Collagen: Can it really help us stay young?
The Science of Supplements (Part 1)
The disclaimer: this is a report, not an opinion piece. The information is taken from peer-reviewed published scientific literature. I’m comfortable reading scientific papers. My first degree was Physiological Sciences (which I studied at Oxford in the days when we had to search the journals in the library and photocopy the ones we needed). My MSc was Genetic and Genomic Counselling (in the digital era when all papers could magically be accessed at the click of a button). I still have access to all the publications online. I’ll miss that so much when they take it away. I’m only clinging on to it as I’m supposed to be writing up my dissertation for publication, but I keep writing here instead. In my MSc, they were big on ‘critical analysis’, which means ‘don’t take papers at face value and question everything’. I also bought and read ‘How to Read a Paper’ by Trisha Greenhalgh, which cost me over £20 and made me even more cynical. It’s a great book, though I can’t bring myself to recommend it in this context as it’s pretty niche. This is all to say, I’m not being sponsored or paid, I tend towards being a sceptic, and I’m not regurgitating random info I found through Google. I am also not a doctor or a nutritionist and I’m not suggesting that you should or shouldn’t put anything into your body. It’s just a summary of information that I gathered and am sharing for your interest.
What is it with supplements?
I keep being pulled into conversations about supplements. My book group are swapping notes on magnesium glycinate. At dinner with friends last week a conversation starter was, ‘So, who is taking collagen?’. Apparently, celebs are raving about it on Instagram.
Is this a sign of the times we live in, or because my friendship groups are navigating being 40-something and trying to find ways to stave off the inevitable?
No matter. My default position on these things is to remain cynical and do some research of the underlying science. When I like what the research is saying I will jump on in, but never on the say-so of a social media post or Google search. I had a sneaky peek on Instagram #collagensupplements and…wow! It’s a minefield of botoxed faces waving pretty packages. In 5 minutes I read multiple statements about collagen that were just not true.
I got too annoyed on Instagram and went quickly back to PubMed. Here I will share with you my findings on collagen. I’ll also give you a peek inside my kitchen cupboard and explain why I take a few other things too.
What is collagen?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and 28 different types have been identified. Collagen loss in the body starts during your 20s. After 40 you can lose around 1% per year, and by 80 years old collagen production can be 75% lower than when you were a young adult.
Collagen supplements promise to make your skin smoother and younger looking, and have positive effects on a number of inflammatory and age-related diseases, wound healing, and exercise recovery.
What does the science say?
A systematic review of collagen supplementation use for skin health found that ‘almost all … studies reported the beneficial effects of collagen supplementation, and no inconsistencies have been seen in this regard.’ Another meta-analysis of the effects of collagen supplementation on skin aging concluded that ‘ingestion of hydrolyzed collagen for 90 days is effective in reducing skin aging, as it reduces wrinkles and improves skin elasticity and hydration.’ A third systematic review of the use of collagen supplementation in treating disease concluded that it ‘is strongly indicated for its positive therapeutic effect on pain management of osteoarthritis, balancing blood sugars in type II diabetes, wound healing, skin ageing, and post-exercise body composition and strength. Promising results were also seen for the use of collagen supplementation in osteoporosis, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, tendinopathy, cellulite, atopic dermatitis, sarcopenia and brittle nail syndrome.’
In summary, the science says it is beneficial, it hasn’t ever been found to have negative effects, it can positively impact the signs of skin aging, and it can have therapeutic effects on a number of age-related diseases.
Types of collagen
Although there are 28 types of collagen, in supplements you will usually see reference to types I, II, and III.
Type I is the main constituent of bone, skin, teeth, tendons, ligaments, vascular ligature and organs.
Type II is found in the cartilage.
Type III is found in the skin, muscle and blood vessels.
If you are concerned about skin appearance, it makes sense to prioritise type I and type III collagen. The biggest component of skin is collagen (about 70%), of which the major part is type I (c.80%) and the minor part is type III (c.20%).
It is harder to say where you should focus if you are interested in the therapeutic effects on disease. There are many different reasearch studies which used different forms of collagen, and some didn’t specify which they used. There is evidence that type II is indicated in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
Source
Collagen supplements can be made from different sources, and it does make a difference. Most commonly, collagen is taken from cows (bovine), and sometimes pigs, chickens, or sheep. Animal-derived collagen tends to be a mixture of type I and type III. Also readily available is marine collagen, but this is usually only type I. Vegan collagen is still a work in progress and vegan products are more likely to aim to stimulate collagen production than be actual collagen supplements. Research on the effectiveness of these is limited and ongoing.
Form
It is important to consider bioavailability, which is a measure of how effectively the collagen you take gets absorbed into your body. Collagen in powder or liquid form has better bioavailability than collagen in tablet or capsule form. Powder is reportedly more popular than liquid because it is tasteless and dissolves easily in drinks/smoothies. To get the recommend quantity of collagen in tablet form, you’d need to take 15+ tablets a day, which is another reason it’s probably not the best option.
