Collagen supplements are top sellers, either alone or in combination with other vitamins and magnesium, especially in the sports supplement area. In theory, they are especially useful for maintaining and recovering tendons and joint muscles.
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If so, who doesn’t want to take advantage of that property? The problem, as often happens, is that all that glitters is not gold. Collagen supplements have not shown the expected benefits and in fact their mechanism of action has not been scientifically proven.
First of all: What is collagen?
Collagen is called a family of interrelated proteins, although they have different genetic origins. They are composed of different amino acids, especially proline, lysine and glycine.
In any case, when all these proteins are put together, collagen is the most abundant family of proteins in the body (25% of what we have), and these are the connective tissues of our body. It can be said that they make up the main factor of the skin, hair, bones or tendons.
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Its function is to create the basic structure that supports these tissues and, therefore, our entire body. Its function is to create the basic structure that supports these tissues and, therefore, our entire body.
The collagen in your body you have produced yourself
However, it is important to clarify that the collagen in the body is 100% self-produced. In other words, it is not produced from collagen ingested in food and supplements, but rather from cells using amino acids, which are the amino acids that make up proteins, according to RNA instructions.
This is because the collagen is too large for the protein to be completely absorbed by the walls of the digestive system. Therefore, in order to enter the bloodstream and from there to the joints, it must first be broken down into essential amino acids.
By consuming collagen, the body receives the essential amino acids that are used to make proteins. However, those amino acids are not necessarily used to produce collagen. In fact, some of these amino acids can be found in other foods, and many of them are produced by our own bodies, so you don’t need to consume collagen at all to produce it.
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what the studies say
Although some studies have conferred beneficial properties on collagen supplements in the treatment of joint pain, the majority are studies carried out by the supplement manufacturer itself (this time there is a conflict of interest), and in other cases the research sample it’s too small.
On the other hand, the European Food Safety Agency has no evidence that collagen supplementation affects the joints of active people, the health and smoothness of the skin.
Thus, if you are thinking of considering this type of supplement, either in the form of tablets or creams, think carefully. Our advice is to spend money on something else, for example gelatin. Normally, gelatin is basically made of collagen and although it is not a solution to joint problems, it is richer and, above all, it is much cheaper than other products that you can find.
Published on Unplash by Carl Barcelo
