Do you recommend taking collagen powder? If so, marine or bovine? Thank you

Hello ma'am,

Collagen is a protein naturally found in tendons, joints, skin, and even muscles: in short, it's not bad everywhere in the body. While it is popularly known that collagen injections in aesthetic medicine can help slow down skin aging, data on the benefits of powdered (and thus oral) collagen are more limited. 😕

First, it is interesting to note that when it is administered by mouth, the body does not absorb the collagen: it breaks it down into small protein parts (called amino acids) and subsequently absorbs these small protein parts. Afterwards, it is the body that synthesizes its "own" collagen that it needs, from the amino acids. Thus, many food sources containing proteins (and therefore amino acids) do much the same "work" as collagen. I invite you to consult thiswebsite for food sources rich in collagen (and thus protein/amino acids). 🥗

Current evidence associates collagen supplementation with possible benefit for osteoarthritis, skin aging and wound healing. So there does not seem to be any data in multiple sclerosis. However, the data are so small in the studies that a clear cause-effect relationship cannot be established at this time, and thus to suggest supplementation (or simply eating more protein) out of hand. In addition, studies on collagen are often funded by the manufacturers themselves of the various brands of collagen supplements, making the available data less credible.

As for which source to favor (marine or bovine), that's a bit beyond my expertise. Generally speaking, it is true that animal proteins (e.g. bovine) are better absorbed by the digestive system than plant proteins (e.g. algae). For more information, I encourage you to consult a nutritionist, as they are the health professional best equipped to shed more light on the subject. 👩⚕️👨⚕️

In summary, here are my suggestions:

I hope this information helps to clarify things for you. Please feel free to contact us with any other questions! 😊

Marc-Antoine Dufresne, pharmacy intern (Pharm.D), supervised by Alexandre Chagnon, pharmacist.