It wasn’t so long ago that collagen supplements were hard to find. Now interest has exploded and the marketplace is flooded with options. Not only do the Natural Food stores offer many varieties and brands of collagen supplements, but we now find the mass market getting into the act. The internet is intensely vying for your attention and we are now seeing television commercials. Hype? Hope? Fact Fiction? What’s the story?
Decades ago, Liquid Collagen was a weight loss sensation for a good year or so. It seemed that eating a significant amount of protein before bed would have a positive impact on blood sugar and metabolism. While there is some truth to this, most of us would not do so well trying to digest 10-20 grams of protein from a food source at bedtime. Liquid Collagen was easy on the digestion and allowed people to try this weight management strategy.
When people moved on to the next big weight loss product, collagen faded into the background. But slowly, a better understanding of collagen and it’s benefits began to emerge.
Here is a rather dry, clinical definition of Collagen: “Collagen is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals. It is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up 25% to 35% of protein content. Amino acids are bound together to form a triple helix of elongated fibril known as a collagen helix. It is mostly found in cartilage, bones, tendons, ligaments, and skin. “
Collagen is found in animal foods. This is especially true when a variety of what the animal has to offer is consumed. Bone broth, especially homemade, is a great source of collagen. There are no direct vegan or vegetarian sources of collagen, but we do produce our own Collagen with enough of the right precursors. Vitamin C plays a key role here ( more on this later).
It should be noted that much of our official health advice is moving us to limit or eliminate animal foods. We ate also one of the few species that do not produce Vitamin C internally and are dependent on the consumption of food for our Vitamin C supply. Most of us can only manage a few hundred milligrams daily which does not render much collagen support.
Clearly, most of us do not have optimal collagen integrity. So we should ask, “what are the benefits of collagen? Consider this description: Collagen offers several benefits, including improved skin health by enhancing elasticity and hydration, relief from joint pain, and support for bone strength. It is a vital protein that helps maintain the structure of skin, muscles, bones, and connective tissues in the body.
That being said, what should we expect to see in a collagen-compromised population? Poorly aging skin, weak hair and nails, and joint degradation would be on that list and these are issues facing a large segment of our population. So why shouldn’t all of us be taking a collagen supplement? In my opinion, this is not a bad idea. Yet there are some issues with collagen absorption which is why some folks get good results while many experience little improvement (more on this later, as well).
More importantly, we may not be focusing on collagen’s most significant aspects of human biology.
Question: what is the number one killer of Americans? Sadly, it is Heart Disease. And if that statement made you think of Cholesterol, I suggest to you that there are more consequential considerations. Bill Sardi, my friend and mentor, once wrote an e-book with the title “How to Lower Your Cholesterol Phobia”. There is good evidence that the Cholesterol theory of Heart Disease may be missing the point. Here’s where we look at the fascinating research from Dr. Matthias Rath.
Many of you know the name of Linus Pauling who is considered the “Godfather of Vitamin C”. He is the only scientist to have won two Nobel Prizes for his individual work. Dr. Rath was his colleague and protégé. Rath found the answer to why animals do not get heart attacks but we humans do. Various inflammatory factors cause the vascular system (collagen) to break down. Animals can internally produce their own Vitamin C, and thus create plenty of collagen to keep the vascular system in good repair.
We humans, due to a genetic flaw, cannot produce our own Vitamin C and therefore cannot create enough collagen to keep our blood vessels healthy. Instead, we create a “patch” made of primarily calcium “plaque”). Note how the medical industry refers to this as calcification of the arteries rather than cholesterfication. You can read more about Dr. Rath’s work on Vitamin and Heart Disease HERE.
Question: what is the number two killer of Americans? Sadly, again, it is Cancer. It is said that we all have millions of cancer cells in our body that our immune system can generally control the ability to spread. This ability to spread quickly is what allows these errant cells to overwhelm the immune system and cause damage.Understand that these cell exist with your collagen. They produce enzymes that “eat” your collagen in order to spread. Here again we turn to the ground-breaking research of Dr. Rath.
Rath devised a clever experiment where he took a cylinder and divided it with a layer of collagen. He then introduced cancer cells into one end of the cylinder and observed how long it took for the cells to breakthrough the collagen barrier.
