Pure Hydrolyzed Collagen Powder

Biohack Review: A more-than-skin-deep beauty hack for staying 29-years-old

This powdered hydrolyzed Collagen is one of my favorite things to spike my morning coffee - it's so much more than a beauty hack. This year for my 38th birthday, I published this not-exactly-humble-brag blog, 9 hacks for STAYING 29-years-old with a photo gallery of me now and nine years ago.

Perhaps it's a bit vain to want to stay looking 29 years old but I see beauty as a proxy for and manifestation of health, self-control, fertility, confidence, self-esteem, and dignity. That's why it's something I aspire to unashamedly! If you still think beauty is silly, I'll add that my energy levels have not declined since the time I was 29 (and my cognitive edge has certainly not dulled). If anything, I feel more enthusiastic and motivated than ever going into my late 30s!

Proven anti-aging supplements like Collagen are what keep me looking and feeling youthful. So while there are not a lot of experiential effects to expect from Collagen, it's pretty close to the top of my list of longevity tools for aspiring beautiful immortals.

Scientific overview

Let's look at the recent scientific research on Collagen, impressively there have been over a hundred human clinical trials published since 2021 when I did a deep-dive meta-analysis of Collagen (with a beautiful infographic) that longevity nerds will want to check out.

In a 2022 Canadian trial of middle-aged women, hydrolyzed marine-derived Collagen (the same thing as this product) outperformed placebo after 12 weeks of dosing in improving skin scores for wrinkles, elasticity, hydration, radiance, and firmness. From its abstract...

Supplementation with [hydrolyzed Collagen] was found to be safe and well-tolerated. The results of this study support the use of fish-derived hydrolyzed collagen for the improvement of skin health in an aging population. 

And there were a bunch of other recent studies validating it as a beauty hack.

Got achy knees from your dare-devilish younger years as a jogger, breakdancer, or skateboarder? Good news: there are over 60 items of recently published research validating Collagen supplementation as a tool for restoring joint flexibility and assuaging chronic pain along with treating osteoarthritis. And it's not just for Grandpa, a 2023 placebo-controlled trial of 86 Americans noted that 6 to 9 months of supplementation improves function, pain, and physical and mental outcomes in active adults.

Together, these findings suggest that [10 grams daily] of [collagen peptide] supplementation may be superior to a larger dose of [20 grams daily], but both doses are better than nothing at all in improving physical function/[activities of daily living], pain, mental component scores, and physical component scores in those supplementing for at least 6 months. Additionally, females may see improvements at higher doses than males, and higher frequency exercisers may experience enhanced benefits compared to their more sedentary counterparts. Finally, declines in quality of life (QOL) were observed over 6 months of supplementation in more sedentary participants in the [10 grams daily] and placebo groups, but declines were not as large in participants taking [20 grams daily] of [collagen peptide], suggesting a larger dose may be needed to protect against declines in [quality of life] over time.

So the more economical 10-gram dose of Collagen may long-term be the better choice than mega-dosing, good to know! These types of studies should underly the importance of Collagen supplementation for people like me who aren't hardcore athletic but use a standing desk; which is a great idea as sitting is the new smoking, but standing for many hours every day puts a lot of strain on your knees.

Got back pain? a 60-patient placebo-controlled study of Aldo Moro University of Bari, Italy, suggests stacking Collagen, Vitamin C, sodium hyaluronate, manganese and copper.

A recent 3-week placebo-controlled study out of the University of California of 50 young men validated the combination of Collagen and Vitamin C as an athletic performance enhancer. It improved the rate of force development in squat and countermovement jump exercises.

There have been 8 recent clinical studies on Collagen's restorative healing effects on the Achilles tendon. Perhaps Achilles of Greek mythology would have lived to a ripe old age if only he had some Collagen!

And there were a number of other studies showing that improves skin elasticity, hydration, and repair mechanisms. But it's so well validated as a skin-deep beauty hack at this point, let's take a look at a Brazilian study which compared its muscle-size enhancing properties with whey protein.

Supplementation with [whey protein] was superior to leucine content-matched [collagen peptide] supplementation in increasing muscle size, but not strength and power, after a 10-week RT program in young adults.

So if you're hitting the gym just to get swoll whey protein is the better option, but if your goal is instead functional strength take Collagen.

Purity-verified with COA

The final thing I like about this Collagen is that it's verified as pure with a certificate of analysis from an accredited American lab. This evidence of purity is something you should demand that your local supplement shop or the sellers on Amazon likely can't provide.

About Collagen

Collagen is a type of structural protein found in the skin, bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It is the most abundant protein found in mammals and accounts for 25-35% of the protein in the human body. Collagen contains 19 amino acids, including eight of the nine essential amino acids. While it lacks the essential amino acid tryptophan, it includes the amino acid hydroxyproline. Hydroxyproline does not occur in any other type of protein and makes up one-third of tropocollagen strands. In addition to hydroxyproline, tropocollagen triple helixes include the amino acids glycine and proline.