Collagen is the name given to a range of proteins produced by the human body to help build and repair tissues such as muscle and cartilage. Over 30% of all protein found in the human body is collagen, consisting mostly of type 1 collagen. This compound is quickly gaining favor among consumers as an effective way to help tighten skin, heal leaky gut syndrome, reduce grey hair naturally, as well as helping to gain lean muscle mass. There are many types of collagen available, and the best collagen supplements can help afford the many benefits of this natural protein superfood.

What is Collagen?

Depending on how minerals attach to to it, collagen can become many different types of structures in your body. This may include intestinal lining, blood vessels, tendons, and even in your teeth! Collagen truly is one of the most versatile compounds out there, and offers many health benefits. It’s estimated there are over 28 types of collagen—though the most-common are types I, II, III, IV, and V. These make up structures including skin, tendons, cartilage, reticulated fibers, hair, and cell surfaces. Collagen contains a dense amino acid profile with large amounts of glycine, proline, arginine, and hydroxyproline. Each of these compounds are used by the body to build and maintain protein structures, and each serve valuable and unique purposes. Collagen can come from many sources, though most collagen supplements are made from bovine ingredients. Hydrolyzed collagen is a specially-processed form of collagen that creates shortened peptide structures which are more easily absorbed by the body. In fact, collagen peptides are absorbed into the bloodstream almost immediately after ingestion, making them ideal for preworkout situations, or emergency nutritional replenishment.

Types of Collagen

As mentioned, collagen is used by the body in many different ways to address a whole host of applications. Some sources describe there being as few as 10 distinct types, though science generally describes many more ¹ Most seem to agree however on the majority of collagen structures in the body be limited (by total amount) to only a handful of different types of collagen.

Type I

This is the most-abundant form of collagen found in the body. It assumes a vital role in repairing damaged tissues, helping new-tissue growth, and give our skin the ‘stretch’ we associate with youthful health. Type I collagen consists of tendons, skin tissues, bones, and the epithelial lining of the gastro intestinal tract.

Type II

This type of collagen is mostly found in gradient-type mineralizations such as cartilage, such as that found between bones, the nose, and the ears. This type is largely considered synonymous with joint health, and research shows it as a promising treatment for high-risk patients such as the elderly and endurance athletes ²

Type III

This form of collagen is usually located in structures such as skin and the gut lining, and is most commonly seen alongside Type I. Type III is responsible for giving our skin the elastic properties, and is also closely associated with vascular health. Research suggests that type III collagen is critical for the development of healthy heart tissues, as well as the production of type I collagen structures ³

Type IV

This type is responsible for the health of a structure known as the Basil Lamnia, which is an extracellular matrix secreted by epithelial cells in organs such as the intestines. A cross-section of this type of tissue would reveal only a thin structure (~2nm), though it’s presence throughout the human body makes it of no small importance. This tissue helps to support digestion, respiration, vascular function, and support for a wide range of bodily systems.

Type V

This type of collagen isn’t as well understood as other types, though it’s generally regarded as playing a vital role in the development of fibril-structures like hair and cornea tissue.⁴ Animal studies have shown that the limitation of Collagen Type IV during gestation causing underdevelopment of fibril structures and results in pre-birth deaths 100% of the time. ⁵

Type X

Type X collagen is associated with bone growth and bone structure healing. It is regarded as being beneficial in helping to strengthen cartilage tissues in the joints. This type of collagen helps drive a process known as endochondral ossification—consisting of several sub-processes responsible for bone development early in life. It’s plausible to say that a shortage of type X collagen early in life could have a highly detrimental impact on normal structural development.

Benefits of Collagen

Understanding the many types of collagen is useful in illustrating just how encompassing and versatile this compound is within the human body. It definitely falls into a utilitarian super class, and helps promote many health benefits. You don’t have to know every type of collagen to benefit from it, and there are very few instances that collagen might benefit your health in one aspect, and cause unwanted effects in another. Typically, collagen types are found together, often sources from cows, fish, or even chicken eggs. Regardless of the source, collagen is capable of a whole range of dynamic and powerful health benefits.

1. Helps Heal Leaky Gut

Leaky gut syndrome is a new classification used to describe what is thought to be a fundamental driver of many crhonic health issues such as allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, mental health issues, and even arthritis. The gist is that through any number of damaging exposures, the lining of one’s digestive tract can become compromised, This results in lots of tiny holes wearing through, which allows un-digested food particles into the blood stream. Science is still in the very early stages of understanding how this syndrome develops and behaves, but a few kinds of treatments have been inferred from proxy data. For example, research has shown that those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) almost always have lower serum concentrations of collagen ⁶. This has been researched in context with those suffering from ulcerative colitis and Chron’s disease. It’s likely that collagen’s powerful tissue-repairing action is able to help heal damaged intestinal tissues, though research has yet to confirm.

2.Reduces Joint Pain & Inflammation

Joint pain and stiffness are two major roadblocks for many people. Exercise can hurt—even do damage— and day to day activities can suffer. For other more serious cases such as arthritis, those suffering from inflammatory joint pain can have much of their lives put on halt. In the late 90’s, researchers noted that Rheumatoid Arthritis patients given type II collagen saw a significant decrease in symptoms—with absolutely zero side effects ⁷. While this sounds promising, there has been other research that indicates collagen may only be effective at treating the painful symptoms of conditions such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis in more advanced cases ⁸—though still with no side effects. It’s clear that collagen shows promise as a means to help support joint health and reduce pain. More research needs to be done to support this notion before any more conclusive statements can be made.

