Does anyone have any reviews on collagen supplements? (Modere bio cell collagen?)
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I am always cautious of claims made by the supplement industry as often the claims are not supported by peer reviewed research. Many claims are supported by anecdotal reports of customers or research which may not fully represent the intended use of the products.
At $95/bottle (or $226L), I would be wanting to know the proof in the puddling before outlaying for something which is very expensive.
As a suggestion, have you seen a medical specialist (such a dermatologist) to obtain their expert opinion? Such should have factual information on the efficacy of the product (or products with similar ‘active’ ingredients). If there is proven efficacy, they will also be able to provide advice on whether the product is suitable for what you plan to use it for. It may be money well spent rather than relying on information from blogs and websites.
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Just to let you know Donna, I’ve passed this on as a request for consideration to our content team.
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Sorry for a late reply on this but I tried to find some answers on the ingestion of Collagen and it’s benefits. There is some evidence that increasing collagen intake can help various joint and skin issues but it still isn’t clear in humans as to the real benefits.
Collagen is the main structural protein in animals. Gelatine is a collagen compound for example extracted from things like fish scales, pig skin, animal tendons and similar which are normally otherwise discarded. So you could eat more gelatine to gain the stated benefits…
A table from one article that lists common collagen content of many foods:
| Meat/Fish Food products | Collagen content (mg/g) | Meat/Fish Food products | Collagen content (mg/g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | 7.5 | Salmon | 8.2a |
| Beef tendon | 49.8 | 24.1b | |
| Pork | 11.9 | Sierra | 10.4a |
| Pork chitterlings | 30.8 | 12.8b | |
| Chicken thigh | 15.6 | Yellowtail | 9.7a |
| Chicken wing tip | 15.5 | 16.2b | |
| Chicken drumstick | 19.9 | Broiled eel | 55.3 |
| Chicken liver | 8.6 | Daggertooth pike conger skin | 76.6 |
| Chicken gizzard | 23.2 | Squid | 13.8 |
| Chicken sternum cartilage | 40 | Shrimp | 11.5 |
| Ham | 11.2 | Boiled and dried baby sardines | 19.2 |
| Tuna | 5.7 | Sand eel | 12.9 |
| Short-neck clam | 11 | - | - |
Table 1: Collagen content in animal-derived food materials a) without skin, b) with skin.
The recommended intake of the product you referenced is 15 ml per day. This contains 3.5% of the active product (derived from chicken skin) of which 60% of that is Collagen. So based on the daily intake you would get 0.525 g (525 mg) of collagen. 100 g of skinless salmon would give you around 0.82 g (820 mg) or if you ate it with skin 2.41 g (2410 mg). Gelatine can be purchased for about $3.70 per 100 g (100,000 mg or about 190 doses) and as a jelly could be made with any flavour you enjoy or could be added to dishes as a thickener as it has almost no detectable taste. Comparing the product you mentioned at the 420 ml size you get 28 doses for around $95 dollars (it also has some small amount of chondroitin sulfate & hyaluronic acid as other active ingredients).
An article from the New York Times looked at the evidence about collagen and came to the conclusion it isn’t yet proven. It also notes that many of the studies that said it helped were sponsored by the businesses promoting the products.
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Has anyone tried taking Collagen as a health shake or in any other form and did it help with ligament and tendon repair?
Welcome to the Community @sandip52,
I merged your topic into this existing one that might be helpful.
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Hi @sandip52, welcome to the community.
I have noticed significant increase in ‘collagen’ supplement online advertising with some unproven (highly dubious) claims. Some of these claims suggest taking collagen increases bone density, increases muscle mass, improves nail strength, improves inner and outer beauty, relieves joint pain, improves heart health, assists weight loss and the list goes on. Wow…collagen sounds like it is a one stop shop for a range of ailments and afflictions.
The products also often state they are hydrolyzed collagen, collagen which has been broken down so it no longer the raw form of collagen. This is done reportedly to make it easier for the body to absorb. This means it is likely no longer to be collagen but broken down collagen…and the body is supposedly has the ability to recreate collagen from the hydrolyzed product when it is absorbed.
Many of the claims are unfounded and are based on the fact that many parts of the body contains collagen, so consuming more must be better. Many part of the body contains cholesterol. …so that must also mean eating more must have some benefit using the same logic.
There are some scientific papers (used by the cosmetics/supplements industy) indicating a positive response to consuming collagen, but equally there are other papers (not used by the cosmetics/supplements industry), indicating there is no effect…or could even be harmful as heavy metals have been found in some products. The jury is out with the science, and the cosmetic/supplements industry selective only reporting the limited number of papers favouring their claims, but deliberately ignore those that don’t,
If one believes they are deficit in collagen, rather than supporting the unregulated foreign based cosmetic/supplements industry with dubious claims (and many outside the reach of our regulators which are there to protect our interests) , try eating foods containing collegan or its building blocks such as capsicum, tomatoes pig skin or bone broth. These will have far more collagen and be far cheaper. These will also have more nutritional value than swallowing the cosmetic/supplements industry marketing hype.
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It gets broken down in the digestive system so not really crossing unchanged from your digestive tract and ending up in your connective tissue as the collagen you drank or ate. And it is not magically reconstructed after digestion into that same collagen. Your body builds collagen itself from amino acids collected from the food you eat so a collagen supplement will be broken down into amino acids and used as needed to grow and repair all sorts of tissues throughout your body not necessarily collagen. As you age collagen production slows down, the ordered fibres that contain collagen get rather unordered (some describe it as maze like) so you get wrinkles and lines as the connective tissues naturally degrade.
Best advice I received from a Dermatologist was use Sunscreen (preferably with moisturisers but it’s also OK without) every day whether going out in the sun or not, drink adequate amounts of water, don’t smoke and if a alcohol drinker do so as recommended by health authorities (no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 of those in any day but a total 3 a week is the healthiest choice if drinking). Exercise regularly, have good sleep habits and have a healthy balanced diet.
From Harvard University School of Public Health
“There is a lack of research to show that eating collagen can directly benefit skin or joint health. When digested in the stomach, collagen is broken down into amino acids, which are then distributed wherever the body most needs protein. Still, many foods that support collagen production are generally recommended as part of a healthful eating plan.”
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That’s correct and shows the misleading nature of the claims being made that it miraculously passes through the gut wall and does good in the body.
The collagen would be destroyed in the stomach, before it has any chance of being absorbed as collagen through the gut (intestine) wall. The stomach has a low pH caused by hydrochloric acid. The same hydrochloric acid is known to breakdown collagen…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/collagen
The acid is the stomach provides an important role in the digestion of food. It helps break food which can be easily degraded by HCl (like collagen) down into simple compounds which can be absorbed as it passes through the lower digestive system.
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