What Is Collagen, and Does It Help Your Skin?
Important news about this anti-aging supplement
By Sally Wadyka
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies. It’s used to make all our connective tissues—including skin, bones, blood vessels, cartilage, ligaments, muscles, and tendons. That has led scientists to look into whether consuming collagen supplements can keep skin and joints youthful as we age. The answer is maybe.
In the meantime, collagen supplements are already popular. In a recent Consumer Reports’ nationally representative survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults, 7 percent of men and 19 percent of women said they’ve used collagen. And among the 27 percent of Americans who said they’ve ever taken supplements for nail, skin, or hair health, 3 in 10 have used collagen for that reason. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering taking a collagen supplement.
What Does Collagen Do?
“Collagen is like the frame of your mattress, providing necessary structure and support to tissues in the skin and other areas of the body,” says Joshua Zeichner, MD, associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
When you’re young, the body continually produces new collagen and degrades the old—meaning there’s always a plentiful supply to feed those connective tissues. But as with many things, production of it slows down as we age. Lifestyle factors can also affect your supply. “Sun exposure, smoking, excessive alcohol or sugar intake, lack of sleep, and being sedentary can accelerate the loss of collagen,” says Jamie I. Baum, PhD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Before you know it, you’re losing collagen faster than you can replace it. Without the structure that collagen fibers provide, skin starts to sag and wrinkle. Without enough fresh, spongy collagen in your cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and joints can be less flexible.
The Science on Collagen
The research is far from definitive, but “some data suggests that collagen supplementation does have a beneficial effect on collagen turnover rates in older adults,” says Keith Baar, PhD, professor of molecular exercise physiology at the University of California, Davis.
A 2017 review of several small studies of people with osteoarthritis concluded that daily collagen supplements (between 10 mg and 40 mg) decreased reported joint pain by 26 to 33 percent. And a 2018 study, published in the journal Nutrients, looked at the effect of collagen on bone density in postmenopausal women. Those who took a 5-gram collagen supplement had significant increases in the spine and neck vs. those who got a placebo. (The study was partly funded by a supplement manufacturer.)
“I do think that future research will show more positive effects,” Baar says. “But the quality of the current data isn’t super-high, and we need evidence from large, long-term trials.”
And supplements have a downside: They aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so there’s no guarantee that you’re getting exactly what the package claims. There have also been concerns about heavy metal contamination. In 2020, the Organic Consumers Association and the Clean Label Project tested 28 brands of collagen supplements and found that many contained arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium.
The Best Way to Get Collagen
For now, you can enhance collagen production by following a healthy diet.
Collagen is found naturally found in animal protein, such as meat and fish. “Bone broth and tough cuts of meat, like brisket or pot roast, contain lots of connective tissue, which is made up of collagen,” Baum says. But you don’t need to eat collagen to make collagen. “When you eat any type of protein [animal- or plant-based], your body breaks it down into individual amino acids,” Baum says. These are reassembled to make proteins your body needs, including collagen. “The type of protein doesn’t matter as much as making sure you’re getting adequate amounts of essential amino acids in your diet,” she says. For older adults, that’s about 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal.
We know that vitamin C, zinc, and copper help with collagen production, and other dietary factors may also play a role. Researchers in Baar’s lab are looking at micronutrients (like phytoestrogens in soy and polyphenols in dark chocolate) that may increase the body’s ability to make more collagen even as we age. “I have a feeling we’re going to find that groups who traditionally eat those foods will show lower rates of musculoskeletal problems,” he says.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article also appeared in the September 2022 issue of Consumer Reports On Health.
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