What is collagen?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies, accounting for about one-third of all protein. It’s a crucial component of connective tissues, cartilage, bone and skin. You can think of collagen as a “glue” - it helps hold things together.
There are about 16 different types of collagen in the body. Within bone, muscle and connective tissue, Type 1 collagen is most abundant.
The body naturally makes its own collagen by breaking down protein from the food you eat into amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein in the body, including collagen.
You get the specific building blocks for collagen by eating a balanced diet with plenty of protein-rich foods, including chicken, beef, eggs, dairy, tofu and legumes. Making collagen also requires vitamin C, zinc and copper. You can get vitamin C by eating citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and strawberries. Zinc and copper you can get from meats, shellfish, nuts, whole grains and beans.
As we get older however, we produce less collagen…hello wrinkles and creaky joints.
Collagen supplements
Collagen supplements are usually sourced from bovine hide (bovine collagen) or fish (marine collagen). This means, unfortunately, that these supplements will never be vegan. Instead, vegan collagen brands contain nutrients that may promote collagen production.
Most people will take a collagen supplement in hopes that it will:
Improve their joint health and reduce joint pain
Improve the appearance and health of their skin, hair and nails
Boost their muscle growth and recovery
Collagen for joint health
Consuming collagen doesn't necessarily increase the collagen in your joints.
Collagen is a protein, and just like any other protein you ingest, it’s broken down into amino acids and your body will determine where these amino acids go. Some of these amino acids might be used to make collagen, others burned for energy, and some used to make many other things like hormones, tissues and cells, and so on.
So just paint more collagen doesn’t necessarily equal more collagen wherever you want it.
However, some research indicates that Type II collagen could potentially support joint health when taken with vitamin C. It does so by minimizing the immune response in the body that slowly eats away at our joint cartilage over time.
Basically, it teaches the immune system to stop attacking proteins in joint cartilage, which can improve joint health and function and decrease pain and swelling.
Collagen for skin, hair and nails
Collagen is what makes our skin plump and elastic. That’s why you find collagen and collagen-enhancing ingredients in skincare products. In a similar way, collagen supplements promise to increase skin elasticity and combat wrinkles “from the inside out.”
Unfortunately, the evidence that collagen improves skin health just isn’t definitive.
And as far as hair growth, collagen contains some of the amino acids needed to produce keratin, a protein found in hair. But there is no evidence that taking a collagen supplement will make your hair grow faster or thicker.
Collagen for muscle growth and recovery
When evaluating a protein, it’s important to consider its amino acid profile. If it’s high in essential amino acids (amino acids that the body can’t make on its own) - leucine in particular - then it’s probably going
The next thing to consider is how well the protein is digested and absorbed. In general, animal based protein (like whey) tend to be easier to digest and absorb, while plant proteins tend to be less so.
While collagen is easy to digest and absorb, it’s amino acid profile is lacking the in the essential amino acids needed to support muscle growth.
Bottom line: collagen is not the best quality protein supplement.
Using collagen supplements for injury recovery
Soft-tissue injuries (those affecting muscles, tendons and ligaments) are extremely common across all levels of sport and contribute a large percentage of the cause of injury amongst athletes.
Collagen supplementation might help with recovery from injuries to tendons and ligaments by increasing the availability of collagen specific amino acids which can support the repair of tendons and ligaments during rehabilitation.
Exercise is necessary to start this process. During exercise, the tendons and ligaments will pull liquid in, sort of like a sponge. Consuming collagen before exercise ensure that liquid is high in the relevant amino acids to increase collagen production, helping to speed up recovery.
Research supports taking 15 to 25g of gelatin or hydrolyzed collagen with 50mg of vitamin C about 40-60 minutes before training/rehab.
Since collagen supplementation cannot really “target” the injured area naturally, the best we can do is attempt to time it so that the relevant amino acid levels are at their highest during exercise (and that’s 40-60 minutes before exercise).
Should you take a collagen supplement?
Ultimately, it’s up to you.
There is some evidence that type II collagen can help with joint health, but minimal evidence that it supports skin and hair.
Because collagen is a low-quality protein, it shouldn’t replace other forms of protein in your diet.
Collagen supplementation, and/or the increased availability of amino acids that predominate in collagen, may be beneficial for both the prevention and treatment of tendon/ligament injuries.
However, the use of collagen as part of an injury-prevention or management protocol should be considered carefully and should be used as an adjunct, not a replacement for traditional well-established protocols.
Are you an athlete interested in learning more about collagen and how it can impact your diet and performance? Reach out to me today!!
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