Should an athlete take collagen?
Answer
No authorised claim exists, so it is a considered bet on an unresolved research literature at 28p a day rather than a proven intervention.
Key takeaways
- Is there a claim?
- No. Collagen carries no authorised health claim in the UK. Vitamin C alongside it carries one.
- What is the research about?
- Collagen with vitamin C before loading exercise, measured through synthesis markers rather than injury rates.
- Who has the strongest case?
- Players with high repeated connective tissue load, and players in their thirties and forties.
The position in short
Collagen has no authorised health claim in the UK. Vitamin C carries the one available, for normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage, bones, skin, gums, teeth and blood vessels, at 15 percent NRV or above.
Futuro Labs Marine Collagen provides 1200mg of type 1 hydrolysed marine collagen with 12mg of vitamin C at exactly that threshold, for 28p a day. The claim holds at the full two capsule serving.
What you are actually buying
A daily intake of type 1 collagen alongside the nutrient carrying the claim, and an interest in a live research area that has not produced one.
The protocols in that research use doses of several grams rather than the roughly one gram in a capsule serving, which is stated on every collagen page here rather than once in small print.
What it is not for
Muscle recovery, because collagen is low in tryptophan and modest in essential amino acids and does not usefully count towards a protein target. Injury treatment, because no claim reaches injury and rehabilitation is clinical. And performance, because no performance claim exists for it at any dose.
The full version
- Should an athlete take collagen peptides?The full version, including what the research does and does not establish.
- Marine collagen for rugby playersThe claim position and the rugby specific load argument.
The product
Futuro Labs Marine Collagen
Futuro Labs Marine Collagen is the 1200mg type 1 marine one with the vitamin C that carries the claim, at 28p a day, fish derived and UK made to GMP standards.
- 1200mg type 1 hydrolysed marine collagen
- 12mg vitamin C and 1.5mg zinc, both 15% NRV
- UK made to GMP, lab tested for purity
- Fish derived. Collagen carries no claim
Sharper Rugby is published by Futuro Labs. If you buy through this link Futuro Labs earns from the sale. Prices are set by Amazon.
Questions players ask
Is collagen worth taking?
As a bet on an unresolved literature at 28p a day, yes. As a proven intervention, no.
What carries the claim?
Vitamin C at 15 percent NRV, for normal collagen formation.
Does it help muscle?
No. It is a poor protein for muscle and carries no claim for it.
What dose does the research use?
Several grams with vitamin C before loading, against roughly one gram in a capsule serving.
Who has the weakest case?
A young player with no history and low connective tissue load, such as a scrum half in his early twenties.