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Skip The Expensive Collagen Drinks — Here's How To Make It At Home
Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.
If you've been browsing the functional beverage section at the market lately, you've probably come across collagen water before. The ingredients generally include (obviously) collagen powder, water, and some sort of flavor.
Given the steep price tag of most store-bought collagen drinks, we'd be remiss not to share this fact: DIY collagen drinks are not only more affordable, but they can provide even more benefits—here's an easy how-to.
How to make collagen water.
This process truly is as easy as it seems:
- Add a scoop of your favorite collagen powder to a glass of water.
- Shake or stir until well combined.
- If you want to add more flavor, add a squeeze of lemon or lime to your collagen drink or add the powder to your premade infused water recipe.
And voilà! You have a supplement-packed beverage ready to go. The most important thing is to select a high-quality collagen supplement and ensure you're getting an adequate dose—two boxes that many premade drinks don't check.
Why you should make your own.
When we sat down with holistic plastic surgeon Anthony Youn, M.D., FACS, on a recent episode of the mindbodygreen podcast, he explained that "people who take collagen supplements do appear to have skin that is more hydrated, has less wrinkles, and looks more youthful.*" And research backs up the claim: In 2019, the J Drugs Dermatol published a review of oral collagen's effects on the skin, showing that collagen peptides1 support skin elasticity and hydration levels and promote youthful texture2.* (You can read more about the benefits of collagen supplements here, with even more science-backed data.)
But in order to reap these benefits, you'll have to find a collagen supplement with an adequate amount of collagen in it. When it comes to dosage, you should take into account the benefits you're after, as different daily doses can do different things for the body. To quickly summarize:
- Skin: Studies show that a range of 2.5 to 10 grams per day can be beneficial for skin support3.*
- Muscle: Studies show that 15 to 20 grams per day can help muscle mass4, muscle strength5, and soreness after exercise6.*
- Joint: 2.5 to 5 grams per day has been shown to help joint support7—however, if you are taking UC-II specifically, you need only 40 milligrams per day8.*
- Bone: The available research suggests that 5 grams per day provides bone support9.*
If you're thinking: Why not find a collagen supplement that ticks all the boxes? We hear you and agree, which is why we formulated our beauty & gut collagen+ with 17.7 grams of hydrolyzed collagen peptides. When collagen is completely hydrolyzed (like in our formula) it's easy to use because it dissolves in liquids—even water. It's also essentially tasteless and odorless, which is why it's so convenient to add to a ton of different recipes.
Consequently, a lot of liquid collagen products on the market will feature 10 grams of collagen or less. Of course, it depends on the specific brand, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a liquid format with more than 10 grams. Powders, on the other hand, can easily play in the 15 grams and up range, according to mbg's vice president of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN. That said, many of the collagen drinks on the market simply include a subpar dose of collagen powder dissolved in water with a marked-up price. So we repeat: Why not skip the fuss and make your own bottle?
The takeaway.
Rather than spending money on premade collagen drinks, you may want to consider a DIY option, as it can be more budget-friendly and take the guesswork out of shopping for the perfect product. Not to mention, liquid collagen products may contain a longer additive profile (i.e., other ingredients you don't actually want), with more flavors (sometimes artificial) to enhance their marketability—but you can read all about liquid collagen versus powder here.
9 Sources
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30681787/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC6213755/
- https://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961619P0009X
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26353786/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31010031/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30783776/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6356409/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26822714/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29337906/
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