What it is:

A supplement containing animal collagen that has been broken down with water molecules (hydroloysis) into its component amino acids known as peptides.   

Health Benefits:

Collagen is a type of structural protein found in the body.  It is the basic building block of many connective tissues in the body including bone, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments.  Muscles, the gut lining, skin, hair, and nails also rely on collagen for its structure and health.

How I use it:

I put a scoop of collagen in my coffee every morning.  It does NOT change the taste of your coffee….BONUS!

How I found it:

So often I learn of a new health habit and immediately hop on Amazon to make a purchase.  And THEN I realize that in my zeal and excitement to incorporate this new health habit, I neglected to do enough research or closely examine ALL the ingredients.  As a result, I realize the product I purchased fell WAY short of its potential health optimizing potential.

That is certainly the case when I learned of the important role collagen plays in the body and that you can boost your collagen levels by incorporating bone broth and/or collagen peptides into your daily diet.

However, I did not realize that not all collagen peptides are created equal.  Initially I didn’t even think to pay attention to whether the animals used to create the peptides were wild caught, grass fed, or pasture raised.  Nor did I pay attention to whether the collagen was produced from animal hides versus the actual bones and cartilage of the animal.  Once I realized my error, I laughed at myself for how easily a common practice I do religiously when buying meat products completely went out the window when buying a product with which I was unfamiliar.  So please take heart, and know that even people whose livelihood, hobby and passion is to make the best health decisions and share with others, still makes these common mistakes!

I did not realize that there are several different types of peptides that perform different functions in the body.  As a result, my first purchase of collagen peptides came from conventional meat and only contained one type of peptide.  Although Type 1 makes up about 90% of the collagen in the body, the other types are critical to optimal health even if they are needed in smaller amounts. 

So it was back to the drawing board.  I dove deeper into researching a “cleaner” product that only included humanely raised animals AND included not one, but several beneficial types of peptides.  Frankly I was surprised at how difficult a task this proved to be.  And for a hot minute, I began to think I would have to give up on peptides altogether and exclusively use bone broth instead!  But finally, I came across Revive Naturals Multi Collagen protein.  And thankfully, it checked all the boxes!  

Why I use it:

I use collagen peptides because it is a relatively simple and convenient way to boost my nutrition and support my health.  The benefits to our bones, connective tissue, gut lining, hair, nails and skin are well known.  And since collagen is something that our bodies doesn’t produce as abundantly as we age, this is a great way to support continued health and vitality throughout our lives!   

Although I use collagen peptides daily, it is important to note that your body is built to better absorb and assimilate nutrition in its whole food form.  A big reason for this is because a whole food naturally contains the other nutrients necessary for your body to maximize absorption and assimilation.  Just like Vitamin D must be present to absorb and assimilate Calcium for example, Vitamin C is an important co factor for the body to turn the amino acids you get from eating collagen into collagen within the body.  This means that having bone broth (a whole food) may maximize the amount of collagen your body can absorb and assimilate relative to a food that has been processed. 

However, sometimes it is easier to trade maximum benefit for convenience…IF the tradeoff does not come with ANY toxicity.  That being said, I have also read that when animal collagen is hydrolyzed to make collagen peptides, it creates a more bio available form of collagen.  The more bio available, the greater the degree and more quickly a substance is absorbed into a living system.  I imagine periodically incorporating both whole food sources of collagen and collagen peptides might be optimal to cover all bases.  Dr. Ken Berry covers excellent natural collagen sources in this video.   

So yes, generally, drinking 4oz or so of bone broth daily may maximize the collagen you can absorb and assimilate into the body, as it is a whole food chock full of collagen.  However, since many people are already enjoying a hot beverage in the morning, like coffee, adding a scoop of collagen peptide to it seems more doable for most people.  I find that opting for the more convenient option can be a better starting point, and as people begin to feel the benefits, it is easier for them to then adopt a slightly more time-consuming habit.

There is however a silver lining to using a collagen peptide powder.  And that is it can contain several different types of collagens from different animal sources. Bone broth typically is from one source and therefore only contains a single type of collagen.

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