Collagen Supplements - Worth It, or Not?

I’ve been asked this quite a number of times: are collagen supplements worth it?

The short answer? No. Let me explain why…

The theory is that, since your hair, skin, nails, and connective tissues are all high in collagen protein, supplementing with extra collagen will help make each of those things more healthy.

However, just because it’s logical doesn’t make it true.

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A recent review analyzed numerous studies done on the effectiveness of collagen protein supplements.

Some studies showed they could be effective, while others didn’t. This leads to very weak conclusions being drawn.

And the ones that showed these supplements could potentially be effective were poorly conducted studies with researcher bias, while the ones that showed no effect were higher quality and didn’t have bias.

Strike 1.

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Collagen not being effective also makes sense when you look at the science.

When we’re consuming “protein,” what we’re really consuming are amino acids. All protein sources have different amounts of each of the 20 amino acids. High quality protein sources contain all 20 amino acids, and include foods like meats, dairy, and whey/casein protein supplements.

Collagen doesn’t even have 1 of the amino acids, and is very low in several of the other ones that play an important role in muscle growth. This makes it likely the worst option for building and retaining muscle mass, which is a much larger concern for you than your hair health.

Strike 2.

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You could say, “Well, Michael, I eat a lot of high quality protein to cover my muscle growth, why can’t I just take an extra collagen supplement for just the hair, skin, and nails?” In theory, yes.

However, if you really want to make an impact on your hair, skin, and nails, what your body really needs is more of the amino acid glycine, because thats the amino acid that really contributes to that the most.

Collagen supplements have a good amount of glycine in it (~2.7g per serving), but your body needs at least 10g per day of glycine to support collagen turnover (Melendez-Hevia, 2009). And when you factor in the extra calories from collagen supplements, poorer GI absorption, ability to dissolve in water, and cost, you’re much better off just taking a glycine supplement.

Plus, you’re already getting a sufficient amount of glycine from your high protein diet.

Strike 3.

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So, what should Christians do about this?

Don’t waste your money on collagen supplements, oral or topical.

As it stands right now, there’s no evidence to support it provides meaningful value to your health.

God designed you to need lots of protein in your diet, but literally any other option is better than collagen.

Aim to get your protein from real foods first (preferably meat and dairy), because they’re very high in all the amino acids, they absorb better in the GI tract, and often bring along other important nutrients too.

If you’re going to supplement, look for labels that have whey or casein protein. Any brand is fine, but try to get 3rd party tested ones when possible.

A truly balanced diet will do just fine to support muscle growth along with hair, skin, nails, and connective tissue. If you’re really particular about it, consider a glycine or vitamin supplement, but in most cases probably isn’t worth it.

Take that $30 and support a missionary :)

- Michael