One of the regular supplements in my regimen is the use of 2 tablespoons of Great Lakes Collagen (12 gm of collagen) into my morning coffee along with 2 scoops of Laird Turmeric Creamer.
My initial reason for taking collagen was to help with recovery and soreness after training, however the more I looked into it the more I discovered that it’s actually an amazing supplement.
First of all…
What IS Collagen Hydrolysate
There are two primary forms of collagen that are available:
Collagen Gelatin – Consists of a longer chain of amino acids and will become thicker and gelatinous when mixed with liquid
Collagen Hydrolysate – Is collagen gelatin that is processed even more to form shorter chains of amino acids that are more easily digested and absorbed. Also, this will not gel when mixed with liquid making it a much better form to mix in your coffee or tea.
Kettle and Fire have a great graphic describing the differences between the two.
Is it absorbed?
When I was in training I had a professor that used to poke fun at people who took collagen supplements for their joints. He claimed that the research has shown that none of it gets absorbed and is therefore as useless as people eating hair in order to grow hair.
This always stuck with me especially since he was someone I admired greatly.
Then I looked into the literature and while what my esteemed professor believed might’ve been true at the time, more research is now available showing that oral collagen hydrolysate actually IS absorbed by the body.
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This study in mice showed that it IS absorbed through the intestines as smaller di and tri-peptides.
This study showed how oral ingestion of collagen hydrolysate makes it to the skin in humans and mice.
This study also showed that with daily ingestion, collagen hydrolysate was absorbed and increased certain peptide concentrations in blood which can explain the “benefits on skin and joint conditions.”
This study showed that ingested collagen peptides are absorbed in humans and partially explains “the beneficial effects of collagen hydrolysate ingestion on the enhancement of wound healing and improvement in the skin condition.”
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What Are Some Of The Benefits?
Bone Mineral Density
This study showed that after taking 5 gm of collagen peptides the bone mineral density of postmenopausal women improved.
Stronger Nails
This study showed that taking supplementing with collagen peptides improved brittle nails and decreased the frequency of broken nails.
Pain Reduction
This review concluded that both collagen hydrolysate AND curcumin provide “clinically important effects for pain reduction at short term.”
This study demonstrated that collagen supplementation improved pain in young adults with functional knee problems.
This study showed that patients with osteoarthritis of the knee given 10 gm of collagen hydrolysate for 6 months reported significant reduction in pain.
This prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study showed that dietary collagen reduced activity related joint pain in athletes after taking 10 gm of collagen hydrolysate over 24 weeks.
Reduces Weight Gain and Improves Body Composition and Strength
This study found that collagen supplementation reduced weight gain in mice with induced menopause.
This randomised double-blind placebo-controlled study demonstrated that collagen supplementation of 15 gm/day with resistance training improved body composition, lean body mass, muscular strength, and fat loss in males with sarcopenia.
Improves Skin
This study found that collagen hydrolysates with a higher content of prolyl-hydroxyprolyine and hydroxyprolyl-glycine led to improvements in facial skin conditions including moisture levels, elasticity, wrinkles, and roughness.
This mouse study showed that collagen hydrolysate improved skin hydration and prevented UV skin damage.
This mouse study showed that long-term oral intake of collagen hydrolysate actually improved skin conditions by regulating gene expression in the skin itself.
This study showed that supplementing with both astaxanthin (an antioxidant) and collagen hydrolysate (3 gm/day) improved the hydration and elasticity of skin in humans.
Reduces Cellulite
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed that 2.5 gm of oral collagen improved the skin of women with moderate cellulite
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Lowers Blood Pressure
This study showed that collagen hydrolysate can lower blood pressure in humans.
Improves Cholesterol and Blood Sugar
This study showed that collagen given to Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes showed “significantly reduced levels of fasting blood glucose, human glycated hemoglobin A1c (GHbA1c), fasting blood insulin, total triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and free-fatty acids.”
Increases Wound Healing
This prospective, randomized study showed that pressure ulcers healed two times faster with collagen hydrolysate supplementation compared to the control group.
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Amazing Right?
After going through the data and seeing all of the potential benefits it quickly becomes undeniable that this is a worthwhile supplement to take.
Of course you can get it in a more natural form as with bone broth but if you’re on the run like me and bone broth isn’t something you eat every day, a couple scoops of collagen hydrolysate in your morning coffee is a convenient way to get your daily dose.
In the studies that I looked at the amount used ranged from 3 gm to 15 gm for the observed benefits, so 2 tablespoons falls right into the sweet spot. On days I know I’ll be training BJJ I add in a third scoop for good measure.
I prefer Great Lakes Collagen because it’s sourced from grass fed cows and the company is very open about how they make it.
The Healthy Home Economist actually reached out to the president of Great Lakes Gelatin and learned that they use grass-fed beef hides that are processed by alkaline soaking, acid washing, filtering, evaporating, and sanitizing to produce pure collagen.
When I first started using this I’d order these two packs from Amazon. However once I realized how quickly we were going through them I went ahead and just ordered one of these monster 8 lb bags from the Great Lakes site.
Here is just a quick break down of prices per serving:
1 cannister pack for $27.90
= $0.734 per serving
2 cannister pack for $45.98
= $0.718 per serving
8 lb bag for $129
= $0.427 per serving
So if you’re interested in any of these benefits:
- Improved bone mineral density
- Reduced joint pain
- Increased wound healing
- Decreased cholesterol
- Decreased blood sugar
- Lowered blood pressure
- Reduced cellulite
- Improved skin hydration and elasticity with decreased wrinkles
- Prevention of UV skin damage
- Improved body composition and strength
This is definitely an affordable supplement you can check out.
Thank you for this awesome post. I’m enjoying reading everything here.