We recommend 20–30 g for women and 30–40 g for men. WARNING: Collagen should not account for more than 30% of your daily protein intake. The remaining 70% should come from complete proteins rich in essential amino acids.

It needs to be diluted in a liquid: hot or cold drink, smoothie, soup, yogurt, omelet. The more liquid there is, the better it will dissolve and the less you will perceive its taste. Although in truth, our collagen is almost tasteless.

Our supplier manufactures in Turkey, which falls under European regulations for collagen production, so it must comply with all relevant European regulations. Companies that produce in Brazil or China are not required to comply with these regulations.

By law, any European collagen producer must comply with the following regulations:
EC 853/2004, which requires, among other things, sterilization with UHT
EC 852/2004
EC 178/2002

The supplier also has a production facility in Switzerland, but the production capacity is MUCH smaller, so we would not have the ability to guarantee almost totally tasteless and odorless collagen. The Turkish production capacity, on the other hand, allows us to always have batches of virtually tasteless collagen.

In addition, our supplier is FSSC 22000 certified, a certification scheme recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). GFSI certifications are globally recognized food safety standards developed to improve food safety throughout the supply chain. FSSC certification is voluntary

It is also ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 certified

Our supplier has very high quality standards as it also supplies the world's largest food company-Nestlé, which with Vital Proteins is also the market leader in collagen. The accreditation process to become a Nestlé supplier is very complex as the quality standards required are very high. I give an example understandable even to non-technical people: collagen packaging must take place in a clean room. A clean room is a highly controlled work environment designed to minimize the presence of particulate contaminants. Simply put, it is a space characterized by highly filtered air, controlled temperature and humidity, and strict procedures to limit the introduction of foreign particles.

I realize that to some people reading Turkey may generate doubts, but they are just prejudices. Turkey is a great nation, just look at their beautiful television series. We had Cinecittà, and today? On the biggest channel in the world, Netflix, it is the Turkish series that are depopulated, not the Italian ones.

Yes, of course, it's a protein.

Recommended dose: 1 scoop per 15 kg or approximately 1.3 g per 5 kg

Absolutely not.
Collagen is a protein, and to be absorbed, it only needs to be digested. Vitamin C is needed by our body to synthesize new collagen; to be precise, it is needed to hydroxylate proline and lysine.

Is it necessary to supplement with it? Currently, no one has a definitive answer to this question. I take it because it has many benefits and I get it from natural sources, “Pure Vitamin C” by Dr. Giorgini.

How much vitamin C should you take? It depends on your lifestyle. Be careful: there are intestinal absorption limits because it is mainly absorbed in the small intestine via specific transporters (SVCT1, Sodium-Dependent Vitamin C Transporter 1). Since the number of transporters is limited, as the dose increases, the absorbed percentage decreases.

Reference values in healthy adults:

• 100 mg ingested → approximately 80–100 mg can be absorbed.
• 1000 mg ingested → approximately 400–500 mg can be absorbed.
• The unabsorbed portion remains in the intestinal lumen and is eliminated with the feces.

“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 has been observed to be beneficial for joints, but these are preliminary results that do not demonstrate a certain causality. Currently, there are no EU-authorized health claims for hydrolyzed collagen in relation to joint function.

Anecdotal evidence: Many people report that taking collagen has improved their joint condition. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence is not scientific evidence, as it is based on personal experiences 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

No, that’s incorrect. The claim is based on a misreading of this study. What the study really shows is that marine collagen retains 1.5 times more water than collagen from mammals.

All collagen on the market is hydrolyzed. If it were not it would be called gelatin. These are the two products you get from animal collagen.

Let's start at the beginning: collagen is the "glue" that holds the bodies of animals together. In its natural form it is insoluble. Gelatin, what we call "isinglass," is made by partially dredging collagen with heat. Gelatin is soluble in hot water. Collagen powder is obtained through the process of hydrolyzing animal tissues such as bone, skin, and cartilage (our collagen is produced exclusively from the skin of pasture-raised cattle. Collagen powder is soluble in both hot and cold water.

Gelatin forms a gel; collagen does not because it is composed of smaller molecules. Our gelatin has a molecular weight of about 50,000 Da (dalton). Gelatin can have different molecular weights from 20,000 Da to 100,000 Da. The molecular weight of gelatin determines its Bloom, or gelling power; the higher the bloom, the higher the gelling power. Our collagen has a molecular weight between 1,800 Da and 2,000 Da. In contrast, the native collagen molecule (found in animal tissues) has a molecular weight of 300,000 Da.

