Episode rewind: Collagen supplements

Collagen supplements are big business. And is it any wonder when they are touted as the elixir for youthful and glowing skin. With plenty of A-list celebrities singing its praises, it’s no wonder collagen is having a moment in the spotlight. And a look at Google Trends shows search interest in collagen supplements really took off at the start of 2019 and it is showing no signs of slowing down. Reading the shopping list of health claims made about collagen - from turning back the clock on your skin, treating joint pain and even ‘healing your gut’ - you should rightly raise your sceptical flag. Yet when you look at the scientific evidence, there could just be some validity to some of these claims. That’s what I’ll be exploring in this podcast. 

Links referred to in the podcast

• Clinical trial of collagen supplementation and skin health in women https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/351376
• Systematic review of the effect of collagen supplementation on skin https://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961619P0009X
• Meta-analysis of the effect of collagen supplementation on osteoarthritis https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00264-018-4211-5

Episode transcript
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Transcript

Hi, Tim here. Every now and then I take the opportunity to have a mini-break from putting out new episodes. But it also presents a great opportunity to dip into my back catalogue of episodes to pull out some that got a lot of listening engagement and which are also are topics that I still get asked a lot about. And for this week, it is my biggest podcast of 2021 to date: collagen supplements and how there could just be some good science behind those amazing health claims made about it for your skin, joints and more. Enjoy.

Collagen supplements are big business. And is it any wonder when they are touted as the elixir for youthful and glowing skin. With plenty of A-list celebrities singing its praises, it’s no wonder collagen is having a moment in the spotlight. And a look at Google Trends shows search interest in collagen supplements really took off at the start of 2019 and it is showing no signs of slowing down. Reading the shopping list of health claims made about collagen - from turning back the clock on your skin, treating joint pain and even ‘healing your gut’ - you should rightly raise your sceptical flag. Yet when you look at the scientific evidence, there could just be some validity to some of these claims. That’s what I’ll be exploring in today’s podcast. 

So, let’s start by talking about collagen. Collagen’s key role is as a major structural protein in numerous tissues of the body including tendons, ligaments, cartilage, blood vessels and skin. It is so abundant in the body, that it makes up almost 30 percent of our total protein mass. The structure of collagen is characterised by a triple helix arrangement which forms a very strong structure – think of collagen like a rope with many fibres intertwined to make it strong. No wonder then its key role is in forming a scaffold for the structure and strength of tissues, such as skin and bones.

Collagen though is not one molecule, but at least 28 distinct types. But it is Types 1, 2 and 3 collagens which are the most abundant in your body. You’ll find type I collagen in the connective tissue of tendons, ligaments, corneas, bones and skin. Type III collagen usually is found along with type 1 collagen I in the skin and blood vessels. While type II collagen is primarily found within cartilage.

Now when it comes to oral collagen supplements, it is hydrolysed collagen that dominates the market. Hydrolysed simply means the breaking down of a molecule with water. Hydrolysed proteins are smaller in length compared to undenatured whole proteins, so they’re generally absorbed faster and more efficiently. The collagen that is used in supplements can be derived from numerous sources including cattle, pigs, chicken, and marine sources. It is a nice use of what would essentially be a waste product in the processing of these animals and fish for human consumption.

Marine collagen is a common source and is similar in terms of biocompatibility and amino acid content to that of collagen from pigs or cattle. Marine sources of collagen may even have greater advantages over animal sources due to their greater absorption from their low molecular weight, and negligible biological contaminants such as toxins and low inflammatory effects.

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed all the sources of collagen I’ve mentioned have come from animals. Yet is possible you may have come across vegan collagen as a supplement. And all I can say is that I’m calling them a scam. Firstly, plants don’t make collagen. End. Of. Story. In a lab, collagen can now be made by using genetically modified yeast and bacteria, but this isn’t widely available, and I don’t know how well the terms ‘GMO’ and ‘lab-grown’ may gel with a vegan philosophy. If you see collagen being promoted as vegan it is usually a sleight of hand by focussing on a mixture of amino acids and peptides that could be similar to what you find in hydrolysed collagen. Research to support any health claims with this sort of mixture? Zero.

But why even bother with collagen? Surely all protein just becomes an amino acid soup in our body after digestion? Hydrolysed collagen reaches the small intestine where it is absorbed into the bloodstream, both in the form of small collagen peptides and free amino acids. These collagen peptides and free amino acids are then distributed in the human body, in particular to the skin, where it has been shown they can remain for up to 2 weeks. So, there is some functional specificity here in how the body treats collagen in our diet for how it contributes to connective tissue building rather than just entering into the general protein and amino acid pool. This is a critical point as it gives a potential mechanism for why clinical studies seem to show a benefit of taking collagen. More on that in a minute, but first a side-detour into bone broth.

