COLLAGEN makes up 25 to 35 per cent of the whole of your body’s protein content and is found in connective tissues and skin.
Studies have shown that collagen supplements improve skin elasticity and can improve joint mobility and decrease joint pain such as with osteoarthritis or in athletes.
Scientists believe they are generally safe for most people. Today Jane Atkinson puts them to the test . . .
Snacks
UTTERLY brilliant idea from Keira Rumble which has just launched here.
Beauty Bites, from her Australian firm Krumbled Foods, are little snack bars with hydrolysed collagen peptides, 1 billion probiotics, prebiotic fibre, vitamins C and E.
They come in triple choc chip, apple cinnamon, cherry coconut, salted caramel, white chocolate raspberry and lemon coconut, which I tried.
With just 124kcal per serving, 2.8g of natural sugar and 8g of fibre, they taste amazing.
Fresh and chewy, the satisfying bars are surrounded by white chocolate and contain 3,800mg of pure hydrolyzed collagen peptides I & III from grass-fed, pasture raised bovine.
These had the highest collagen content of the three I tested.
From £1.93 a bar at krumbledfoods.co.uk.
Gummies
I USED to turn my nose up at gummies because – like these ones – the main ingredients are often glucose syrup and sucrose.
But if you struggle to remember to take sachets or mix powder for your smoothie, having some collagen gummies to hand might be a good idea.
Each gummy is made using pomegranate juice with 500mg of quick absorbing marine collagen and 1,200ug of retinol per serving.
They also contain 150 per cent of RDA vitamin A and 100 per cent for vitamin C.
But be warned, if you do not eat meat, they are made with beef gelatine.
A pack of 60 gummies costs £32.99, but they are currently half price at £16.50 at myvitamins.com/.
Vegan
THE UK’s leading liquid collagen supplement brand, Revive Collagen, has launched a vegan version.
It is described as the only vegan substitute in the world to identically mimic human type 1 collagen, with an exact ratio of human type 1 collagen amino acids.
This means it has the identical amino acid profile of the hair, skin and nails.
Revive Collagen Vegan is backed by more than 70 independent studies and trials showed 80 per cent of participants had improvements to their skin.
I loved the raspberry flavour. Each sachet has 2,500mg of collagen plus energy boosting panax ginseng, retinol and vitamins B, D & E plus 100 per cent of an adult’s RDA of vitamin C.
From £32.30 for a 14-day supply. revivecollagen.com.