Collagen and Carviovascular health

[Jonathan_C]

Hi - My wife (42) started taking collagen on the advice of her neighbour. I looked up the benefits of it for men and noticed that most articles that came up listed the cardiovascular related benefits of taking it - and to my understanding these are magnified if you have a-fib. The "benefits" i am referring to are reduced risks, reduced damage to tissue etc

I have not searched for the topic on this forum so apologies if its been discussed to the mooo and back but thought it was worth sharing.

[CDreamer]

Hi - I don’t think I’ve ever seen a thread about collagen and certainly not seen anything about the benefits of taking collagen (peptide or gelatine) for CV health? Can you post links?

Plenty for cosmetic purposes and I looked at it for gut health but not CV. I have very low BP, am hypermobile which indicates EDS, a type of connective tissue disorder associated with a lack of collagen. Low BP = over dilated blood vessels. I also have had Colitis and IBS in my younger days. I took a great interest and studied different supplements - especially collagen as so many people said it helped them and at one time when a child, doctors advised taking gelatine for brittle nails.

Since then I talked to doctors who specialised in gut and nutrition and nutritionists. ALL said there was no evidence to show that collagen helped in any way. Without exception, all have said that if you have a problem utilising collagen from your diet, then supplements simply will not be effective - so don’t waste your money.

Personally, I feel I get enough collagen in my diet (bone broth, gelatine etc). and although not proven, eating more of something that my body cannot utilise because of genetic defect is not going to help me.

Having said that I cannot see any contraindications, it’s a natural substance so if you think it may help you, only way is to try it. Just ensure that any supplement you take is manufactured to pharmaceutical standards.

Just an aside for everyone - there is a terrible amount of fillers in many supplements and in US supplements are not regulated as they are in Europe - so read the labels and avoid the High Street Brands and look at ingredients and especially note the ‘active ingredient’ part. Fillers have been my downfall on more than one occasion.

Best wishes and hope that helps.

[Jonathan_C in reply to CDreamer]

You make a lot of very important points and I am not a doctor, nor a nutrition expert - I found similar comments to this in a few different places:

Collagen provides structure to your arteries, which keep blood flowing to and from your heart. Studies have shown that taking collagen supplements can reduce artery stiffness and increase levels of “good” HDL cholesterol in the body. This means it can help reduce your risk of developing heart condition

Note that I don't think collagen will provide relief or put you back into NSR - but it seems to me like it can reduce/prevent risks associated with a-fib

here is the source,

www (dot) fepblue (dot) org/news/2019/05/20/13/12/5-health-benefits-of-collagen-supplements#:~:text=Collagen%20provides%20structure%20to%20your,risk%20of%20developing%20heart%20conditions.

[CDreamer in reply to Jonathan_C]

Thanks - I’ll take a look.

[CDreamer in reply to Jonathan_C]

Unfortunately I can’t access that site.

[Jajarunner]

It'll probably be better to get it naturally. I found this link:

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q...

Hope it helps

[Jonathan_C in reply to Jajarunner]

Would 100% agree its better to get it naturally,

My point is: get it

[MarkS]

I have tried collagen for osteoarthritis in my knee but with little effect. Collagen gets broken down in the body just like any other protein and does not get used as collagen by the body. This article "Collagen Protein Is a Waste of Money, Science Says" is worth reading: legionathletics.com/collage...

There is one type of Collagen which has had good results in trials. This is undenatured type ll collagen, and I'm trying one pill a day of that.

[Jonathan_C]

Thanks - before I started this thread I asked myself what my point was, and that is starting to be answered.

Both this and the article Jajarunner shared are helpful.

Some thoughts from my side:

I absolutely agree if you can get collagen (or any supplement) naturally then rather get it naturally than take a supplement

Before reading Jaja's email I did not realise how "collagen dense" my diet is ... so I will probably stop taking it now

My neighbour has been on it for a while and stopped taking it and soon noticed her nails were cracking again, for the first time since she started taking it. But no, her knees have not become bionic.

I see the research articles studied the effects of taking collagen for 6 months - the "cardiovascular health benefits" (read: preventing/slow degradation of heart tissues and arteries) I would think one gets from this will only be visible after a few years of taking it.