We can thank the Paleo fad for launching an explosion in interest in bone broth. The long-list of health claims made about this miracle substance is astounding….almost as astounding as the lack of any real solid evidence to support the claims.  Bone broth is made by simmering bone and connective tissue of various animals for extended periods to extract collagen (in the form of gelatin which is just the name for cooked collagen) as well as additional amino acids, minerals, and bone marrow.

Unlike gelatin though, hydrolysed collagen is more suitable for digestion because it dissolves in water and is well absorbed. And the other big issue with using bone broth as a source of collagen is that there no way of knowing how much collagen is in your homemade or commercial broth. And at least one study has found a lower content of key amino acids such as glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline in bone broth compared to a collagen supplement. It is why the commercial hydrolysed collagen supplements are so popular because of the known dose and once you have that you know you are in the ballpark for potential benefits which is what I’m moving onto now.

Benefits

The sad fact of ageing is that the amount of collagen in our body and skin declines. After the age of 18, we lose about 1 percent of it each year. And by the time we’re 80 years old, we may just a quarter of the collagen in our skin compared to when we were young adults. Little collagen means weak, wrinkly and aged skin. Enter collagen supplements, And, this is where we now have what I consider a small, but growing band of clinical trials showing what I consider some promise of collagen supplements in improving skin ageing.

Take one study for example from 2014 which was a randomised placebo-controlled trial in 69 women between the ages of 35 and 55 years who were randomly allocated to one of three groups. The women took either 2.5 grams or 5 grams of hydrolysed collagen each day or were given a placebo powder. And they did this for 8 weeks. And I’ll link to this study in the show notes. And there was a significant improvement in skin elasticity in the collagen groups at the end of the study. And there was an indication that skin moisture was also improved. https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/351376 

This study doesn’t stand on its own, and I can count over a dozen human randomised controlled clinical trials so far looking at collagen supplements on markers of skin health and ageing. In fact, in 2019 there was a systematic review published on the use of oral collagen supplements on skin health. Eleven studies were included involving over 800 people and with doses of collagen hydrolysate ranging from 2.5 to 10 grams per day. And I’ll link to the review in the show notes. And the conclusion? Positive and promising results for wound healing and skin ageing which includes increased skin elasticity, hydration, and dermal collagen density with just about every study showing a positive outcome. All with no reported adverse events.  https://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961619P0009X 

Some of the studies used additional ingredients in the ‘secret sauce’ of collagen supplements such as vitamins C and E, biotin, and zinc. But as a whole, it does suggest that the consumption of hydrolysed collagen may be effective at improving markers of skin ageing. There isn’t enough detail yet to know if there are differences in what type of collagen is best as far as the source of it or if it should be type 1, II, or III or a mixture

Osteoarthritis 

It doesn’t stop at a benefit for skin health though. There is some research in osteoarthritis which is a degenerative disease of joint cartilage. Data from multiple studies suggest that oral hydrolysed collagen supplementation may be an effective supplement in managing painful symptoms of osteoarthritis.

 In fact, there has been a meta-analysis published in this area in 2018 which showed that hydrolysed collagen is effective at improving osteoarthritis symptoms. The analysis could include data from five randomised placebo-controlled trials where collagen was taken by people with osteoarthritis. Typical doses ranged from 2 to 10 grams per day. Common reports for those who took the hydrolysed collagen supplement was a decrease in pain, stiffness, and functional limitations. And I’ll link to this review in the show notes https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00264-018-4211-5

Hydrolysed collagen may also be beneficial in athletes with joint pain and discomfort caused by their sport. From the small amount of research done so far, doses of 5 to 10 grams have been used. In one study, 73 athletes who consumed 10 grams of collagen daily for 24 weeks experienced a significant decrease in joint pain while walking and at rest, compared with a group that did not take it. In another study, adults took collagen daily for 70 days had a significant reduction in joint pain and were better able to engage in physical activity than those who did not take it.

And it’s not all about skin and joints. There is some really interesting preliminary work showing that hydrolysed collagen may be effective at improving insulin sensitivity and glucose and lipid metabolism and reducing hypertension in people with type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

It all kind of reads like a shopping list of health benefits, but for those who are regular listeners of this podcast, you would know that I have an evidence threshold for making claims, and at least with collagen, there definitely appears to be something to the story. All for something that is after all a natural food. 

I will make special mention though of gut health because it comes up a lot in those promoting collagen – especially in the more Insta influencer, ‘natural health’ world. There is zero evidence in humans to support collagen doing anything to ‘plug those leaks in your leaky gut’. That doesn’t mean that it will do nothing, only that the claims made in this space are based on some very courageous leaps of logic from the amino acid content of collagen.

So that’s it for today’s show. You can find the show notes either in the app you’re listening to this podcast on if it supports it, or else head over to my webpage www.thinkingnutrition.com.au and click on the podcast section to find this episode to read the show notes.

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I’m Tim Crowe and you’ve been listening to Thinking Nutrition.