Dr Xand van Tulleken successfully horrified his fellow guests on The One Show as he offered a breakdown of what goes into collagen supplements.
Collagen – the most abundant protein in the human body – is what gives our bodies its elasticity and resilience. As we age, its production slows down, resulting in our aged appearances and more aches and pains.
In today’s wellness industry, collagen has become a huge business, with companies peddling collagen supplements in powder, gummy, tablet and liquid form.
Appearing on The One Show last week, British doctor, presenter and broadcaster Dr Xand attempted to quell the frenzy by explaining just what collagen supplements are.
“Anyone who is into their wellness – I will tell you, I was into it too – the collagen story, I was into it too,” he said. “Collagen is the most common protein in your body… you’re held together with collagen.
“And when you get older, your collagen starts to degrade and that’s why your joints get creaky and you get wrinkly. And so eating collagen makes sense – you think, ‘Oh it’ll get into my skin, it’ll get into my joints, it’ll repair me.”
Dr Xand stated that he’d visited a factory in China where they “boil donkeys to make collagen supplements… the collagen industry entirely relies on the waste products of industrial meat and fish processing, so the hooves, the chickens’ claws, the pigs’ trotters, the pigs’ ears, the tails, the skin… you boil it up with hydrochloric acid and you get collagen out the other end.”
In the Nineties, he said, companies realised that rather than using this waste as animal feed, they could sell it as a beauty product.
“The research says it doesn’t work,” Dr Xand said, calling collagen “too good to be true”.
Fans were tickled by the uncomfortable reactions from comedian Judi Love and presenter Angelica Bell, with Love patting the skin on her face as Dr Xand mentioned animal waste being used to make collagen.
However, Dr Xand’s comments also sparked a fierce debate in the comments section of the clip posted to Facebook, with some viewers insisting that collagen had improved their joint pain, along with their skin, nails and hair.
Others lamented the pressure – especially on women – to maintain a youthful appearance instead of embracing aging as a natural part of life.
In an umbrella review of 113 trials involving almost 8,000 patients around the world, experts at Anglia Ruskin University found that taking collagen supplements was “consistently” linked to reducing the symptoms of arthritis, such as stiff and painful joints.
It was also associated with improvements in muscle health, although there was no evidence that it can help improve soreness after exercise.
Professor of public health at ARU, Lee Smith, said “bold claims had been made in relation to collagen supplements, particularly by those marketing the product, including that it can result in significant and rapid anti-aging.
“Collagen is not a cure-all, but it does have credible benefits when used consistently over time, particularly for skin and osteoarthritis,” he said.
“Our findings show clear benefits in key areas of healthy aging, while also dispelling some of the myths surrounding its use.”
In 2023, cattle products such as collagen, along with palm oil and soy, were linked to around 8,800 hectares of deforestation connected to UK imports between November 2021 and July 2023.
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