Collagen peptides

Sports Research Collagen Peptides

by Sports Research · Best value

Ranked #2$36.99

11 g hydrolyzed bovine per serving, Informed Protein certified, IGEN non-GMO tested. The best price per serving of the certified powders.

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Our assessment

11 g of hydrolyzed bovine type I and III per serving at roughly ninety cents a serving, the best price of any certified powder here. Informed Protein certification verifies the protein content claim, IGEN covers the non-GMO claim, and the company publishes heavy-metal testing. The serving lands at the dose range the joint literature used (around 10 g per day in Clark 2008). If you want the trial-relevant dose at the lowest certified price, this is the rational default.

What the evidence supports

Hydrolyzed collagen is the rare supplement-aisle product with randomized human trials behind specific claims: a 2021 meta-analysis of 19 RCTs found improved skin hydration and elasticity after roughly 90 days, and a 24-week randomized trial reported less activity-related joint pain at 10 g per day. The effects are modest, many trials are industry-funded, and the hair, gut and weight claims on most tubs outrun the data. We grade the full evidence file in our collagen peptides review; the short version is that skin and active-joint endpoints are earned, the rest is marketing.

Use, as reported in the trials

The published trials used 2.5 to 10 g daily for skin endpoints, 10 g for joint comfort, and 15 g in the muscle protocols paired with resistance training, taken for 8 to 24 weeks; nothing in the literature supports week-one effects. Timing is unstudied except for one pre-exercise protocol, so consistency beats clock-watching, and hot coffee does not degrade the peptides. Vitamin C is a genuine cofactor in collagen synthesis, so taking your scoop with a meal that includes some costs nothing. This is reported from the trials, not a prescription.

Where it ranks