Collagen is one of the primary proteins in your body. Comprising amino acid chains, it’s an important part of structural components and connective tissues like skin, tendons, muscles, ligaments, and blood vessels, as well as parts of your eyes and teeth (1Trusted Source). Collagen also helps with blood clotting, wound healing, and protecting the nervous system (2Trusted Source). Certain foods, including bone broth, beef, fish, chicken, dairy, and eggs, either contain collagen or help your body produce it on its own by providing essential amino acids and other nutrients needed to do so. Because your body is capable of producing all of the collagen you need if you eat a balanced diet, supplements may not be necessary for everyone. Still, you may choose to do so to reap certain health benefits or help treat collagen deficiency or other conditions. This article examines how much collagen you should take per day.

As your body ages, it loses collagen. By age 40, you can lose up to 1% of your body’s collagen each year (3Trusted Source). Other factors like diet, regularly smoking, consuming alcohol, and sun exposure also affect collagen loss (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source). Loss of this protein is one reason why your skin loses structure and begins to wrinkle as you age. It may also affect the strength of your bones, joints, and more. Thus, some common applications of collagen supplements include:

• skin structure preservation (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source)
• wound healing (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source)
• anti-aging support (8Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source)
• osteoarthritis, a common cause of joint pain (14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source)
• bone loss prevention (17, 18Trusted Source)
• muscle mass improvement (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source)
• hair and nail health (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source)

SUMMARYCollagen is a protein in your body that makes up many tissues and organs. Supplementing with the protein may help preserve skin health, muscle mass, bones, and joints.

Collagen is an abundant protein, with 28 types having been identified to date. Types I, II, III, IV, and V are the most common in the human body (3Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source). It’s believed that the various types of collagen serve unique purposes. For example, older research has identified that types I and III present together in the organs and skin, while type II is typically found in joints and cartilage (24, 25Trusted Source). As such, different types of collagen are typically advertised as part of collagen supplements. Nonetheless, keep in mind that more research is needed to better understand how the various types of collagen in supplement form may influence human health.

Forms used in supplements

Similarly to how your body contains different types of this protein, so do many collagen supplements. The most used types include (3Trusted Source, 26Trusted Source, 27Trusted Source, 28):

• Hydrolyzed collagen (collagen hydrolysate). This type is derived from bovine (cattle), marine (seafood), poultry (often chicken or eggshells), pigs, and other animal sources, and it’s broken down into smaller and easier-to-absorb peptide particles.
• Undenatured collagen. This is raw collagen derived from chicken cartilage.
• Gelatin: This is cooked collagen, usually derived from animal sources.

The type used in your supplement of choice could influence the supplement form and its dosage instructions. Note that there aren’t any vegan substitutes for collagen. Supplements may be free of dairy, gluten, or sugar, but collagen is only available from animal sources.

SUMMARYThe most common types of collagen used in supplements are hydrolyzed collagen, undenatured collagen, and gelatin.