I recently mentioned on social media that I was adding collagen to my coffee every morning in order to get collagen into my diet more often. Quickly people asked me what collagen I was using and why. So I thought I would throw all that information into a blog post for you and let you know what I’ve been using lately and the benefits I’ve been seeing! Here’s the thing – I’ve known for quite a while that I’ve needed to get more collagen in my diet, mostly because all my smart friends were doing it. And they told me all the benefits of collagen but the only things I really heard were that it grows your hair and nails, and helps with cellulite and tightening the elasticity of the skin. One of my girlfriends who is 10 years older than me and is super hippy always pushed me to add it into my diet, and she rarely pushes any of her hippy beliefs, so I finally did it. I sure as hell want longer hair, nails, and less wrinkles, so why not?! And it’s been super easy to add in!
But first, let’s just chat about some of the benefits of collagen because it’s pretty rad!
- It enhances your skin by restoring the skin’s moisture, improving the elasticity, tone and vibrance and therefore reducing wrinkles!
- It reduces cellulite and prevents stretch marks!
- It helps your hair and nails grow, naturally!
- It supports healthy teeth and gums!
- It balances your hormones!
- It supports bone and joint health by preventing bone loss and relieving joint pain!
- It helps improve and repair muscle tissue and helps with inflammation and recovery!
- It aids digestion and can help repair leaky gut!
- It improves sleep quality!
- And a bunch of other sh*t that surpasses my understanding of the body
So it obviously does a ton of cool stuff! And it’s easy to add into drinks or shakes and is often unflavored so you don’t even notice it! What I’ve been doing recently is adding 1-2 tablespoons of it into my daily life, simply adding 1 tablespoon to my coffee (thank you to the reader who recommended that!) and 1 tablespoon to something else later on in the day! Every morning I wake up, I make my cup of coffee then add 1 tablespoon of collagen with my splash of heavy cream and some stevia extract and you can’t even tell it’s in your coffee!!
I’ve been using two different kinds of collagen lately and enjoy both of them so I usually switch between the two of them!
- Vital Proteins Pasture-Raised, Grass-Fed Collagen Peptides
- Great Lakes Gelatin, Collagen Hydrolysate, Pasture-Raised Grass-Fed
Vital Proteins is an awesome brand that has a bunch of different collagen products, but I seem to like this product the most. The only thing that I’ve noticed is that I taste more of a “beefy” flavor/aftertaste to it when I add it to anything. So I usually add this one to protein shake or anything that has a more intense flavor and will cover up this one.
Great Lakes is what I use in my coffee every day because it doesn’t seem to have any weird flavor or aftertaste for me. I think it tastes like nothing so it’s a great additive for coffee every morning!
Benefits I’ve seen so far from collagen – I think noticing benefits can sometimes be difficult. Honestly, I’ve been a lot less sore lately BUT I’ve also been doing less CrossFit and more boot camp style classes like Orange Theory, so I’m not sure if it has to do with that. My nails have DEFINITELY grown faster. But those are the only benefits I’ve seen so far after adding in collagen daily for over a month. Even though those are the only benefits I’ve seen, I think of collagen as a long-term thing, just like working out or eating healthy. I may not see the benefits right away, but I will long-term so I just stick with it.
The other thing I get questions about all.the.time is protein powder. Here are my thoughts on protein powder:
- You can eat real food and get the same benefits without the sugar
- You’ll stay fuller longer if you’re eating real food compared to having a shake
- Shakes should be used for days that workouts are extremely intense – and not every day is super intense
- I do not believe in shakes being a meal replacement, and if it is, it shouldn’t be very often
These are simply MY beliefs. I used to train WAY harder when I competed in CrossFit. So when I look at my workouts now compared to what they used to be, I don’t see myself always needing a shake to help me recover right away so I can workout later in the day. What I’ve noticed is I almost get slightly addicted to them. It will be the only thing I think about in my workout. And that’s probably caused by the sugar. And then once I drink them, I’m hungry within 30 minutes of consuming it, which seems to defeat the purpose in my opinion. So for post workout – I just eat real food. I eat breakfast or lunch or dinner, or I just have a food-snack. But on days I feel like treating myself or if I did a workout that made me feel like I couldn’t function afterwards, I’ll have a shake. You can see a ton of my favorite shake recipes here!
Below are the two different whey protein powders I prefer to use:
- Primal Kitchen Primal Whey Fuel Protein Powder – Chocolate Coconut
- Primal Kitchen Primal Whey Fuel Protein Powder – Vanilla Coconut
Both of these protein powders are delicious, sweetened naturally, only have a few ingredients, are gluten free, and they don’t upset my stomach! I probably make a shake once or twice a week since I consider it a treat. And when I make those shakes, I add in frozen bananas, ground chia seed, flaxseed meal, and collagen – to make sure I’m getting the most bang for my buck!
