immwork
immwork t1_j298ln1 wrote
Reply to If collagen is a protein, and proteins are broken down during digestion, why would collagen or collagen supplements be beneficial? Is it just hype? by skepticated
Collagen is broken down into amino acids which are not fungible (despite what some folks erroneously believe). Of particular note is glycine, which should be considered a semi-essential amino acid. That is to say, although we can synthesize some glycine, we can't synthesize enough to fully meet our body's needs.
The human body can produce glycine from serine, but only to the tune of perhaps 3g/day. Evidence suggests this is inadequate, and more like 10g/day of glycine is required. Thus having a dietary source of glycine, which would include collagen supplementation but could also be met by hipster bone-broth or just eating tendons (pho for the win!).
immwork t1_j29fw16 wrote
Reply to comment by DooDooSlinger in If collagen is a protein, and proteins are broken down during digestion, why would collagen or collagen supplements be beneficial? Is it just hype? by skepticated
I'm happy to be corrected. Mostly I wanted to push back on the myth that proteins are somehow digested into some sort of universal protein sludge that's completely interchangeable.
My primary point is that we get glycine from collagen and that we need it because we can't make enough. I'm sure your expertise exceeds mine, but do I have that right?