What are Collagen Peptides?

For those of you who have been following my blog, you probably know that I am a big fan of collagen peptides and that I’ve been using them now for a little over a year. One of the most popular Instagram Direct Message questions I receive is about collagen peptides. People want to know what they are, what they do and what brands are trustworthy. If you’re new here, I’m sure they’re on your wellness radar as images + videos of collagen peptides have been flooding the interwebs lately.

I am very careful to only recommend supplements and products to my followers that I have personally had great success with and in my opinion are worth the price. So when Vital Proteins approached me to partner, I was really stoked to try some of their new products since I’m already a loyalist.

So what the heck are collagen peptides?

First and foremost, collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and helps give structure to our hair, skin, nails, bones, ligaments and tendons in our body. Collagen peptides are short chain amino acids naturally derived from pasture-raised, grass-fed collagen protein. These peptides are soluble in cold liquids as well as hot (I like to put a scoop in my morning green tea). Collagen peptides contain the same amino acids as gelatin which are identical to the protein found in skin, nails, hair, bones, cartilage and joints.

Vital Proteins Collagen contains 18 amino-acids, including 8 out of 9 essential amino-acids.  It is characterized by the predominance of glycine, proline and hydroxyproline, which represent about 50% of the total amino-acid content.  Glycine and proline concentration is 10 to 20 times higher than in other proteins. This very specific composition of amino acids provides Vital Proteins Collagen with nutritional functional properties that can not be found with other protein sources. Our Collagen is a high purity natural bio-active product containing more than 97% protein, supplied in a form that can be easily used and digested by the human body.

So if you know me, you are probably thinking it doesn’t make sense for a plant-based gal to be taking a supplement derived from grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine hides. Quite frankly, I use the term plant-based because I’m not strictly Vegan or vegetarian. I eat mostly plants but I don’t restrict myself. This gives me the flexibility to listen to my body and create balance in moderation. In fact, Vegans and vegetarians are great candidates for collagen peptides because they aren’t getting as much of it naturally from their diet since they do not eat meat or fish.

So why take them?

1. Hair, skin and nail health
2. Bone and joint health
3. Speed up recovery post workout
4. Gut health
5. Added protein

So what kind?

I recommend Vital Proteins. I trust this brand. I appreciate that they are super transparent about their sourcing. Their products are natural sources of essential proteins, sourced from pasture-raised cows in Brazil and New Zealand and wild-caught fish in Hawaii. They go the extra distance to ensure high-quality products. In the past, I’ve always used the blue unflavored bottle. However, I am trying out their Beauty Water (strawberry lemon flavor) and their Beauty Greens. I’m loving the Beauty Greens in my morning smoothies.

Have you tried collagen peptides? What do you think? Let me know in the comment section below.

This post was sponsored by Vital Proteins. Opinions are my own.