Why am I telling you all this? During digestion, proteins must be broken down in order to be absorbed; if a protein is smaller in size it is absorbed faster because it is easier to break it down.

In Europe, the production of gelatin and collagen must comply with strict purity standards. The final product must have a conductivity and therefore a salt content below 2000 µS at 1% concentration. To reach this level of purity, manufacturers use ion exchange resins. These include cationic resins, which remove positively charged ions (cations), and anionic resins, which remove negatively charged ions (anions). This process has a direct impact on the overall purity of the product, ensuring that the heavy metal content is practically zero.

In addition, the limit content of heavy metals is subject to EU reg. 853/2004.

I wrote a this insight On all objections to collagen.

A couple of points here: one of the most popular objections is “the molecule is not absorbed whole.” These people believe that you supplement collagen by thinking that the collagen molecule (bovine, porcine, or marine) is absorbed whole from the gut and goes whole into the skin to plump it up. This is nonsense and shows the ignorance of these people on the subject.
1) Any protein to be absorbed must be digested, that is, “cut” into smaller pieces that can be absorbed by the intestines. No company selling collagen claims that it is absorbed whole, partly because they all sell collagen hydrolyzed.
2) All collagen is hydrolyzed: this means that the original molecule is “cut” into smaller molecules, the peptides. In this way it is as if it were pre-digested and thus is more easily and quickly digested. So the collagen was not whole to begin with either.

The reason I supplement with collagen is glycine. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that glycine is a conditionally essential amino acid: our bodies cannot produce enough of it to meet daily needs. Furthermore, it's observed that individuals with metabolic disorders (obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver) have low circulating glycine levels. These low glycine levels are also often found in cases of inflammation, insulin resistance, high oxidative stress, advanced pregnancy, and exposure to xenobiotics (substances foreign to an organism's normal metabolism, whether natural or synthetic). An important clarification: currently, there is no scientific certainty that supplementing with collagen, glycine, or consuming foods rich in glycine can improve these pathologies.

Consuming collagen (the food richest in glycine) provides our body with this extremely important amino acid. Glycine accounts for 33% of the amino acids that make up collagen and is necessary for the production of glutathione, heme groups, purines, creatine, and bile salts.

Important: You don't have to take collagen, just incorporate foods that contain it into your daily diet: gelatin, nerves, joints, or animal skin. Bone broth, contains interesting levels of collagen only if it becomes gelatinous when it cools.

The absolute richest natural food (which has not undergone processing) in collagen is pig skin.

Our collagen is produced only from cattle skin

No, there is no such thing as organic collagen because part of the process by which it is produced, hydrolysis, is not allowed in the organic protocol. This is the setssa reason why organic stevia does not exist: one step of production is hydrolysis.

No, there is no such thing as vegan collagen. Collagen is the structural protein found in all animals. In plants this role is filled by cellulose, which is indigestible to us humans. What is sold as “vegan collagen” is a mix of amino acids similar to what is found in animal collagen. Similar but not the same: for example, plant collagen lacks hydroxyproline, one of the most+ abundant amino acids in plant collagen The amino acids used to create “vegan collagen” can be extracted from plants or synthesized in the lab.

No, you can also subdivide.

Studies suggest that the best times to consume protein are at breakfast and dinner. To stimulate protein synthesis, it's important to consume at least 30 grams of complete protein (containing all essential amino acids) or 12 grams of essential amino acids in a single meal. Since collagen is not a complete protein, it’s ideal to combine it with other high-quality protein sources such as eggs, fish, or meat in the same meal.

No, it is not necessary to stop taking it if it is just collagen without other ingredients.

We consider collagen in its pure form a food, not a supplement, as collagen is nothing more than hydrolyzed gelatin, meaning it's broken down into smaller molecules.

Throughout evolution, our ancestors also consumed the parts of the animal rich in collagen, which contains 25% of glycine. Today, we consume only muscle, which contains only a minimal amount of collagen. Thus, for 2.5 million years and up until a few decades ago (even our grandparents ate foods rich in collagen), the body obtained glycine through the diet.

Yes of course. Collagen is a protein, and children need more protein than an adult because they are growing.

Indeed!

MAPs contain only essential amino acids, whereas collagen contains mainly glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which are nonessential amino acids.