Let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below and I’ll answer them the best I can! Hope this helps you with figuring out your own diet and needs!
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Vital proteins does kind of have a beefy taste, haha! I only bought it because Diane Sanfillipo recommended it, and I liked that it is 100% soluble. That’s the one I put in my coffee. Maybe I’ll go for the Great Lakes one next.
–Roxanne
http://glassofglam.com
Juli Vital Proteins has the Marine Collagen which has zero taste- I add to coffee and to water…. and I don’t eat beef which is why I went that route this time with the collagen. Just sayin it is another option for you ( not that you need it) but hey- it’s social media after all..
i totally have the marine collagen but have been too scared to try it lol! didn’t want to ruin my coffee with a fishy taste! i’ll definitely try it out now!
I have been using Natural Force brand collagen peptides for almost a year now and I love it, Great for my joints and my skin, hair and nails look great. I like that it has 10g of protein per scoop so I add one scoop to my Keto coffee in the morning for a little protein before working out. Thank you Juli for all your great posts, recipes, blogs, workouts, stories, etc. You inspire me every day.
Do you know the difference between collagen and gelatin? I was just wondering if one was better than the other.
Danelle, from my personal use of collagen and gelatin, I think collagen mixes better in liquids than gelatin. Gelatin, probably depending on the brand or type, may make the liquids too think and “jelly” like. Probably depends on what you’re blending it with. I wouldn’t put gelatin in my Keto coffee as it would be too thick and “jelly” like for me to drink.
I have been using the Vital Collagen powder for a year now. I love it, I noticed a change in my skin in the first month, I am thankful I have pretty good skin to start, but I really liked that it helped give life back to my skin. I am not someone who is embracing aging so I happy to see the collagen actually helping my skin.
I also noticed it helps me recover from muscle and joint pain faster. Hair and Nails grow faster stronger…. I waiting for it to work its magic on cellulite still… maybe one day.
I’ve been using the Great Lakes collagen hydrolysate regularly since Mark Sisson recommended it about three or four years ago. Goes into my coffee and goes into my smoothies.
I’m 56 — for a few more days 🙁 –and have been menopausal for six years so I wanted extra collagen (can’t hurt) but it was mainly for the extra protein. My naturopath was really encouraging me to ditch the packaged protein powders and try for whole foods for my protein content.
I’ve had miserable nails all my life and while they’re still not great they’re better. Hair – I’ve never had any complaints and with it being grey, seems fine. I wear my hair in a bob from short to longish and get a cut maybe four times a year. Cellulite? Maybe, but I like to think it’s been regular workouts for the past 35 years that have had a hand in it too. Better recoveries? Maybe. A hot coffee with collagen after a workout or run or row is certainly a pleasant experience.
Now to the topic of packaged protein powders. I love Arbonne’s chocolate and vanilla to addictive proportions! It’s dairy-free, fat-free, gluten-free, sweetened with stevia, vegan and kosher, too! Lol. Tastes great on its own blended with ice. I feel this is the taste test most other protein powders fail and I tried dozens. Blech! Now I use it as a treat as the Great Lakes collagen and fruits and veggies, even eggs, yes in a smoothie, have taken its place.
I’ve been reading your blog and others and keep hearing about the vital proteins collagen and also the kettle & fire bone broth. Just curious, in addition to the 2 T of collagen per day, do you also have bone broth….and have you ever heard if it’s possible to have too much collagen if you’re having both of these per day?? (I overthink everything) ????
i don’t drink bone broth myself, i just add it to recipes that need broth. and i’ve never heard of having too much collagen. i have no clue about the science but i’m guessing your body just processes any extra amount it can’t absorb
I’ve never tried collagen but I’d love to start. I drink iced coffee mostly. The website says you can add it to room temp liquids then add your cold liquid to that. But I’m wondering if you’ve tried it and if it mixes ok?
i’ve only tried it with cold drinks when blending it
I’ve been consuming the Great Lakes stuff for a while now, but for better hair and nails I find diatomaceous earth is doing the trick. I started taking it for other reasons (had a skin rash I wanted to go away, and it did), and after about 3-4 weeks of taking this stuff, I’ve noticed my nails are growing stronger. I cook and clean a lot (and I am accident prone), so my nails would get dry and brittle; but not lately!
I forgot to mention that I only use food grade diatomaceous earth. If it isn’t food grade, it is harmful.