How do you take your collagen powder?

[Moveyourbleedingarse]

Posting here because I'm peri menopausal, on HRT and a consultant has recomended collagen to heal a tendon issue.

I'm guessing that there is a good distribution of people in the meno board who also take collagen...

So, how on earth do you mix collagen powder so it isn't lumpy and doesn't make you gag?

I bought the unflavoured one from Elevate. They sent a little whizzer thing.

I've tried whizzing it into slightly warm water - omg the smell, I gagged and tipped it down the drain.

I've tried tipping it into my coffee and it just formed lumps even when I mixed it. Went down the drain.

This morning I tried one of the sample chocolate sachets they sent, mixed with some cold milk using the whizzer. Still full of lumps, but also frothy which I dislike, and tasted like one of those diet hot chocolate sachets. Bleugh.

I am committed to taking this stuff to help with my tendon healing as per medical advice, but I really struggle to drink stuff that isn't 'normal'. I also had to give away my protein powder as I couldn't bring myself to swallow it 😬

Please lovely menopausal people, how do you take your collagen?

I struggle with it in drinks too but take it in Greek yoghurt with no problems. That seems expensive for elavate, mine worked out at £22/month when I bought it. Maybe because I bought a larger quantity?

i tried flavourless, vanilla and chocolate from elevate.

flavourless in coffee was rank
flavourless in hot water was acceptable but tasted medicinal
vanilla in hot milk ok but very sweet
chocolate in hot milk - gorgeous and that’s now my go to

I use the Bulk brand. I struggled to get it down too. Taste is gross. But someone suggested adding it to vitamin c effervescent tablet drink thingy and it is a total game changer. It fizzes up quite a bit but give it a whisk and lumps go and you can hardly taste it!!

Try meals with lamb shanks and beef stew made from shin. As well.

The page you linked concludes that it can offer 'small but meaningful relief of symptoms' so it's not a marketing ploy.

All great ideas!

I have a new issue now, the overwhelming nausea it causes 🫣 so looks like I need to reduce the amount I take and increase slowly.

@Gardenquestion22 i love lamb shanks and beef shin. I wish it was as cheap as it used to be!

I use the whizzy thing as soon as I put the powder in the water, otherwise I do get lumps.

I did a bit of medical research on collagen this as I have menopausal/age related osteoarthritis in my knees, hands and feet…For joint and bone support you need Type 2 collagen. I have chosen Holland and Barrett UTC Type 2 collagen capsules. 40mg, perfect dose…Vit c for absorption included. Easy to take and no side effects. Early days but definitely feel more informed. There’s a few clinical research papers out there to reference.
i ditched Ancient and Brave True Collagen powder, it did nothing for me. Not right for my symptoms anyway. I jumped on the bandwagon without doing my own research first. Cheers Davina 😊

I take a mixed collagen, because different types give different benefits and I wanted to include types I, II and III. DH and I have it in a protein shake or in a latte, mixing it into the coffee shot before adding foamed milk. It makes even a skinny latte really creamy.

This is the one we use. It mixes well and neither of us notice anything other than a milky taste. For those who say it is a scam, I've started giving it to our 7 year old dog and we noticed within a day or two that she's become more sprightly, less stiff and calmer in herself. The difference is very noticeable. Now she's a smart dog, but I really doubt she's being influenced by any placebo effect...😁

I also did research first and found fairly strong trials indicating that type II helps joint pain and healing when used consistently, though no-one yet knows quite how it works.

Have you considered looking at how you can increase collagen intake through diet. Whether you take it as a supplement or as part of your diet it’s digested and absorbed the same way. I’ve always found it ridiculous that people truly believe the hype that the supplements are magically routed by your body to plump your skin and make you look younger. The reality is that when broken down it’s used by the body where it needs it for repair so your consultant is probably on the right track.
I think it’s probably useful for general joint health in an aging body but I’m always more confident in natural dietary sources than supplements. We are designed to eat food not supplements and our digestive system is complex. The amazing feedback system that instructs our guts to produce the correct enzymes to digest the food we eat relies on taste and smell. Eating the pure product may not have the desired effect and without the correct enzymes the supplement will just pass straight through.

