periodontol. 2023 Nov-Dec;27(6):568-577.

[3] Honvo G, Lengelé L, Charles A, Reginster JY, Bruyère O. Role of Collagen Derivatives in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Repair: A Systematic Scoping Review With Evidence Mapping. Rheumatol Ther. 2020 Dec;7(4):703-740. 

[4] Pu SY, Huang YL, Pu CM, Kang YN, Hoang KD, Chen KH, Chen C. Effects of Oral Collagen for Skin Anti-Aging: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2023 Apr 26;15(9):2080.