The Long Haul: Collagen
Welcome to The Long Haul! Every week, I’ll explore a longevity topic and then give a roundup of the big news in longevity. Alex (in Australia) asked me to get the down low on collagen. So here it is! (Were you forwarded this email? Please subscribe here.) Today's Topic: CollagenCollagen is HUGE in the skincare industry for its wrinkle-removing powers. More recently it’s also gaining traction for muscle and joint wellbeing too. But I think its proposed benefits aren’t very real. What is collagen? Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body (learn about protein here). It’s an important building block that provides structure, strength, and support to the body by:
So the hype around collagen supplements makes sense – it’s an important protein and helps our longevity. What does it do for us? As we age, our bodies produce less collagen which is of lower quality. This aligns with the two main reasons people usually want to supplement collagen – wrinkles and joint weakness. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of evidence of the benefits, but let's break it down: Wrinkles I generally don’t trust the beauty & skincare industry and in this case, I still don’t. Collagen isn’t found on the skin surface, it’s much deeper. So application at the surface isn’t beneficial. Not to mention collagen fibers are also too large to permeate the skin barrier, meaning collagen in skincare is likely useless. [2] To double down, research has shown that peptides (the building blocks of collagen) aren’t any better. Joint weakness This is where I was most hopeful. Our joints are composed of ~60% collagen and yet, there’s still not a lot of proof collagen supplementation helps. But when you look into academic articles, they say collagen supplementation is GREAT for joint health. However academic articles require disclosure of funding and conflicts of interest and most studies boasting about collagen disclose that they were funded by supplement brands:
So I’m not sure I trust the science here because I don’t trust studies with financial interests attached. And I’ve already expressed how I feel about most supplements here. How to get enough collagen Collagen can’t be absorbed by the body in whole form, so eating collagen-rich foods doesn’t directly correlate to higher collagen levels in the body. Consuming foods that provide the raw ingredients that are crucial to building collagen like vitamin C, glycine, copper and zinc could be beneficial. [1] You can’t do any damage consuming collagen supplements, but it’s questionable if there’s any benefit. And really, no one cares about their collagen levels. They care about having great skin and healthy joints. So here’s how to achieve those things according to science: For skin: minimize UV exposure, wear sunscreen, use retinoids, avoid smoking, sleep well For joints: eat a balanced diet, and weight train a minimum of 3x/week [3] The Haul: What you can’t miss in longevity this weekResearch
Thanks for reading. – Robyn [1] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/23089-collagen [2] https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/collagen/ [3] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/considering-collagen-drinks-and-supplements-202304122911 |
