Collagen - Part 1

Role of collagen & when it's not the most useful

Collagen, collagen, collagen… it’s at the top of the list when it comes to the most talked about supplements in current fitness lore. Yet again, it brings along with it a bunch of supporters and an equal amount of haters who claim the extraordinary benefits or lack thereof, respectively.

In today’s post, I’m going to clear up the misconceptions about collagen by first breaking down what it is and how it’s different than other proteins and what the scientific research shows in regard to its efficacy.

Let’s dive right into it.

What is Collagen?

When most people see “protein” listed on a nutritional facts label, they simply think they’re consuming a well-defined macronutrient purposed to benefit their health.

And while that’s true and you should be prioritizing protein in your diet (becoming a broken record here), not all protein is created equal.

Am I saying protein=protein isn’t true? Pretty much.

This is because “protein” itself is a very generic term.

It would be like ordering an omelet at your local diner and expecting to know exactly what will end up on your plate. While the base ingredients stay the same, there’s a multitude of different outcomes that could result from this order and the same holds true for protein.

Remember, a protein is comprised of chains of amino acids linked together. Consider these your omelet ingredients.

With 20 amino acids to choose from (one heck of an omelet station), there are a plethora of ways in which these can be strung together to form a protein.

Some are simpler and use less ingredients; think of this like a ham & cheese omelet. Others are more complex and use the entire kitchen sink which is what you’d see on my plate. 

I bring this up because collagen is indeed a protein but it’s like the ham & cheese omelet. It’s primarily comprised of three amino acids: glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline.

Contrast this with something like a beef or egg protein (more on the kitchen-sink side) which include a boatload of amino acids… including all nine of the essential amino acids – the ones that must be consumed in our diet.

This is important to note because it will come back when we discuss what collagen should NOT be used for.