There is one ingredient in a collagen product about which more solid things can be said than about the collagen itself. It is usually right at the bottom of the ingredient list, in milligrams, and when people compare products it is almost always overlooked.
Your body produces collagen itself
Collagen is not a substance the body only gets from outside. It builds it continuously itself. It is the most abundant protein in the human body and makes up around a third of its total protein content. Skin, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, vessel walls: collagen is the building material everywhere there. Which collagen type occurs in which tissue we have broken down separately.
Vitamin C is the nutrient this formation depends on
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, bones, cartilage, gums, teeth and blood vessels.
That turns the logic of comparison around. It is not the number on the front that decides, it is the ingredient list: is vitamin C in there, and in what amount? A collagen powder without vitamin C leaves out a component that the body's own collagen formation needs.
A second look is worthwhile at biotin, which well thought out formulas also include:
Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin and normal hair.
How much vitamin C makes sense?
The reference intake for vitamin C is 80 mg per day. Many collagen products contain symbolic amounts in the single-digit milligram range: enough to print it on the pack, too little to reach the reference intake.
Our collagen powder complex provides 100 mg vitamin C per daily portion of 20 g. That is 125 % of the reference intake. So the portion covers the daily requirement in full, without you having to take anything else on top. Added to that are 4,545 µg biotin and 100 mg hyaluronic acid produced by fermentation.
Do both have to be taken at the same time?
In practice it is the obvious thing to do, because both are in the same portion anyway. It is not essential though: vitamin C is taken in across the day, and the body does not work in portions but continuously. If you stir your collagen into your morning coffee, you have your vitamin C for the day as well. More on when and what to stir the portion into.
If you take vitamin C separately anyway, add the amounts together. Vitamin C is water-soluble and any excess is excreted. In normal amounts that does not create a problem, but the second product is then simply superfluous.
If you only want to remember one number
Then this one: 80 mg. That is the reference intake for vitamin C, and if a collagen product does not reach it, the formula is missing the part about which something can be said.
Sources: Reference intakes according to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (FIC), Annex XIII. Authorised claims according to Regulation (EU) No 432/2012.
Food supplements are not a substitute for a balanced, varied diet and a healthy lifestyle.
