The Truth About Collagen! Top 5 Questions Answered

There are a lot of myths out there about collagen - does it work, what’s the best way to take it, and lots of other questions!

We get it - collagen is a complex topic and there’s a lot of information out there. At Absolute Collagen, we’re the collagen experts and have been working with this amazing little protein for years - and we’re here to bust some common collagen myths for you.

Is liquid collagen better than pills?

The short answer is yes, liquid collagen is better than collagen in pill or tablet form. There’s a simple reason for this and it’s to do with bioavailability, which means how effectively it can be absorbed and utilised by the body. A liquid supplement has a higher bioavailability than one in pill or tablet form - our liquid collagen has a 90-95% absorption rate which means you’re getting the maximum amount of goodness. By contrast, you’d need around 16 collagen pills to get the benefits of one 10ml sachet of Absolute Collagen.

We include 8000mg of premium hydrolysed collagen in our sachets, because the body’s natural collagen production is triggered around 6000-7000mg, so 90-95% of an 8000mg dose will ensure you’re absorbing at least 7,200mg of collagen to trigger your body’s own collagen production. There is no evidence to suggest a higher amount of collagen actually increases our own collagen production, while our clinically proven research is proof you’ll get amazing results at 8000mg!

Can you take collagen with hot drinks?

This one is a little more complicated. The short answer is that yes, you can take Absolute Collagen with a hot drink, and the collagen won’t be impacted at all. So all of you who enjoy your daily dose with a morning coffee, don’t worry!

For those of you who have heard that collagen is damaged by heat, technically that’s also true. Collagen molecules in their native state do degrade in hot water - but the good news is that Absolute Collagen uses hydrolysed collagen molecules, called peptides. These have already been broken down - using heat - and are heat stable up to 240 degrees.

There’s a significant difference between native collagen molecules and hydrolysed collagen, and we at Absolute Collagen have formulated our collagen drink to be just as suitable with a nice hot drink as without - just one of the things that makes it the perfect little supplement. In fact, studies by Rousselot have shown that Peptan - the brand of collagen we use in our supplement - is stable in both hot and cold drinks. However, we're proud to have made Absolute Collagen super easy to take, no need to mix with anything, and we recommend taking straight from the sachet. It really is all about how you prefer to take it!

Is collagen simply destroyed by stomach acid?

No, collagen is not simply destroyed by stomach acid. Scientific studies have shown that Peptan is digested and absorbed as free amino acids, dipeptides (two amino acids joined together) and tripeptides (three amino acids joined together) because it is rich in hydroxyproline, a specific collagen amino acid which is notable for forming stable bonds with other amino acids, rendering them very resistant to digestive enzymes in the stomach.

After travelling through the stomach, the collagen then makes its way to the small intestine where it is broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream by crossing through the epithelial wall. The presence of hydroxproline protects these amino acids until they reach the small intestine, meaning there is no need to coat them in any protective material such as a capsule or liposomes. Kleinnijenhuis et al (2020) recently studied the digestive journey of hydrolysed collagen in more detail, demonstrating Peptan’s high levels of bioavailability.

Can you take collagen with other supplements?

The short answer is yes, you can take Absolute Collagen with other supplements. We deliberately keep things simple, allowing each Absoluter to choose how best to take their daily dose and enabling them to take other supplements as they see fit.

Our expert formulation simply includes 8000mg of premium collagen, enriched with Vitamin C, which is essential to ensure you’re making the most of your collagen dose - if you ingest collagen without adequate levels of Vitamin C, your body will simply waste the majority of the collagen. Each 10ml sachet of Absolute Collagen contains 75% of your recommended daily dose of Vitamin C, ensuring you make the most of every single dose.

Including other vitamins and additional ingredients would impact the Absoluter experience; you may need to take it at certain times of day or avoid taking other supplements, and we want to keep things as simple as possible and empower every single Absoluter. We’re all different, so our bodies’ needs are different, and by keeping our supplement simple, we’re recognising that. In short, it’s all about you, and choosing what’s right for your body and lifestyle.

Can you get vegan collagen?

No, you cannot get vegan collagen. This is because collagen is only found in animal sources; collagen supplements most commonly derive their collagen from pig, cow, chicken or fish. At Absolute Collagen, we use marine collagen taken from farmed fish destined for human consumption, which means we can be absolutely sure the fish are not fed nasties like antibiotics or metals. Marine collagen is also protected from diseases which affect other animals like pig, cow and chicken. It also means our supplement is suitable for pescatarians, although vegans and vegetarians will not find it suitable.

However, if you’re following a vegan or vegetarian diet, there are ways you can boost your collagen. Supplements which purport to be vegan collagen are actually collagen-boosting supplements; the key difference is that they don’t contain any collagen, but can support the body’s own collagen production through the inclusion of other ingredients.

If you’re looking for a vegan anti-ageing product, our award-winning serum Maxerum is a topical anti-ageing solution, clinically proven to reduce wrinkle appearance by 18% and boost skin firmness by 28% in just 28 days! It’s completely vegan, cruelty-free, and kind to skin - we use plant-derived bakuchiol instead of retinol, as it mimics the retinoid binding mechanisms without any nasty side effects like photosensitivity and skin redness.

In conclusion, we get lots of great questions about collagen and we love answering them all! We’re all about demystifying collagen for our Absoluters and giving you the tools to make the best decisions for yourself. If you have other questions about Absolute Collagen, please get in touch with our friendly team!