Collagen seems to pop up everywhere once we start thinking about aging, from promises of smoother skin to happier joints and stronger bones. But what’s actually happening in our bodies as collagen changes over time, and can supplements really help? We’ll walk through what collagen is, how collagen supplements work, and what the potential benefits really look like.
“Are you getting older? Starting to feel achy? Knees popping, hips cracking, and you’re convinced there’s new wrinkles around your eyes? Then maybe you should take this new thing!”
Or at least that's what I feel like my social media advertisements are screaming at me almost daily. I swear, the day after my 30th birthday, my whole algorithm changed. It went from happy backpacking- across-Europe videos to anti-aging content in a flash.
With each supplement sounding better than the last.
One of the ads that stood out to me was about collagen supplements. It promised springy joints and strong bones with just a scoop of collagen daily. But was this ad touting something that’s just too good to be true, or can a collagen supplement magically make my skin wrinkle free, baby smooth, and my joints as tough as steel?
Let’s talk about it. Let’s dig into the world of collagen and all learn just a bit more about what it is, how it works, and whether clicking on an ad that may also lead to us downloading a virus is worth it.
It’s time to connect with collagen.
What is collagen and why is it important to our bodies?
Collagen is a protein. If you’re anything like me, you probably hear “protein” and think of muscles, but collagen is actually a completely different type of protein than the kind found in muscles.
All proteins are made up of different building blocks called amino acids.1 We can think of the amino acids as little Lego pieces: There’s a bunch of ways to combine them to build something different.
There are around 20 different types of amino acids in our bodies, and these amino acids can come together in different ways to create different types of proteins, like the ones in our muscles or like collagen.1
Interestingly, collagen is actually the most abundant protein in the human body. There are 28 different types of collagen in our bodies, and these can play a huge role in many different tissues throughout the body, including organs, skin, tendons, bones, and ligaments.2,3 However, there are three main types of collagen that are taken as supplements today.
Collagen supplements are mostly sold as Type I, Type II, or Type III.2,3,4
Each of these collagen types support our bodies in distinct and very important ways.
Why should we care about collagen as we age?
Collagen advertisements seem particularly geared toward those in the “aging population,” but why? Are they riding on our crippling stress that our bodies are crumbling and selling us supplements we don’t really need?
Or is something actually changing with collagen as we get older?
Unfortunately, it’s the latter. As we get older, our bodies begin to make less collagen, and the collagen they do make isn’t as high quality as it was when we were younger.5,6,7
When it comes to the skin, the decrease in the amount and quality of collagen can lead to classic signs of skin aging such as wrinkles and looser skin.5,6,7
When it comes to our muscles, bones, ligaments, and cartilage, the decrease in collagen can reduce our tissue’s ability to change and repair itself. It can also cause our joints to start to stiffen a bit, and lead to our bones being less resistant to breaks.6,7
This is because collagen is literally one of the things that make up these parts of the body.
It’s like having a really strong sand castle and then removing bits and bits of sand at a time; what happens? The sand castle starts to droop. That’s basically what happens in our bodies as the amount of collagen we have decreases.
Overall, it seems like as we get older, our bodies’ ability to produce collagen decreases, leading to less collagen, and that leads to the classic signs of skin aging, and a bit more physical fragility than we had to deal with in our youth.
Now that I’ve thoroughly saddened you with all the talk about the state of our aging bodies, let’s see if collagen supplements can actually do something to help us!
What are collagen supplements and how do they work?
Collagen supplements are sold as “hydrolyzed collagen,” also known as collagen peptides or collagen hydrolysate; if looking at a supplement, any of these names may appear on the label.
Hydrolyzed collagen is not the full collagen protein.3,8 “Hydrolyzed” is basically a fancy way of saying broken up. So, when we go to buy collagen supplements in the stores, what we’re actually getting is broken-up collagen.
I want to emphasize this because it’s super important to how collagen supplements actually work.
Collagen supplements are not the full size collagen proteins that can be found in our bodies. That’s because, if we tried to eat or drink the full size collagen proteins, they would be too big for our bodies to absorb. Similar to getting coffee grounds to flow through a coffee filter, they’re just too big to fit.
So instead, we get these broken-up collagen supplements that our bodies can actually absorb.8
And, hold on to your seats, because this is where it gets pretty cool!
Overall, taking collagen supplements does not actually provide collagen directly; rather, when we take them, they end up telling our bodies to make more collagen.8 Basically, as we take the supplement, our bodies start to see a bunch of broken-up collagen floating around, and they start to think to themselves, “Hey, if this is all floating around here, then we probably need more full-sized collagen! All the collagen has been used up.” And then it produces more collagen. Pretty nifty little trick, right?
Do collagen supplements work?
Now we know that our bodies slow down on how much collagen they make as we age. We now also know that collagen supplements should be able signal our bodies to make more collagen, but how well do they really work?
Multiple studies testing how well collagen supplements work have shown improvements in the skin, joints, and bones. Some of the improvements included reduced pain in people suffering from osteoarthritis, reduced joint pain, increased bone density, and improved skin aging.
But at the same time, some studies have not.9,10,11,12,13,14
These varying results can be due to the studies having different designs, like different numbers of people participating, how “improvements” were measured, things like that.
For us to be 100% sure collagen supplements work, there would need to be a much larger, well-designed study like what’s done for different medications, but those studies are often tricky to do and require a lot of money.
Since the research shows different results, when we’re deciding whether we want to take this supplement, we should think about whether the potential safety concerns are worth it, especially if we might not experience any benefits.
Are collagen supplements safe?
According to regulatory bodies such as the FDA and WHO, collagen supplements are considered safe.8 Some side effects we may experience seem to be mostly mild stomach or digestive issues like heartburn, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and nausea.8 However, if you are someone who falls into any of the following categories, please talk to your doctor before you take collagen:
If we want to take collagen supplements, how should we take them?
Now that we know all about how collagen supplements work, and the potential benefits and the potential risks, let’s talk a bit about how collagen supplements can be taken to support our goals.
There’s no 100% established, optimal way to take collagen supplements yet, but from some of the research, we can gather that the following may be enough for us to see some benefits:
This can be mixed into water, coffee, tea, milk, juices, smoothies, etc.
Overall, what should we take away from this post?
If we go back to my original question, “Can a collagen supplement magically make my skin wrinkle free, baby smooth, and my joints as tough as steel?” I think the answer is, “No.” Collagen supplements won’t be these magical supplements that will reverse or prevent aging.
BUT, they may be able to help our bodies produce more collagen, which can help our skin, joints, and bones.
Collagen supplements seem to be a relatively safe addition to our lives. They may have benefits related to our skin, joints, bones, and muscles, and they can potentially be useful additions to our diets as we age.
If after reading this, you’re like, “Yes! Collagen! Sign me up!”, remember that there are different types of collagen supplements. It’s important to keep your goals in mind (skin vs joint vs both) and make sure whichever supplement you choose is one that has the type of collagen you need.
Take it as it instructs.
AND, don’t forget to check with your doctor.
Written by: Nahdia Jones, PhD
Disclaimer: This blog is for curious minds and educational purposes only, not medical advice. For personal health decisions, always consult a qualified healthcare professional. Scientific research is constantly evolving, and while I strive to accurately interpret and summarize the best available evidence at the time of writing, findings and recommendations may change as new research emerges.
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