He then repeated the experiment, but first treated the collagen barrier with Vitamin C and other nutritional factors. The stronger collagen had a powerful inhibitory effect on the cells ability to degrade the collagen! Dr. Rath took out a full-page advertisement in USA Today to announce his findings. You can see the ad HERE.
At this point it would seem a good idea for all of us to take a collagen supplement. While I don’t necessarily disagree, there are some important considerations.
First of all, the sourcing of the animals from which the collagen originates is critical. The animals need to be free of hormones, antibiotics, and fed organically grown natural foods. Collagen has an affinity to the pesticide Glyphosate (due to collagen’s high Glycine content) which is why some prefer marine collagen from fish.
There is evidence that collagen is not easy for many of us to assimilate. Supplement companies employ different strategies to hopefully increase absorption. Perhaps the best strategy is to make sure that the person consuming the collagen has optimum Vitamin C levels. It should be noted again that collagen is only sourced from animals and is not present in a Vegan diet which again highlights the importance of Vitamin C.
Here we have one of the many compelling arguments for Vitamin C supplementation. Even the best diets only yield about 300 mg. However, as has been discussed previously on this blog, there is little agreement on what form of Vitamin C to take… and how much.
On the Health Food Store shelves you have Ascorbic Acid, L-Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate, Magnesium Ascorbate, Calcium Ascorbate, Food-Form C, Whole Food C, Liposomal C, Ascorbyl Palmitate, and Ester-C. All have their upsides and downsides. How much Vitamin C is needed to yield all of the benefits we read about? Unfortunately, there’s not much of a consensus. 60 mg. per day, easily obtained from the diet, will prevent scurvy. A well-known Harvard MD. advises no more that 250mg. daily. 500 mg. and 1000 mg. are the most common supplement taken. Many researchers suggest 2000 mg.- 5000 mg. daily to really receive all of Vitamin C’s many benefits. Some doctors recommend taking Vitamin C to Bowell tolerance (80% of the amount that causes loose stools) which can be 10,000 mg. or more.
Most of us just throw up our hands and take 500 mg. or 1000 mg. daily. Bill Sardi suggested that we all take 500 mg, 5 times per day about 2-3 hours apart to achieve consistent blood levels of Vitamin C. He also knew that most of us would not comply long-term with that regimen. However, Bill left us with the perfect solution for this conundrum: Formula 216!
Formula 216 is a ground-breaking formulation based on a unique molecule from Olives , enhanced by supportive nutrients and herbs. Formula 216 has an unprecedented, and as yet not fully understood, positive effect on Vitamin C levels in humans. For my wife and I, this effect was dramatic and confirmed by blood tests. Our experience is not uncommon as I have spoken to several other folks who have taken Formula 216 and found that tests confirmed strong Vitamin C levels. I understand that these stories, while true, are considered anecdotes,. Yet current research is backing up this observed response. Consider the following graph:
Results of First Human Trial: Vitamin C Blood Serum Levels Following Formula-216
| Blood levels / Vitamin C / Formula-216 / Micromole/Liter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Initial C Level | 1st Blood Sample (Day 1) | 2nd Blood Sample (Day 2) | 3rd Blood Sample (Day 14) * | Final Blood Sample (Day 24) |
| 1 | 34.06 | 39.74 | 73.49 | 73.49 | 62.45 |
| 2 | 17.03 | 34.06 | 34.06 | 56.77 | 45.42 |
| 3 | 51.10 | 73.81 | 90.84 | 62.45 | 56.77 |
| 4 | 51.10 | 51.10 | 79.49 | 79.49 | 56.77 |
| 5 | 45.42 | 68.13 | 73.81 | 56.77 | 51.10 |
| * Subjects Ceased Taking Formula-216. Data ENCODE NUTRITION® 2019 | |||||
Let’s bring this back to assuring that we can get the benefits of collagen: whether we’re talking about the collagen we make, what we supplement, or both.
One’s Vitamin C status appears to be the deciding factor. Diet will prove inadequate in today’s inflammatory world and figuring out the Vitamin C supplement conundrum remains daunting.
Whatever else you do, put Formula 216 to work for you. The may be Bill Sardi’s greatest gift to all of us. Click HERE for more information and a great deal to make Formula 216 even more affordable.
We can all benefit from having optimal collagen integrity. Formula 216 can support you in that goal.