The dirty truth about collagen supplements

Smooth skin, strong nails, and silky hair are all benefits of eating collagen. It’s an essential nutrient and makes up 25-35% of the tissue in the body.

However, most people either do not get enough collagen, or get collagen from heavily contaminated supplements.

In this email, you’re going to learn why you should avoid collagen supplements, and how you can get the benefits of collagen in a cheaper and more delicious way.

Why Eat Collagen in the First Place?

For thousands of years, our ancestors ate nose to tail. Animals consist of more than 30% collagen, so most of their protein intake reflected that.

Now, people favor cuts like breasts, steaks, and tenderloins, which are low in collagen (which is why they’re tender). The amino acids in collagen (glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and alanine) are anti-inflammatory and pro-longevity, making them essential for optimal health.

Most people know this and go buy a convenient collagen supplement. Unfortunately, this is a terrible idea.

Why You Should Avoid Collagen Supplements

Heavy metal and antibiotic contamination

Most collagen supplements are filled with toxins.

In this Instagram reel, I talk about how recent studies have shown that the majority of collagen supplements are full of heavy metals and antibiotics.

This is because they are sourced from CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), where animals are fed low-quality feed and pumped with antibiotics.

Glyphosate contamination

Collagen supplements are also full of glyphosate.

Glycine, one of the most beneficial amino acids in the body, is very similar in structure to glyphosate:

So when cows ingest glyphosate and synthesize proteins, glyphosate molecules literally replace the amino acids inside of their collagenous tissue.

When glyphosate replaces glycine, it changes the shape and stability of the protein, leading to dysfunctional proteins that don't perform their intended roles and cause problems.

What You Can Do Instead

If you want to avoid heavy metals, antibiotics, and glyphosate, you could buy a grass-fed, organic collagen supplement. But these are often expensive.

What I recommend doing instead is making bone broth with collagen-rich meats. It’s cheaper and arguably more delicious.

My Bone Broth Recipe

Most bone broth recipes are good but don’t yield enough collagen. After making broth, it should harden in the fridge like jello.

If you want more collagen, you have to use more than just bones. The secret here is beef tendons. 

Beef tendons are pure collagen with barely any fat. Using these as the primary meat source in broth is best if you want as much collagen as possible.

Ingredients:

• 5lbs of grass-fed beef tendons (ask your butcher or order online)

• Grass-fed beef knuckles or marrow bones

• 1 onion, quartered

• 1 head of garlic, cut in half

• Filtered water

• Aromatics (rosemary, thyme, etc.)

• Salt

Making it is simple.

First, salt your tendons and bones. Then, bake the tendons, bones, garlic, and onion at 425F for 45 minutes until browned.

Transfer everything (including aromatics) to a large pot of water. Turn the heat on high, and boil for 4 hours.

Remove the bones and vegetable scraps. Keep the broth, vegetables, and meat.

Now you have clean, collagen-rich bone broth.

Pro tips:

• Skim the water for the first 30 minutes while boiling for clearer broth.

• Tendons are pure collagen and not very meaty. If you want more meat you can add/substitute oxtail or beef shank.

• I wouldn’t recommend boiling overnight. This breaks down the collagen and leaves a sour taste in the broth.

• To make more of a soup, add muscle meat, carrots, mushrooms, and other veggies.

Give this recipe a try, and let me know how it is.

Until next time,

Kashif Khan

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information on this site is provided for informational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute for medical advice from your physician or other medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, promptly contact your regular health care provider.co