Not exactly but it can help with your health, from skin to bones.

You might have noticed Instagram health and wellness influencers on your feed raving about collagen and putting it in just about everything. That’s because there’s good evidence that our skin retains its elasticity and protects our bones, joints, and organs with the help of collagen.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to consume collagen is through hydrolyzed collagen peptides in powdered form. Hydrolyzed means the amino acids in the collagen have been broken down, making it easier for your body to digest. While this doesn’t guarantee it’ll go to where you want — just like how you can’t target body fat with workouts — your body will send collagen to where you need it the most.

Collagen benefits

  • improves skin’s elasticity
  • protects the bones, joints, and organs
  • helps build muscle and burn fat
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Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, but as our bodies age, they naturally produce less of it. This small supply can cause our skin to lose its elasticity, which contributes to wrinkles, fine lines, dryness, and loose or sagging skin — all normal parts of getting older.

Remember, there’s no magic potion that’ll halt or reverse skin aging. However, studies have shown that taking collagen supplements can significantly improve skin appearance by supporting skin elasticity in as little as four weeks and reduce wrinkles in eight weeks.

Like skin, collagen also has an important role in joint health. Studies have shown that taking collagen regularly can improve osteoarthritis symptoms and help alleviate swollen, tender joints caused by rheumatoid arthritis.

If that wasn’t enough, evidence shows that collagen has been proven to also benefit the digestive health of people with inflammatory bowel disease, and prolonged use improved the appearance of cellulite in women.

Collagen powder can be added to both hot and cold beverages, but we prefer to have it in this next-level protein shake.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. vanilla collagen powder
  • 1 small frozen banana
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 tbsp. almond butter
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 4 ice cubes

Directions

  1. Blend all of the ingredients together on high in a
    high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.

Dosage: Consume 1/2 to 1 tbsp. of collagen powder a day and start to see results in four to six weeks.

Possible side effects

Collagen is considered
safe for most people to consume. However, if you have an allergy to the source
of the collagen, for example many collagen supplements are made from fish, it’s
possible you’ll have a reaction to the supplement.