What to Look for in a Collagen Supplement
By Britni Vincent, RD, LD
June 18, 2020
Collagen has become a buzzword in the last few years and for good reason – collagen makes up a significant component of many tissues such as 65% to 80% of tendons, 70% of ligaments, 70% of cartilage, and 23% of bones. It also is found in your hair, skin, nails (my clients are often very interested in those specifics!) and intestinal tract. Collagen is FULL of benefits; however, our natural production of collagen begins to drop off in our twenties and may only be 50% by age 60.
At Nutritional Weight & Wellness we always look to food first to get our nutrients, but collagen doesn’t really work like that. It’s very difficult to get enough from diet alone, and processed foods that many people consume too frequently only deplete our collagen stores even more. That’s where collagen supplementation comes in.
Benefits of Collagen Supplementation
Here are some common benefits you may notice – both inside and out – from a high-quality collagen supplement (one note of warning, all supplements are absolutely not created equal.)
- Smoother skin with less wrinkles
- Stronger nails
- Faster growing hair
Those are the physical things you’re going to be able to see, but at Nutritional Weight & Wellness we aim for healing from the inside as well. Collagen helps to do just that.
- Stronger bones
- Stable ligaments/tendons
- Flexible joints
- Healthier intestinal tract (which in turn means a stronger immune system)
As mentioned, you can find collagen supplements all over, however, you get what you pay for. When searching for a high-quality collagen, we advise our clients to look for one that is never given GMOs or antibiotics. You also want to choose collagen that is formulated to make it easy for your body to absorb and utilize it (otherwise what a waste of money and time). Key Collagen is a new product from our sister company NutriKey that checks both those boxes.
How Key Collagen is different from other collagen products:
- Not only does Key Collagen give you a boost of collagen, but also it’s comprised of Bioactive Collagen Peptides® which help to stimulate your body’s own collagen production. These different peptides target different areas of the body making it extremely effective.
- Key Collagen is produced in a cGMP (good manufacturing practices) facility, which means it’s been third party tested.
- For the health and quality of ligaments/tendons, Key Collagen contains Tendoforte®. A study using 5 g of TendoForte® (the same amount in Key Collagen) for six months showed significant improvement in ankle stability.
- For joint health, Key Collagen contains Fortigel® for promoting growth of new cartilage. Interestingly, a study done on animals found that the ingestion of Fortigel® stimulated an increase of cartilage tissue growth after just three months.
- For skin health, Key Collagen contains Verisol® that stimulates skin metabolism while counteracting the loss of collagen in the skin. You can expect noticeably firmer and smoother skin with fewer wrinkles. The skin surface structure also improves which reduces cellulite and speeds up nail growth. Sounds amazing doesn’t it?! One study with more than 100 women aged between 45 and 65 years showed that Verisol® (2.5 g/day) significantly reduced wrinkles after four weeks and led to a significantly higher amount of collagen in the skin. Another comprehensive study of 105 women aged between 25 and 50 years showed that Verisol® significantly decreases the cellulite score – an effect that was measured after three and six months supplementation.
- For bone health, Key Collagen contains Fortibone® for stimulating bone cells (osteoblasts) that increase production of new bone and reducing the cells (osteoclasts) that break down bone. The results of a study of 131 postmenopausal women showed that collagen increased bone density compared to the placebo group after 12 months.
How to use Key Collagen
Key Collagen is a flavorless powder, so you can add it to your coffee, tea, and yogurt or in your smoothie. We encourage you to use Key Collagen for at least three months to determine how your body may benefit. Many of the benefits may take longer than three months; remember that the damage you’re trying to repair didn’t happen in a short amount of time. We all want instant results, but anything that heals your body for the long haul takes time.
Collagen is an important building block in many different areas of your body. It’s difficult to get enough collagen from food alone and your production of collagen starts to reduce in your twenties. Key Collagen is superior to the majority of collagen products on the market, because it’s cGMP and contains TendoForte®, Fortigel®, Verisol® and Fortibone®. Just 1 scoop of Key Collagen a day can help improve your ligaments/tendons, joint health, skin, hair and nails and bone health.
Resources
König, Daniel, et al. “Specific Collagen Peptides Improve Bone Mineral Density and Bone Markers in Postmenopausal Women—A Randomized Controlled Study.” Nutrients, vol. 10, no. 1, 2018, p.97., doi:10.3390/nu100010097.
Oesser, S., et al. “94 Orally Administered Collagen Hydroslysate Halts the Progression of Osteoarthritis in STR/Ort Mice.” Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, vol. 15, 2007, doi: 10.1016/s1063-4584(07)61727-0.
Proksch, E., et al. “Oral Intake of Specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides Reduces Skin Wrinkles and Increases Dermal Matrix Synthesis.” Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, vol. 27, no. 3, 2014, pp. 113-119., doi:10.1159/000355523.
Schunck, Michael, et al. “Dietary Supplementation with Specific Collagen Peptides Has a Body Mass Index-Dependent Beneficial Effect on Cellulite Morphology.” Journal of Medicinal Food, vol. 18, no. 12, 2015, pp. 1340-1348., doi: 10.1089/jmf.2015.0022.
