Are You Overpaying For Your Collagen?
Collagen supplements have surged in popularity in recent years due to their significant benefits in combating signs of aging, maintenance of joint health and overall well-being. As more people jump on the bandwagon of collagen supplements, consumers are spending more than necessary to purchase the collagen supplements.
The main issue with collagen supplements is their cost. Premium brands often charge exorbitant prices for their collagen supplements, driven by their powerful marketing strategies that draw consumers into purchasing their collagen. Most often than not, these marketing claims don't always equate to better quality of collagen. When considering a collagen supplement, it's important to evaluate whether the price aligns with the value of the collagen that you are paying for. These are the following tips that can help consumers make more informed choices when purchasing a collagen supplement:
Types of Collagen - Bovine or Marine Collagen
The most important factor lies in the type of the collagen. Marine collagen is derived from fish whereas bovine is sourced from cows. Both collagens have different types of collagen compositions and, due to how marine collagen is being sourced, it is often more expensive compared to bovine. Read more about the difference between marine and bovine collagen here.
Source of Collagen:
Marine collagen can be sourced from wild-caught fish from the deep sea or farmed fish. Similarly, with bovine collagen, all the bovine collagen is sourced from agriculturally raised cows. Marine collagen derived from wild caught fish from the deep sea is viewed as the most premium form of collagen due to its scarcity and being free from toxins.
Total weight and serving size:
Sometimes more servings in each tub might not necessarily mean you are receiving more collagen than you pay for. For example, a collagen tub claims to provide consumers with 30 servings (30 days), which seems like a lot, but the total weight of collagen per tub is 90g, and each serving is 3g, so in reality you are only consuming 90g worth of collagen spread across 30 days. Compared to 200g of collagen per tub, each serving is 8g, which gives you 25 days servings. Although it seems like you are receiving fewer servings, in reality you are receiving 110g more collagen.
Dollar per gram:
Lower price might not necessarily seem to be the real cost savings. Sometimes a lower price could also mean you are purchasing less collagen powder per tub. Thus, the quickest way to work out how much you are paying for the collagen is to divide the purchase price with the total weight of the pure collagen powder. For example, one tub of small collagen powder is $25 but it only gives you 15g of collagen, so each gram costs you $1.67. Although $25 seems low, over the long term you are actually paying more.