That $50 Collagen Powder Isn't Rebuilding Your Knees. A Biochemist Explains Why (And What Actually Works).
Let's talk about the wellness world's favorite fairy dust: collagen powder. It’s in our lattes, our smoothies, our protein bars. The promise is intoxicating: spoon this magical powder into your drink, and your body will use it to rebuild your creaky knees, erase your wrinkles, and give you the supple joints of a teenager.
As a biochemist, my response to this is a polite, gentle, a-hem... Nonsense.
Here's the tough-love truth your influencer won't tell you: You can't eat knees to make knees.
When you ingest any protein, whether it’s from a $50 tub of "Pasture-Raised Unicorn Hydrolyzed Collagen" or a humble chicken thigh, it all meets the same fate. It hits the brutal acid bath of your stomach and the digestive enzymes in your small intestine.
Your digestive system is a demolition site. It doesn't know or care about the beautiful, complex structure of the protein you ate. Its only job is to smash that protein into its smallest possible components: individual amino acids.
Imagine you eat a magnificent Lego pirate ship. Your stomach doesn't absorb a tiny pirate ship and send it to your playroom. It demolishes it into a pile of individual red, blue, and white Lego bricks.
That's what happens to collagen. You eat the complex triple-helix protein, and your gut just gives you a pile of its constituent amino acids: mostly glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline.
"Aha!" the collagen companies say. "But we're giving you the exact bricks you need to build more collagen!"
And they're not wrong. That is a small piece of the truth. Providing an abundance of those specific bricks can be helpful. But it's like piling up bricks outside a factory and expecting a car to roll out.
You’ve missed the most important step: You have to turn the factory on.
What tells your body to take those glycine and proline bricks and actually build new cartilage or tendons? Mechanical stress.
The cells in your connective tissues, called fibroblasts, are couch potatoes. They do nothing until they are stressed. When you do resistance training, plyometrics, or even just load-bearing exercise, you are literally squeezing and stretching these cells. That physical stress is the "ON" switch. It's the signal that screams, "Hey! We need a stronger structure here! Send in the construction crew and use those amino acid bricks we have lying around!"
The Real Protocol for Healthier Joints:
Turn on the Factory: Engage in exercise that loads your joints. This is the non-negotiable first step. Squats, lunges, lifting weights, even jumping rope. This is the signal.
Provide the Bricks: Consume a high-protein diet in general. If you want to hedge your bets, you can supplement with the cheapest amino acid, glycine (you can buy it for pennies on the dollar compared to collagen), to make sure the specific bricks are plentiful.
Don't Forget Vitamin C: Vitamin C is a crucial cofactor in the chemical reaction that builds collagen. Without it, the whole process grinds to a halt (this is why sailors got scurvy: their collagen literally fell apart).
So, save your $50. Eat a well-rounded, high-protein diet. Take some Vitamin C.
And for the love of all that is holy, go do some squats. Don't just buy the bricks; turn on the factory that builds with them.
A Note From the Lab: The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only. I am a biochemist, not your personal physician. The content shared here should not be taken as medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Please consult with your qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, supplement, or exercise regimen.
I'm always curious to know what you're seeing out there. Have you been tempted by this supplement or a similar one? Share your experience or what you've heard below. Click to Comment.