What Is Grass-Fed Collagen and Is It Superior to Other Types?
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Not only is collagen supplementation associated with healthy hair, skin, and nails, but the body’s most abundant protein is also vital to the structural integrity of your tendons and ligaments, as well as your muscles and bones. Collagen becomes especially important as the body’s natural collagen production declines with age.
There are a few different types of collagen sources. The most common are grass-fed collagen, which is preferred by industry experts because of its cleaner nutritional profile, and grain-fed collagen.
In this explainer, we take a closer look at the edge grass-fed collagen has over traditional sources, as well as its surprising benefits for heart and brain health.
Key Takeaways About Grass-Fed Collagen
As previously mentioned, grass-fed collagen is held at a higher standard than grain-fed collagen. Here’s why grass-fed collagen is superior:
Essential Nutrients: A healthier balance of vitamins, minerals, omega-3s, and omega-6s when compared to grain-fed collagen.
Purity and Safety: Antibiotic and hormone-free for a safer, cleaner supplement.
Environmental Sustainability: Lower environmental impact and sustainable farming practices.
The Different Types of Collagen
Collagen can come from a variety of sources, including bovine, fish (aka marine collagen), and egg shell membrane. While there are 28 collagen types found in the body, most collagen supplements feature one or more of the five main types of collagen. Each type has different benefits:
Type I helps support skin health. It is found in the bone, skin, and connective tissue.
Type II helps support joints and provides flexibility. It is found in cartilage.
Type III is associated with the gut, muscles, blood vessels, and uterus. It is found in the bone, skin, and connective tissue.
Type IV helps support wound healing. It is found in the base layers of the skin.
Type V helps support muscles, liver, and lungs. It is found in connective tissues as well as the eyes.
Can You Get Enough Collagen from Food?
There are countless foods that contain collagen. Some examples include beef bone broth, organ meats, berries, and broccoli. A well-rounded diet that consists of protein, fats, and carbohydrates is necessary when achieving a healthier lifestyle.
Consuming collagen-rich foods is recommended, but you may find it more convenient to supplement your meals with one or two servings of collagen peptides to help boost your daily intake. Regular supplementation ensures a more precise dosage, and allows you to choose which types of collagen you’ll like to consume.
The Nutritional Benefits of Grass-Fed Collagen
Choosing grass-fed collagen over grain-fed collagen is the healthier option. Why? Bovines that are grass-fed have cleaner, more well-balanced diets. This results in collagen that’s free from harmful antibiotics and hormones. Instead, they contain more antioxidants, minerals, omega-3s, and vitamins than grain-fed collagen.
The research supporting the efficacy of collagen peptides is robust and well-established. Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive effects of collagen supplementation on skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkle reduction, as well as improvements in joint pain, flexibility, and mobility. Research highlights collagen peptides' role in supporting muscle recovery and promoting healthy body composition.
“People who supplement with collagen tend to build extracellular matrix (which is responsible for the physical maintenance of cells) more efficiently than if they don't supplement with it. If we’re training really hard we need countermeasures to help us to be able to do that at a high level. We need to be smart and do things other than just use grit and determination to push through it."
-Tim Caron, strength and conditioning coach, author, and co-founder of Allegiate.
How Grass-Fed Collagen Is Kinder to the Environment
Choosing grass-fed collagen also benefits the environment. Bovines that feed on grass in an open pasture are healthier because they are consuming nature-derived food. When bovines feed on grass, they also strengthen and fertilize the soil, which absorbs their organic waste. Research has found that this approach helps sequester carbon in the soil, thus benefiting the environment.
Grain-fed bovine require mass amounts of grain and soy, which can be environmentally draining and call for more resources like a full-fledged factory system, which leads to air, land, and water pollution.
4 Things to Look for in a Quality Collagen Supplement
Shopping for a quality collagen supplement shouldn’t be difficult. Consider the following checklist the next time you’re eyeing a collagen supplement label.
Grass-fed collagen: As mentioned in this article, a grass-fed collagen supplement is the gold standard in collagen supplementation.
Research-backed ingredients: Always look at the ingredients on the label. Are they clinically proven? How about high quality? Consider the additions of classic ingredients like antioxidant-rich vitamin C, and enhancing ingredients like bioavailable FORTIGEL®.
Sought-after certifications: The more certifications, the better. Stamps of approval, such as ones from NSF and Informed Sport, mean the product is free of harmful contaminants. These certifications also verify that what you see on the label is exactly what you get.
Third-party testing: A collagen supplement that undergoes third-party testing receives an unbiased review of ingredients and overall formula. If a supplement gets the green light, you can rest assured you’re receiving a clean, safe, and effective product.
How to Add This Supplement into Your Routine
There are many different forms of collagen on the market, including liquid collagen, collagen capsules, collagen bars, and more.
But collagen peptides are still the best option when it comes to effective, daily supplementation. This is because this form of collagen is easily and more highly absorbable by the body. It’s also easy to use.
Adding grass-fed collagen peptides to your daily routine is as simple as scooping, mixing, and enjoying. Collagen peptides mix well with liquid, whether it’s a hot or cold beverage. There are no restrictions on when to take collagen—the choice to supplement your wellness routine in the morning, afternoon, or evening is up to you.
If you’re following a regular workout schedule, however, you may experience the best results if you take collagen 30-60 minutes before training. For rest days, take collagen two to three hours after consuming caffeine.
The most important rule is to be consistent when taking this supplement. In the case of Momentous Collagen Peptides, you may see noticeable improvements in joint comfort and mobility within a few weeks of regular use. Long-term use may lead to enhanced performance and optimal joint health. You may notice improvements in skin elasticity, as well as hair and nail strength, within four to eight weeks of regular use.
Next Step: Check Out Our Top-Rated Grass-Fed Collagen
Momentous Collagen Peptides is a best seller for many reasons. This meticulously formulated blend combines grass-fed bovine collagen, vitamin C, and FORTIGEL to enhance athletic performance, aid in muscle recovery, help improve joint health and mobility, and promote healthy hair, skin, and nails. It also provides essential amino acids that support the synthesis of new collagen fibers, improving tissue health and function.
FORTIGEL contains a hydrolyzed form of collagen broken down into smaller peptides, which helps increase absorption by the body and maximizes stimulation of the human cell types involved in biosynthesis. Momentous Collagen Peptides delivers 16.8g of collagen to support Types I, II, and III collagen in the body.
As is the case with all Momentous supplements, Collagen Peptides uses only high-quality ingredients, and undergoes third-party testing to ensure safety and efficacy. Momentous Collagen Peptides is an ingestible collagen powder you can trust thanks to its NSF Certified for Sport and Informed Sport certifications.
Grace Gavilanes
Grace Gavilanes is a writer-editor with over 10 years of experience in the wellness and lifestyle space. Her writing has been published in People, Well + Good, Glamour, Food & Wine, and more.
