Hydrolysed collagen, also known as collagen peptides, is collagen that has been broken down into smaller chains of amino acids. The collagen is often extracted from animals.
It is important to know that collagen is essentially protein, and long chains of amino acids are by default the things that make up protein. The acids are generally arranged in different sequences to create different proteins in the body.
By hydrolysing the collagen you are essentially breaking up those longer chains of amino acids into smaller chains.
The benefit of doing this is that the collagen supplement is more easily absorbed into the body and it can also be manufactured into powders / supplements that can be taken orally – this makes it more widely accessible and digestible.
Hydrolysed collagen or collagen peptides are known to be safe and whilst its still up for debate some of the possible benefits are :
- Improved skin health – increasing hydration as well as elasticity of the skin whilst reducing wrinkles and dryness.
- Reduced joint pain – as collagen is found in cartilage and muscles surrounding our joints taking supplements can help to replenish collagen as you age.
- Bone health – collagen makes up a good percentage of our bones and as our collagen naturally declines so does bone density. Supplementing collagen can help maintain bone health and reduce / delay issues.