3.Helps Tighten Skin & Reduce Grey Hairs

Collagen production decreases naturally as we age. This reduction is associated with wrinkling of skin, and reduced elasticity. One of the things collagen is great at is helping to restore youthful skin tone. In a double-blinded placebo-controlled study of 69 women, researchers found that those participants receiving collagen showed significantly tighter skin, better skin elasticity, and better skin moisture.⁹ In addition to the skin benefits of collagen, many anecdotal accounts describe a reduction in grey hairs. This has been described as mild at best, but seems to be significant and common enough to warrant mention. To our knowledge, these cases seem to be limited to those that are in early stages of the graying process, as opposed to those with larger portions showing grey.

4.Boosts Strength & Muscle Endurance

Supplementation with compounds like whey protein powder have been a hallmark among strength and resistance training for decades. The rich amino-acid profiles of these products contain branched-chain amino acids like isoleucine, leucine, and valine which are noted (specifically isoleucine) as promoting new muscle growth. Collagen has a potent profile of amino acids, albeit differently balanced they whey protein, which are known to contribute to increases in skeletal muscle mass. In one double-blind placebo controlled study among the elderly suffering from sarcopenia (muscle degredation) found significant increases in muscle and muscle strength ¹⁰ It’s noteworthy to mention that growth hormone has been shown to increase the body’s natural rate of collagen synthesis as well. ¹¹ Activities such as weight lifting, and growth hormone supplements may likely contribute to higher utilization of collagenic compounds within the body. This type of ability to reduce loss in skeletal muscle mass may also qualify collagen as a beneficial treatment alongside certain cancer therapies known to cause Cahkexia—which is characterized by being an unintended loss of muscle mass, often call wasting syndrome. Very subjectively, many using pre-workout collagen note they feel able to work out for longer, and that final repetitions of sets seem to be easier to complete.

5. Liver Health

Collagen is rich in an amino acid named Glycine, which has shown remarkable benefit in promoting healthy liver function. Much of what we understand about liver damage comes from research associated with non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and Alcohol induced fatty-liver disease (AFLD). These represent two similar outcomes but with remarkably different origins. Glycine has been investigated in a number of animal trials as a potential compound involved in mediating a decrease in liver damages in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver damage. Research has shown (in animal studies) that Glycine not only helps to repair existing damage to the liver, but can also lower the effects of alcohol on the liver by increasing stomach metabolism of alcohol ¹² Glycine is considered a non-essential amino acid, and the body doesn’t produce it on its own. In order to experience the benefits of glycine one much have a dietary source, or take supplements such as collagen. Glycine-rich foods includes eggs, liver, meats, and nuts.

Amino Acid Profile

Collagen, along with other protein structures in our body, are build through our body’s use of amino acids. Amino acids are like the concrete blocks that are used to build a building—if that building is our muscles, tendons, cartilage and other vital structures. Weight lifters commonly rely on protein powder supplements to offer muscle-building amino acids. Collagen has a rich profile of amino acids as well, though it differs in comparison to such sources as whey protein, hemp protein, pea protein, or eggwhite protein. Below is a table of the full amino acid profile found in collagen as described by detailed laboratory analysis¹³

* Only trace amounts registered

As seen in the table above, collagen is very rich in Glycine and proline. Proline has been noted as being important in the formation of new muscle, in wound healing, immune health, and antioxidative actions ¹⁴. Glycine, among many other regards, is noted as providing powerful rejuvenation benefit for skin, as well as playing an integral role in the brain and central nervous system¹⁵. It’s  no surprise that many of the benefits of these two compounds are those benefits most often associated with collagen. Hydrolzyed collagen supplements, aka collagen hydrolysate, are sort of pre-digested forms of collagen in which the amino acids are more readily available for nutritional use by our body. This is a marked advantage over similar protein supplements in that it provides almost immediate access to nutrients.

Collagen Supplements

There are several different types of ways to get collagen, though collagen supplements are often the most convenient. Collagen is produced in any number of ways, coming from many different sources. If you were to make collagen at your home, it’d be a process very similar to making home-made soup. You’d put a lot of bones from animals into a pot and let it simmer until the marrow, cartilage, and fats seeped out. This would be similar to collagen, though this type of food will congeal at room temperature. In practice, this is closer to what is considered gelatin, which similar to how non-vegetable sourced supplement capsules are made. Through a process known as hydrolysis, these gelatin compounds can be broken down into much smaller single protein compounds known as peptides. These compounds are easily put to use by the body, and involve little digestive energy expenditure. You may see any number of these terms used in collagen supplements. Collagen Hydrolysate, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Collagen Peptides, and just plain Collagen. There is a patented form of collagen hydrolysate known as Arthred, which provides a standardized collagen compound. These types of standardized ingredients offer consumers an added layer of ingredient protection by ensuring quality and source identity. Below are some of the collagen products that we recommend:

Final Considerations for Collagen

Collagen is a powerful compound with a dense profile of amino acids capable of helping to restore youthful tissue and joint performance. It’s hydrolyzed form, often called collagen hydrolysate or collagen peptides, has shown remarkable health benefits in several clinical settings. Ultimately, it seems that more research will be needed to confirm these claims, but for the time being many anecdotal account boast the healing potential of collagen. Important considerations to make for collagen supplements are the sources, considering most are animal-derived collagen. For bovine collagen, you want to ensure that you are getting collagen from Non-GMO, grass-fed, and pasture-raised sources to ensure total purity. Other sources such as marine collagen aren’t as easily certifiable, and you’ll want to check for wild-caught sources. Typically speaking, marine collagen is likely more susceptible for toxins and heavy metal content, though proper testing by manufacturers should ensure safety.