Answer

Does collagen work for skin, joints, or muscle?

Collagen collagen skin joints

By Arun AgrahriLast reviewed

Short answer

The evidence is mixed, and it splits by goal. For muscle, a randomized trial in older men found muscle building stayed flat on collagen even at an extra 50 g a day. Another trial found collagen and whey gave similar gains in fat-free mass. For skin, trials disagree. Joints fall outside this claim.

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Based on what researchers say in public interviews on YouTube. Educational only, not medical advice. Ask a qualified clinician before changing a supplement, medication, treatment, or testing plan.
Conflicting

Collagen supplements are worth taking.

The verdict on Collagen overall. 7 sources: 3 positive, 2 partly, 2 negative

What the evidence says

positive partly neutral negative Each researcher and each study counts once per claim, however often they come up.

  1. Mixed

    Collagen improves skin elasticity but is inferior to whey for building muscle.

    8 sources: 6 partly, 2 negative.

    Researchers say

    1 partly

    Studies show

    5 partly, 2 negative

    7 papers we read

    29 more not counted · see why
    The study is not yet read in full. 14
    We could not tell where the evidence comes from. 6
    A host's remark inside an interview. 5
    We could not confirm who is speaking. 2
    We could not tell what position it takes on this claim. 1
    The study cited could not be identified. 1
    Show the receipts from 8 sources

    1. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 14:03 Video · partly · Opinion

      “it doesn't stimulate muscle protein synthesis i do not have my patients count bone broth or the collagen as protein it's not a complete protein”

    2. Controlled trial, Nutrients, 2019, PMID 31627309 Study · partly

      The differences between the verum group and the placebo group were highly significant for all of the test parameters after three months of treatment.

    3. Controlled trial, J Cosmet Dermatol, 2021, PMID 32799362 Study · partly

      A planned subgroup analysis based on age found that females between 45 and 54 years supplemented with VWC had significant improvements in skin elasticity at week 12.

    4. Systematic review, Amino Acids, 2021, PMID 34491424 Study · partly

      Two studies observed a higher increase in muscle protein synthesis with whey protein and lactalbumin vs COL

    5. Controlled trial, Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2023, PMID 37202878 Study · partly

      Postexercise myofibrillar protein synthesis rates in COLL did not differ from PLA or WHEY

    6. Controlled trial, Am J Clin Nutr, 2024, PMID 38762187 Study · partly

      Despite this difference, integrated MPS rates were similar in the whey and pea conditions but remained unchanged in the collagen condition despite participants consuming an additional 50 g of collagen protein as peptides per day.

    7. Controlled trial, Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021, PMID 33946565 Study · negative

      In addition, there were no significant differences between collagen peptides and whey protein with respect to changes in fat free mass.

    8. Controlled trial, Nutrients, 2024, PMID 38931263 Study · negative

      Conversely, the supplementation had no notable impacts on TEWL or elasticity with any of the products.

Where the sources disagree

Mixed

Collagen improves skin elasticity but is inferior to whey for building muscle.

Partly 6 sources

Researchers

Studies

Against it 2 sources

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Detailed Answer

This claim says collagen improves skin elasticity but loses to whey for building muscle. Eight credited sources count toward it: one person on tape and seven studies Precis has read in full. Six back one half of the claim, and two go against a half. No study Precis has read tests both halves together.

Muscle

Three of the four muscle studies partly back the muscle half. In a randomized trial in older men, muscle protein synthesis, the process that builds muscle, stayed flat on collagen even at an extra 50 g a day. A systematic review counted two studies in which whey or lactalbumin, a whey protein, raised synthesis more than collagen.

In a trial in athletes, synthesis after exercise on collagen did not differ from placebo, or from whey.

The fourth study goes the other way. In a randomized trial in middle-aged untrained men, collagen peptides and whey showed no significant difference in gains of fat-free mass, the body's weight minus its fat.

Gabrielle Lyon, a guest on Mark Hyman's show (14:03), says collagen doesn't stimulate muscle protein synthesis. She does not let her patients count bone broth or collagen toward their protein. She also notes that when untrained older adults start weight training and add collagen, their body composition improves, which she says makes no sense given the science.

Luc van Loon, a protein researcher, describes his own lab's work on Rhonda Patrick's show. Studies have not shown a rise in muscle building from collagen, he says, because it is mostly proline and glycine and short on essential amino acids. This mention is not counted yet, because its study is not identified on the claim.

Skin

Two of the three skin trials found a gain, one only in part. A collagen supplement beat placebo on every skin measure after three months. A trial of freshwater marine collagen found better elasticity only in a planned subgroup, women aged 45 to 54. A third trial, of collagen with vitamin C, found no notable effect on elasticity.

On a solo episode, Andrew Huberman describes studies in which collagen or bone broth at 15 grams a day supported skin elasticity and appearance. It is not counted, because the studies are not named on tape.

Joints

Joints sit outside this claim, so no study here was judged on them. In the same uncounted interview, van Loon says cartilage, tendons and ligaments, which are mostly collagen, are where a benefit is more likely, perhaps most after surgery. Whether collagen beats other protein for those tissues, he says, he doesn't know, and the studies have yet to be done.

Thirteen more studies are attached, read only from their abstracts, so none counts yet.

Related Questions

Does collagen build muscle?
Studies Precis has read split. In older men, muscle protein synthesis stayed flat on collagen even at an extra 50 g a day, and a review counted two studies in which whey beat collagen. One trial in middle-aged men found no difference from whey in fat-free mass gains.
Does collagen help skin?
Trials split. One collagen supplement beat placebo on every skin measure after three months. A trial of collagen with vitamin C found no effect on elasticity. The page on collagen and skin has more.
Does collagen help joints?
This claim does not cover joints. An uncounted researcher says collagen-rich tissues such as cartilage and tendons are where a benefit is more likely, especially after surgery, and that it has not been tested yet.

More Questions About Collagen

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