collagen powders have exploded into an $8 billion global market. They're in smoothies,

protein bars, coffee creamers, and even your favorite influencers morning routine. I know you've seen it

before. You've seen the claims better skin, younger joints, stronger nails, healthier gut,

but how much of this is real science and how much of it is just

really good marketing. Today I'm going to break down exactly what collagen is, how it works in the

body, and what clinical research actually says, and the hidden risk you need to know about buying

collagen. And then we will be going into the product review of 2025, the best and worst collagen

companies out there. Collagen has gotten so popular. I know you've seen it at the supermarket.

I know you've seen it online. I know you've seen it as an ingredient in your smoothies.

But collagen, let me tell you, is the most abundant protein in the human body. About 30 to 35% of your

total protein content is collagen.

Your cheeks, which you pull and then you let go and they bounce back. That's collagen.

They give you plumpness on your skin. They give you movement in your joints. They hold you together.

Structurally, it's made of important amino acids like glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. So you have to get enough amino acids to even have good skin or good joints, right? There are at least 28 different types of collagen, but three make up the majority. So when you're looking at a product, you want to make sure it has at least a type 1-1, which is really abundant. That's the skin, the bone, the tendons, the ligaments. The type 2 is found in cartilage, and type 3 is found in the skin, blood vessel, and your internal organs. Something really important here is your body actually needs vitamin C as a co-factor for collagen production. So if you want better skin, you actually need a lot of vitamin C and enough of those amino acids to make collagen that I mentioned. And the thing is collagen isn't necessarily permanent in the body. It has a half-life. It breaks down over time. In bone, it might be for years, but in skin, it could be weeks to months. So starting in your mid-20s, your collagen production is going to naturally start going down by 1% each year.

And it's even faster if you're under stress or smoking or drinking alcohol or eating poorly or getting too much sun or dealing with chronic inflammation.

So what are the biggest reasons that people use collagen right now?

One is for skin aging.

Less collagen means more wrinkles, more sagging, loss of elasticity. Some people use it for joint support, right? The loss of specifically that type 2 collagen in the cartilage is a hallmark of osteoarthritis. They use it for hair and nails. Collagen peptides actually supply those amino acids that are indirectly used for keratin production,

so better nail quality, better hair integrity. They use it also to support their gut lining.

Glycine and glutamine in collagen help maintain those tight junctions in the cells of the digestive

tract. So you're reducing the intestinal permeability or leaky

gut in the intestines. It's also used for tissue repair. Collagen is critical for having

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