How do you choose a collagen product?

The question people ask is which collagen brand is good. The answer that is actually usable is not a brand name but a set of criteria, because what each person needs from the product is different.

What can you compare on the label?

Four things are genuinely readable.

Source. Marine collagen, or collagen from animal hide or bone. Anyone who needs to avoid seafood or particular animal products should settle this first, and check the allergen information on the label.

Peptide form. Collagen peptide, dipeptide, tripeptide — these describe molecular size after the hydrolysis step in manufacturing. It is a process description, so use it to tell products apart, not to predict a result.

Amount per serving. The figure on the front of the box is sometimes per sachet and sometimes per day. Check how many sachets or tablets make up one serving.

What else is in it. Many formulations combine collagen with other ingredients, vitamin C among them. Compare those on the same amount-per-serving basis as the collagen itself.

How much does molecular size matter?

Collagen that is eaten is broken down into peptides and amino acids first, and the body then uses that material. The molecular size printed on a label describes the manufacturing process, not an outcome.

What a label can tell you is the form and the amount; it cannot tell you an outcome.

What can a label not tell you?

Taste and solubility, which vary a lot between powders.

Whether you will actually keep taking it, which depends on whether the format fits your day. Powders take a moment to prepare, tablets travel easily, ready-to-drink is convenient but costs more per serving.

What should you check before buying?

The อย. food serial number on the label, the allergen information, the expiry date, and the amount per serving set against the cost per serving.

In what order should you decide?

First, rule out anything that conflicts with a dietary constraint. Second, compare amount per serving on the same basis. Third, look at what else is formulated in. Fourth, pick the format you will realistically keep using.

Dietary supplements are not intended to prevent, treat or cure any disease.