Quantity
Positive effects of supplementation have been observed with a dose of 2.5g collagen per day. Multiple studies have reported using doses of 15g a day, and one at 30g per day, with no adverse effects. I did not find a study which had tested different doses to establish the optimal quantity. They all seemed to just test supplementation (of their chosen quantity) versus placebo. So, the ‘right’ amount possibly lies somewhere between 2.5g and 15g.
Do I take collagen?
Yes. I take bovine1 collagen peptides in powder form, 10g a day.
How much does it cost?
Prices vary, but you are looking at £3.50 to £10 per 100g.
If you take 10g a day that’s 35p-£1 a day or £2.45-£7 a week.
Personalised supplementation informed by data
After reading Lifespan by David Sinclair, I was motivated to have a comprehensive blood test. I was struck by his assertion that it isn’t possible to know what your body needs without first knowing what’s going on in your body.
You need a dashboard for your body in the same way you need dashboard for your car. You wouldn't drive your car without a dashboard... Indeed, we know more about the health of our cars than we know about our own health. That’s farcical.
As is my way, I researched a decent number of companies providing blood tests. I decided on Medichecks Advanced Well Woman Blood Test. I’m not affiliated to them in any way - it’s just the one that seemed to provide a good quantity of useful biomarkers at a reasonable price. What I got in return was a moment-in-time dashboard for my body, with a few warning flags for things that I was lacking. Most notably iron, which is perhaps unsurprising given my pregnancy history, and also Vitamin D and testosterone. The data and advice provided by Medichecks informed the stocking of my supplement cupboard…
From L → R: The best kids vitamins I have found2, NMN powder, teabags (not their recommendation but very necessary!), Iron Bisglycinate, Vitamin B-complex, Vitamin D3, Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc3, Collagen powder.
My intention is to continue having at least annual blood tests, and I will adjust my supplementation according to the results.
NMN is nicotinamide mononucleotide. The research into this is fascinating and will be the focus of Part 2 of this little series on supplements. I keep an eye on the emerging research on NMN as many of the human trials are still in progress. I recognise the choice to take it is something of a calculated gamble….but more on that next time.
Are you a ‘bio-hacker’?
Do you take any supplements that you swear by?
What do you take and what do you notice they do for you?
References
I suspect most of these are not straightforward to get in full without subscriptions to the journals. If you are interested in any then just let me know and I can send them to you.
Avila Rodríguez, M.I., Rodríguez Barroso, L.G. and Sánchez, M.L., 2018. Collagen: A review on its sources and potential cosmetic applications. Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 17(1), pp.20-26.
Barati, M., Jabbari, M., Navekar, R., Farahmand, F., Zeinalian, R., Salehi‐Sahlabadi, A., Abbaszadeh, N., Mokari‐Yamchi, A. and Davoodi, S.H., 2020. Collagen supplementation for skin health: A mechanistic systematic review. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 19(11), pp.2820-2829.
de Miranda, R.B., Weimer, P. and Rossi, R.C., 2021. Effects of hydrolyzed collagen supplementation on skin aging: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. International Journal of Dermatology, 60(12), pp.1449-1461.
León-López A, Morales-Peñaloza A, Martínez-Juárez VM, Vargas-Torres A, Zeugolis DI, Aguirre-Álvarez G. Hydrolyzed Collagen-Sources and Applications. Molecules. 2019 Nov 7;24(22):4031. doi: 10.3390/molecules24224031. PMID: 31703345; PMCID: PMC6891674.
Musayeva, F., Özcan, S. and Kaynak, M.S., 2022. A review on collagen as a food supplement. Journal of Pharmaceutical Technology, 3(1), pp.7-29.
Steele, C., 2022. Collagen: A Review of Clinical Use and Efficacy. Nutr. Med. J., 1(2), pp.12- 36.
Varani J., Dame M.K., Rittie L., Fligiel S.E.G., Kang S., Fisher G.J., Voorhees J.J. Decreased collagen production in chronologically aged skin: Roles of age-dependent alteration in fibroblast function and defective mechanical stimulation. Am. J. Pathol. 2006;168:1861–1868. doi: 10.2353/ajpath.2006.051302.
Footnote on this one because I’ve otherwise eaten an exclusively vegetarian diet for over 2 years now. I broke with this and chose bovine collagen because I believed it to be a better option for health, based on the research I’d done. Health and longevity has always played a significant role in my dietary choice, although there are other reasons that support my desire to eat veggie.
A lot of kids’ vitamins are actually pretty light in terms of what is in them. It’s worth checking the labels. The Animal Parade Gold were the best I found by a long stretch for number of vitamins covered and amount of each.
Magnesium and zinc supplementation was recommended by Medichecks as one of several ways to boost testosterone levels.