The 7 Most Common Mistakes Made When Using Collagen Supplements

With collagen supplements becoming more and more popular, it’s important to know how to use them effectively. If not, your collagen may be doing nothing to help boost health and wellbeing. 

Find out the most common mistakes people make when using collagen supplements and how to fix these issues today! Learn the importance of collagen in the body and how to pick a supplement that helps support health.

What is Collagen?

Collagen is an important protein that is vital to the health of joints, bones, skin, vessels, and organs of the body. Basically, collagen provides necessary support and protection inside and out. Most of the collagen in the body is Type I, used in the tendons, bones, ligaments, and skin. Type II is found in cartilage, and type III is found in organs, vessels, and muscles.

Do Collagen Supplements Work?

Aging and other environmental factors may contribute to low levels of collagen in the body which can cause wrinkles, weakened muscles, joint pain, blood flow problems, and issues moving around.

A meta-analysis of the effects of collagen found that it can be taken as a nutritional supplement, useful in treating hair and nail conditions. Furthermore, a systematic review concluded that ingesting collagen for 90 days can reduce skin aging, fine lines, and wrinkles while improving the elasticity of the skin and boosting hydration.

So yes, if used correctly, collagen supplements can have a huge impact on overall health. Keep reading to find out what common mistakes are impacting your collagen routine and how to fix them.

7 Common Mistakes When Taking Collagen Supplements

Here are 7 common mistakes that you may be making when taking or using collagen supplements. Avoid these to get the most of your collagen supplements and improve overall health today!

1. Not Taking it Daily

Collagen is needed in various parts of the body. It is important to take it daily to continue to improve skin, joints, muscles, and hair. Research has shown that 2 to 15 grams are a safe daily dose. 

If you don’t take enough daily collagen, you will not gain the physical benefits.

What to do instead:

Lower doses can help with skin, hair, and nails, while higher doses can help muscles and joints. Start with a smaller dose if you are just starting then move up to larger doses as your body gets used to it.

2. Not Getting Grass Fed

You are what you eat. In this case, it means the quality of the supplement matters, as this will become the building block used to repair the joints, skin, muscles, and ligaments. Collagen comes from animals, with the most common being bovine and marine. 

What to do instead:

If you use bovine, make sure it comes from a grass-fed wild diet as this will increase the nutrition of the collagen and it is the most natural option. Make sure your supplement has no fillers like artificial color, GMOs, soy, or sugar.

3. Using it in Skincare

Collagen has become really popular in skincare, but it won’t do what you expect it to. Collagen in skin care will not penetrate deep enough to affect collagen production.

It sits at surface level and while it does act as a humectant, hydrating and plumping, it does not fix any signs of aging. It also does not improve the elasticity and texture of the skin.

What to do instead:

If you want real results, such as reducing the signs of aging, be sure to ingest collagen instead of using it as skincare.

4. Having Low Amounts of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an amazing antioxidant that is vital for the production of collagen in the body. Low amounts of vitamin C lead to decreased elasticity fibers, increased DNA damage, and reduced collagen.

While you can use a topical vitamin C serum to protect the skin, the diet must contain enough vitamin C to support collagen in the body.

What to do instead:

Make sure you are taking enough vitamin C. Good sources of vitamin C include strawberries, oranges, bell peppers, potatoes, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

5. Not Sleeping Enough

Some claim collagen can help sleep, but more studies need to be conducted before this claim can be backed up. Collagen supplements have no link with helping insomnia, but getting enough rest is important for collagen. Lack of sleep reduces the ability of the body to repair as well.

What to do instead:

Get enough rest. Sleep is needed for the body to repair and grow. Sleep helps improve muscle repairs as well as a lot of regulatory processes happen in the body when you sleep. Check out this guide for the best sleep of your life.

6. Drinking it too Hot

Drinking collagen hot may affect the ability of collagen to improve health. When exposed to very high temperatures, proteins may become denatured, meaning they lose their original shape and ability to perform.

In theory, however, collagen supplements are already a bit predigested due to the process of extracting them from the source. Too high temperatures can break down protein though.

What to do instead:

Drink collagen supplements at room temperature or drink them cold. If you want to heat it, be sure that the temperature is under 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

7. Not Getting it From a Quality Source

Supplements are not regulated, which is absolutely wild. This basically means a supplement company can make any claims without having any proof. To reiterate, supplements can put anything in products and sell them as nutrition.

If you choose cheap, untested, unreliable collagen, you might be getting little to no purity from the supplements.

What to do instead:

Choose a supplement company that is reliable that conducts third-party testing. Third-party testing means an unrelated company will verify the claims made by the supplement ingredient and quality.

Quick Tips to Support Collagen in the Body

Here are some useful tips to prevent the loss of collagen in the body.

• Reduce UV exposure – sunlight can damage and decrease collagen in the skin.
• Quit smoking – smoking decreases the overall production of collagen
• Reduce sugar – sugar molecules can attach to components in the body that damage protein and reduce collagen
• Get the right micronutrients – besides vitamin C, get enough proline, glycine, copper, and zinc. Get your full list of nutrients to consume here.

The Takeaway

Collagen is highly important in the body and you may benefit from taking a supplement. Avoid common mistakes such as getting low-quality collagen, not sleeping, or not using it daily. Avoid collagen in skincare as it is overpriced, drink collagen at room temperature or colder, and get enough micronutrients in to support collagen in the body.

Health comes from the inside out. Eat well to make sure the body can repair and reset, physically and mentally, sleep enough, and move daily to ensure wellbeing improves. What we eat and do are components that become building blocks for emotional, mental, and physical wellness.

Take care of gut health as well! A balanced gut microbiome can improve muscle growth, mental health, immune system response, digestion, metabolism, and much more. Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here!