I remember seeing a study about Vit c and the subjects who used a natural source absorbed far more Vit c than those who took supplements. Digestion starts in the nose and mouth. If you eat a steak by the time it hits your stomach the enzymes needed to digest the meat/protein are ready to start the process. If your body didn’t have the feedback mechanism it would have to produce enzymes for every food type every time you eat, which is incredible inefficient.

Foods rich in protein that provide amino acids needed to build your own collagen are useful, chicken, meat protein particularly liver and egg white are good sources. Vit c is essential to build collagen fibres. Collagen supplements are generally broken down into amino acids prior to absorption then used to rebuild collagen by your body. We don’t incorporate fish or bovine collagen into out bodies we just use the amino acids to make human collagen.

You don’t need to torture yourself with expensive supplements.

I mix mine with water. Let it settle 10 to 15mins then add a good dose of orange cordial then down it. I have geek nutrition.

This is the one I use, too. No issue with lumps or taste. I highly recommend it, actually.

This doesn’t say it’s a scam, sounds from the bbc article to me like no harm and might be worth giving it a go especially for cosmetic reasons if you can afford it.

Mine is Nutrition Geeks Collagen and is flavourless. I put it in my morning cup of tea and can’t taste it.

Another Nutrition Geeks fan here. I stir it into a ( very large) coffee with a dessert spoon of double cream. I can't taste it at all. I have that instead of breakfast as it seems not to spike my blood sugar and keeps me satisfied til lunch.

@Crwysmam well, as I mentioned above, I felt exactly the same way until my private orthopaedic consultant advised me to take it!

I am having a couple of days off and will reintroduce it once the nausea has stopped. Then I'll try going from a small dose first.

@Plot30B I'd give it to my labrador but he has the most sensitive stomach of any dog ever and is currently in the garden eating grass following having a prawn out of the fridge as a treat yestersay 🤦🏼‍♀️

I've got to say I hate the fatty sort of feeling it gave my coffee. Definitely easier to tolerate in an electrolyte tablet drink, down in one and don't breathe until the end.

I texted elevate and they said to start again with a really small dose first and work up. I had the same issue with creatine so it's not surprising that collagen has had the same impact.

@Crwysmam sorry one more point to respond to, I've been working really really hard at increasing my protein intake which I find thoroughly exhausting! But I eat meat and eggs etc.

It is nice that when I have collagen it starts me off with a nice 10g of protein that I don't need to bother eating!

I made it to about 100g protein yesterday including milk and my 90% dark chocolate. I can do better I reckon though.. Current advice seems to be 1g for every ideal 1lb of weight. So I'm aiming for 140g of protein.

Op I would try another brand at this point. I also use Nutrition Geeks and typically buy it off TikTok lives for cheapest prices. I find it find in a large coffee, I stir it as the coffee is made.

Willpowders is unmatched! Tablespoon in my coffee, disappears with a good stir, no taste.

@HotSauceNow i may well do. I am going to try and finish this tin though! Terrible waste otherwise.

@Drpawpawspaw thanks for the recommendation.

Well maybe but you’ve spent the money either way. And I’m not sure I would be gagging it down if you can’t bear it.

Recently I bought some very expensive fibre powder, tried a few times in different methods and thought it horrible every which way. Now in the bin as I go back to my regular fibre. Life is too short to choke things down if there are more palatable alternatives.

Well maybe but you’ve spent the money either way. And I’m not sure I would be gagging it down if you can’t bear it.

Recently I bought some very expensive fibre powder, tried a few times in different methods and thought it horrible every which way. Now in the bin as I go back to my regular fibre. Life is too short to choke things down if there are more palatable alternatives.