[chrisfosterelli]

Among endurance athletes collagen supplements have become increasingly popular the past couple years -- from what I understand the evidence is kind of mixed though

e.g. https://thefeed.com/products/pillar-performance-collagen-1?v...

[IsTom]

I don't get what's the supposed mechanism of action here. Collagen is a hard to digest protein and it has to get digested to be processed and then it's no longer collagen. Why not just eat any other protein source instead?

[chrisfosterelli]

Yes, that seems to sort of be the criticism and mixed results. Although not everyone has a complete protein diet so theoretically although it breaks down the idea is you then have all the things you need, should your body choose to use it to build collagen.

But I agree, I'd rather start solving deficiencies at the diet level than the supplement level and haven't integrated collagen personally so far.

TBH I suspect marketing plays a big role. "Collagen = good, therefore just buy it and eat it" makes logical sense if you don't actually do any research first.

[kelipso]

Different protein sources have different amino acid compositions and they have different effects on the body.

[mcswell]

I was going to say that too, thanks for beating me to it!