Considering collagen is just a regular protein shouldnt it be digested into amino acids before being absorbed and have no medical/cosmetic effect beyond being a source of protein just like eating a steak or an egg?
In: Biology
Collagen supplements have been shown to improve elasticity and hydration of skin and connective tissues.
You’re right that it all gets digested. None of the collagen you consume goes directly into your skin.
Back when I did my own research on this, the takeaway I got was that your body is prepared for natural resources, including various specific nutrients, to be on their own sort of feast-or-famine dynamic. Sometimes you might not be eating hardly any collagen at all. Other times you might be eating a lot of collagen. So when you’re suddenly consuming a lot of collagen specifically, in excess of your standard balanced protein intake, your body realizes that you have a temporary wealth of building materials on hand, and goes into production and repair mode and freshens up a lot of your tissues that require those specific building blocks, which had been idling in gettin-by mode.
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