Looking after our bodies and ensuring we are consuming the right foods and vitamins can become a tedious and stressful task. More often than not, achieving overall wellness can be confusing, contributing to this is the lack of education and awareness. With the popularity around collagen consumption increasing, many include collagen in their daily diets without any knowledge or direction and sometimes get it wrong.
Let’s start with what collagen is?
Collagen is expertly created by simmering the bones of animals or the skin of fish for hours on end. It is therefore brimming with amino acids like glycine, proline and hydroxyproline. These help keep our skin, joints, bones and muscles strong, essentially an important source of protein needed for optimal functioning.
Surprisingly, these proteins are not sufficiently provided in our diets, especially here in the West with our love of skinless and boneless cuts of meat. In this case, collagen powder is the best substitute that provides what we lack in our diets on a daily basis.
In addition, hydrolysed collagen supplements contain nutritious amino acids that have already been broken down into peptides, allowing them to be absorbed far more efficiently than the collagen in food.
How should you take your collagen daily?
The most effective way to take collagen powder and maximise its benefits is to eat it in the way you enjoy most. If you are just starting off with collagen, taking it once in the morning with your tea, coffee, hot or cold water, smoothie, oats, soft porridge is recommended.
Medical authorities do not currently have a directive on an official guideline regarding how much collagen to take per day, however, in house studies with a review of clinical studies recommended that taking 2.5g – 15g per day was efficient and safe. The type of collagen and reason for consumption will also indicate the amount that is needed (ie: hydrolysed or Bioactive).
Collagen powder is a tasteless powder that adds no flavour to anything you add it to. Some powders may have ginger in and are best used in green teas, black coffee, smoothies or in oats.
Alternatively, collagen is most popularily used in teas and coffees as creamers. However, too much caffeine is not good for the body and therefore, one cup of a collagen filled coffee is recommeneded per day.
Other ways you can incorporate collagen into your everyday diet is in smoothies and shakes, you can also add a scoop to your baking mixtures, some cooking dishes and even ice lollies. If you are not a person that likes to experiment in the kitchen, a simple scoop or sachet into a glass of water or juice will do.
Four fast facts you should know:
- Heat does not affect the absorbption and nutritional value of collagen. Collagen peptides are heat stable up to 300°C, a temperature far higher than normal cooking and baking. As water boils at 100°C, collagen can be mixed into hot drinks, soups and stews without weakening its benefits.
- Medical experts agree that there is no optimum time to take your supplement as long as you’re taking a high enough dose of collagen to see a difference, with most concurring that the minimum amount is 2.5g per day.
- Sugar is known to damage collagen in a process called ‘glycation’. When you eat something sweet, the excess sugar is attached to the fats and proteins in the skin, producing enzymes that weaken both the collagen and its elastin fibres. Cutting down your sugar intake will help your collagen supplement work better.
- Incorporating Vitamin C into your daily routine and consuming alongside your collagen is highly absorbed and helps your body produce more collagen.
- Collagen can help you digest your food better and has been shown to promote restful and uninterrupted sleep at night.
Dr Mbali Mhlongo, Founder of Collagen SA says “Collagen is a multifunctional powerhouse and makes up about a third of the protein in your body. There are 28 different types of collagen, however, for our purposes only types 1, 2 and 3 are relevant as they make up 90% of the collagen in your body. Collagen SA products are formulated with carefully selected and key ingredients that guarantees maximum benefits for overall health while still keeping with the recommended safe margin dosage.”
