What Happens When You Eat Collagen Every Day?

The most important things in brief

• The daily intake of collagen as a dietary supplement is still relatively unexplored as far as collagen formation itself is concerned.
• So it's not yet clear if this has a positive effect on our bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, teeth and muscles.
• We already know more about what the daily intake can also trigger.
• Surprising findings came to light.

The important role collagen plays in our organism is often underestimated. This structural protein is responsible for the reliable functioning of our tendons and ligaments, muscles and bones, joints and teeth. Collagen is also important for skin and hair. So it comes as no surprise that collagen is also offered as a dietary supplement. But what happens if you eat collagen every day?

Proteins have calories

It shouldn't come as a surprise that almost all the food we eat has calories. It should therefore be clear that this law also applies to dietary supplements. Collagen has about four kilocalories (4 Kcal) per gram, so if you take a supplement that contains four grams of collagen, you will be taking in a total of 16 Kcal.

But that's not all in many cases. Most dietary supplements also contain other ingredients that make them aromatic. In most cases, these are sweeteners such as dextrins, fructose or sucrose, which also have calories. If, on the other hand, vitamins are also included, then these do not contribute to the calorie content.

Is collagen a fattening factor?

When you take in more calories than you can burn off through exercise, you gain weight. This is a simple law of thermodynamics. It is also of secondary importance which food is involved. However, proteins such as collagen have one advantage over foods that have a high content of fat or sugar: they have significantly fewer calories and for this reason cannot really be called fattening.

There are also studies that show that protein is a key factor in making us feel full. This reduces appetite and stimulates metabolism. Studies have shown that increasing protein intake from 15 to 30 percent results in consuming about 440 fewer calories each day. In this respect, the daily intake of collagen definitely has positive effects.

Does taking collagen daily help you lose weight?

The fact that collagen as a dietary supplement leads to improved skin and also strengthens muscles, bones and joints has not yet been 100% proven. However, it seems well documented that collagen can actually help you lose body weight by reducing the percentage of fat.

It has been shown that collagen makes you feel fuller than the corresponding amount of protein contained in soy or whey. For example, it was shown that people who ate a collagen supplement for breakfast consumed 20 percent less at their next meal than people who ate a supplement containing other proteins. Another study revealed that collagen activates the satiety hormones contained in the blood better than other proteins. This leads to less feeling of hunger.