“I was advised to take type II collagen for my joints, what type of collagen does yours contain?”
It does not matter to our bodies what type of collagen we take in, because when we ingest collagen in order for it to be absorbed by the intestines it must be “broken down” into the individual amino acids of which it is made or into small groups of them. Whether these amino acids come from type I, II or other collagen makes no difference. Our body will then use some of these amino acids to build new collagen.
However: our collagen contains mainly type I collagen and to a small extent type III collagen, as it is obtained from the skin of (pasture-raised) cattle.
There are multiple types of collagen in our bodies, to date 29 are known, but let's look at just the two main ones:
Type I: about 90% of the collagen found in the human body. It is found in skin, bone, tendons, arteries, fibrous cartilage and cornea.
Type II: hyaline cartilage, vitreous body.
Hyaline cartilage is smooth and flexible but less resistant to traction than fibrous cartilage. It is found in joints (articular cartilage), the ends of long bones (growth cartilage), trachea, bronchi, and nose. It reduces friction in joints, cushions shocks and is involved in bone growth. It is the most common type of cartilage.
Fibrous cartilage is dense, very resistant to compression and traction, and is stiffer than hyaline cartilage. It is found in knee menisci, intervertebral discs, pubic symphysis, and some joints (e.g., temporomandibular). It absorbs shock and provides mechanical strength in areas subjected to high stress or pressure.
Osteoarthritis is a condition related to the deterioration of cartilage. In most cases it is due to aging (more than 70% of people over 55 suffer from it) but it can also be caused by poor posture that makes the joint work poorly. For example, after an accident if we do not properly recover the muscles in the knee, it can work out of alignment and wear down the knee cartilage. Another cause can be vare or vague knees. Obesity also contributes to cartilage deterioration.
Can collagen help? There are several studies (1,2) where collagen intake is observed to be beneficial for joints, but proving that collagen intake can decrease the incidence of osteoarthritis would require very long and very expensive studies because you would need a large group of people for decades. Who knows, maybe someday the Live Better foundation will have us the money to fund this study... It would also be nice to do a study on the incidence of osteoarthritis in ancestral living populations, like the Hadza.
What is certain is that there is plenty of anecdotal evidence: thousands of people around the world report that taking collagen has improved their joints. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence, however, is not scientific evidence, as it is personal experience that could be influenced by many factors.
You don't have to necessarily take collagen, just habitually consume collagen-rich foods such as: gelatin, ribs, animal skin (the richest one is pig skin), collagen-rich cuts such as bovine tail. (3)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8521576/
2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30368550/
3) https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-search?component=1225



















































