How do Collagen Supplements work in the Body?

Supplements containing collagen are now a major player in the market for protein supplements and are gradually overtaking other supplements in consumer demand. Even while collagen supplements are becoming increasingly popular, there are still many unanswered issues about what they are, how they work, and whether they work.

Skin

Consuming dietary collagen appeared to be considerably more successful in replacing collagen than producing collagen from many other sources, even though we can create the amino acids required to produce additional collagen from other items in our diet. This is because ingesting dietary collagen not only provides more of the essential amino acids, because once you consume collagen. Additionally, it instructs some skin cells to produce more collagen. When significant amounts of collagen supplementation are eaten, this has been demonstrated to function in humans. Since collagen supplements have been investigated over the past few decades, strong evidence supports their use in two major areas: joint and muscle pain and skin.

According to randomised research, a collagen supplement can aid in enhancing hydration, flexibility, and wrinkle reduction. Systematic reviews have also backed the use of collagen for several skin health issues. For instance, one study discovered that taking collagen supplements helped increase the flexibility and moisture of the skin. The same review also discovered that taking more collagen aided in wound healing.

Joints

One of the main proteins in the connective membrane surrounding our joints is collagen. A related protein is elastin. One typical cause of joint discomfort in certain persons is collagen loss. Collagen supplements have so been proposed as a potential treatment for joint discomfort. The effectiveness of collagen supplementation on joint pain across various groups has been investigated in several randomized trials. A study including college-aged athletes discovered that 24 weeks of hydrolysis collagen supplements at a dose of 10 mg per day reduced joint pain, particularly knee discomfort, in several different tests. Another randomized experiment discovered that 13 weeks of collagen supplement reduced osteoarthritis-related subjectively felt pain.

However, the overall strength of the evidence does seem to be weak. Therefore it does not seem prudent to make general collagen supplements in the osteoarthritis treatment process.

How long do collagen supplements work in the Body?

According to scientific papers, there is no set amount of time for collagen supplementation to become effective. However, most studies demonstrate gains on quality indicators between 4 and 8 weeks, indicating that a general time frame of 1-2 months seems required for collagen supplementation to demonstrate efficacy.

Is collagen safe

Moderate amounts of collagen supplements seem to be safe for people. The lethal dose of oral collagen supplements in rats is approximately 5 grams per kg or roughly 350 grams per day for a 70 kg person.

Bottom Line

Collagen is one of the main structural proteins in the human body and represents around a third of all proteins found in the Body. Collagen provides much of the structure to the skin and supportive connective tissue in joints. Supplementing with collagen has been shown to improve skin hydration and elasticity and may help with skin ageing. It has also been shown to help reduce joint pain slightly in athletes and may improve pain associated with osteoarthritis. Dosing 10-15 grams per day appears to be useful for both skin and joints and seems to be safe.