Weak collagen science

• Jan 19, 2021 • by Paul Ingraham
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Weekly nuggets of pain science news and insight, usually 100-300 words, with the occasional longer post. The blog is the “director’s commentary” on the core content of PainScience.com: a library of major articles and books about common painful problems and popular treatments. See the blog archives or updates for the whole site.

Consumer Reports reports that there is no science to support that collagen supplements result in smoother skin, shinier hair, stronger nails, healthier joints, or more lean muscle mass.

And pain? What about pain? Only ever-so-slightly promising. For instance, they cite a small “positive” study… funded by a collagen supplement manufacturer. Examine.com is another notch more encouraging in their more substantive analysis:

Limited research suggests a small benefit for osteoarthritis patients and a modest benefit for those with rheumatoid arthritis.

And there are grave concerns about adulteration/contamination. CR again:

64 percent [of tested collagen supplements] had detectable levels of arsenic, about one-third tested positive for lead, and 17 percent had cadmium.”

Ugh.