How Long Does It Take For Collagen Supplements To Work?

When you add a new supplement to your routine, it's natural to hope it will help. When exactly do we start seeing these results, however? A bit more time may be needed for that. Now, there are some things you might expect to see pretty quickly, and we'll describe them in a moment, but for the full benefits, make sure to give your supplements sufficient time before concluding their efficacy.

This article discusses the potential benefits of taking a collagen supplement, the time it may take to observe results in several health areas, and the variables that may affect these estimates.

What Are The Benefits Of Consuming Collagen?

Collagen supplements are used for a wide range of purposes, according to both experts and consumers. Collagen is a protein found naturally throughout the body in places including the skin, muscles, joints, and intestines. As a result, collagen has a wide range of purported benefits.

There are at least 28 recognized collagen variants in vertebrates, including humans, yet, collagen types I through III are the most abundant. Fibroblasts in our cells are responsible for collagen formation, albeit their output decreases with age. Many people, as a result, look for ways to boost their collagen levels artificially.

Some of collagen's many advantages, supported by research, are listed below:

• Improved Skin Health

Collagen can help reduce skin wrinkles by providing one of the vital components for keeping the skin firm and supple. It has been found that the collagen peptides can increase dermal collagen density and skin suppleness. How? Collagen, elastin, and fibrillin are all skin components, and studies have shown that hydrolyzed collagen peptides can increase the body's natural production of these molecules. The skin primarily benefits from hydrolyzed collagen peptides.

• Beneficial for Joints

As a major structural protein, type II collagen is abundant in human articular cartilage and other joint tissues. Taking a type II collagen supplement for 180 days resulted in better physical function and less joint stiffness, according to one randomized clinical study.

Another study found that regular collagen consumption positively affects joint health and comfort for athletes. Research combining the results of five clinical trials found that collagen supplements helped maintain joint stiffness but had no effect on joint pain or mobility.

• Enhance Muscles Strength

Because it is missing one of the nine essential amino acids, tryptophan, collagen cannot be considered a complete protein. However, with exercise, the nearly twenty different amino acids it offers can help promote muscle growth.

A small human study found that when combined with exercise, daily collagen supplementation led to more muscular growth in men than in exercise alone.

• Improved hair follicles and nails

Collagen may also improve the health of your hair and nails, although there hasn't been as much research on this as on collagen's other cosmetic benefits. A study showed that nail health is improved in patients who took collagen daily for 24 weeks, as seen by faster nail growth, reduced nail breakage, and an overall better appearance.

The connection is less certain when discussing hair. Keratin, a protein, and structural lipids are the building blocks of hair. The building blocks of keratin are amino acids, and collagen peptides provide the bulk. Keratin's major amino acid is proline, an amino acid also found in collagen peptides.

• Support Gut Health

The potential benefits of collagen supplements for digestive health are one reason for their rising popularity. There is evidence that people with digestive problems have lower levels of collagen in their blood than healthy people. As one of collagen's critical amino acids, L-glutamate is an essential fuel for intestinal cells, improving digestive function. Proline and glycine are also used as fuel by the gut lining. These are two different amino acids found in collagen.

How Long Does Collagen Take To Begin Functioning? 

According to well-designed studies, benefits to the skin typically last for 12 weeks. This study indicated that patients whose diets were supplemented with collagen had more excellent skin elasticity, moisture, and density gains.

The skin texture of those who responded was shown to be more polished in another study. This study showed significant improvement in skin-related outcomes (such as hydration, elasticity, and wrinkles) after 12 weeks, but only after six weeks.

Joint support may not be attained for as long as six months, and it could take as little as 12 weeks. The research shows that in just 12 weeks, you can feel the benefits of normalized joint support. This research found a beneficial effect on joint mobility after 12 weeks and that individuals felt the benefits to their knee health at 13 weeks. 

Collagen supplementation has been shown to improve body composition in adult men who engage in regular physical activity and maintain body composition and skeletal muscle.

Research suggests that no effects will be felt for up to a year due to the average physiological timeframe for bone turnover.

The existing studies on nails have demonstrated an increase in nail strength and a decrease in nail brittleness after 24 weeks of treatment.

These are the findings indicated by the best and most current studies if you are simply concerned with times:

• The condition of the hair: few days (seem hazy)
• Tendons - supported for three to six months (mixed with strengthening training)
• Medical care - Four to six months 
• Gains in skin health and wellness - between 4 and 12 weeks (1 to 3 months)
• Gain muscle mass and strength - after three months 
• Decreased pain  - just a few days after working out
• Bone density maintenance - Yearlong

What Factors May Change Its Speed?

Just as not all humans are made of the same stuff, not all collagens are. Because of this, efficiency and progress will vary depending on several variables. Some examples:

• Dosage

You can't expect any positive effects if you don't take the recommended daily dose. Look for a supplement and take it as prescribed. 

While this range is helpful, it's important to stress that even lower dosages supported by research can improve essential aspects of health. Dosage methods should be supported by solid research.

• Diet

Due to the lack of any of the nine essential amino acids, collagen cannot be considered a complete protein (again, just missing tryptophan but lower in some others, too). Therefore, collagen should be considered an addition to a diet full of other complete proteins from high-quality sources.

• Types of collagen

Various types of collagen have different functions in the body. Thus choosing collagen products is a personal decision. Seek out kind II help if you require combined support. Look for types I and III for gastrointestinal and skin health benefits and systemic advantages.

In What Ways Does Collagen Best Benefit The Body?

Search just for hydrolyzed collagen peptides. Hydrolyzed collagen, as explained by an expert, is collagen that has been broken down into short protein chains called collagen peptides. Collagen is a complex protein made of three chains of amino acids.

Collagen is too large of a molecule to be absorbed by the body without some sort of assistance. Peptides, however, are readily absorbed and utilized by the body because of their small size.

According to the experts, hydrolyzed collagen is already partially digested and doesn't need to go through the digestive system's initial pass. The body can take in collagen fragments in their native state and use them there and elsewhere.

The Takeaway

Collagen is an excellent dietary supplement because of the many important physiological activities and benefits it provides to the body as a whole.

However, the speed with which you reap these rewards depends on the supported health area, the dose and type of collagen used, the underlying nutrition/diet, and your genetics.

Enjoy YourHappy Collagen (Advanced) - Incorporate 1–2 sachets daily, or as directed by your doctor. One packet should be emptied into a glass containing 150–200 ml of water (room temperature), stirred until dissolved, and consumed. 

YourHappy Collagen (Fizz) - One tablet should be dissolved in 150 ml of water and consumed once ready. Adults should take 1-2 tablets daily, or as directed by a doctor.