What Is The Most Effective Collagen Supplement For Muscle Repair?

For an athlete or gym-goer, repairing your muscles after a workout is one of the most important aspects of a successful training plan. After all, your muscle can only grow bigger and stronger if you provide them with the nutrients they need to repair themselves.

As a result of the importance placed on muscle repair, we have a range of popular supplements available to help with the repair process. Collagen supplements have been increasing in popularity for their muscle repair capabilities, and with good reason.

Collagen supplements work to repair all of the soft tissue in your body, including your muscles. However, with so many different supplement varieties available, it can be difficult to find the most effective collagen supplement for your needs.

This article will help you understand more about collagen and choose the most effective collagen supplement for repairing your muscles.

What is Collagen?

Collagen is an extremely abundant protein that assists with the repair of various tissues and structures in the human body. Collagen makes up over 30% of all the proteins found in your body and plays an important role in muscle and connective tissue repair.

Researchers estimate that there are more than 28 different types of naturally produced collagen. Each type is structured slightly differently in order to fulfil different functions inside the body.

The most common types of collagen, especially in supplements, are types 1, 2 and 3:

• Type 1 collagen is the most abundant and is used to repair damaged tissue and the growth of new tissue. For muscle repair, supplements containing type 1 collagen are a good place to start.

• Type 2 collagen is usually found in the tissues between bones like cartilage. Therefore, it is associated heavily with joint function and health.

• Type 3 collagen helps to give the skin its elastic properties and gives it a more youthful appearance. This type of collagen is beneficial for cardiovascular health.

Finding the Most Effective Collagen Supplement

Your collagen supplement should contain Type 1 collagen if you want to use it for muscle repair.

However, the effectiveness of a supplement isn’t only determined by the type of collagen; you also need to factor in a few variables about the supplement itself. Below is a list of the key factors you should consider when looking for the very best collagen supplements.

1. Supplement source

There are 3 popular sources of collagen supplements: Bovine (cattle), Marine (fish) and Porcine (pig). Many supplements on the market will come from bovine sources, since it is cheaper for the supplement company to extract it.

As you will be aware, cheaper is not always better. For a purer and easier absorbed collagen supplement, marine sources are the way to go. Fish collagen are up to 1.5 times more bioavailable than other sources.

You must also be sure that your supplement is manufactured in a country with high-quality control standards, such as the UK or another EU country.

You can purchase high quality, marine-sourced Collagen supplements. Directly from our Hellenia online store.

2. Bioavailability

In order to get the very most out of your supplement, it needs to be absorbed well by your body. The collagen source isn’t the only factor that affects bioavailability.

The manufacturing process also has a big impact on how well it is absorbed by your body. Hydrolysed collagen supplements have had the collagen molecules converted into smaller peptides during the manufacturing process, which makes them much easier to absorb.

As an added bonus for muscle repair, smaller peptides mean faster absorption and quicker repair of your muscles. So, if tissue repair is your goal, the most effective collagen supplement will be hydrolysed.

3. Added ingredients

The majority of your supplement by volume should be collagen. On the label, this will be shown by the protein level as a percentage of the total. Quality collagen supplements should contain few, if any other additives.

What may be included are complimentary compounds that can enhance collagen supplement effectiveness. A common addition is vitamin C, as it has been shown to aid collagen synthesis inside your body.

Making The Right Purchase Decision

Hopefully, this article has provided you with the information you need to make a smarter decision on purchasing the right type of collagen supplement for you. There are a number of different options available so it is important to arm yourself with knowledge before making a purchase.