[unpaid/plant sent by brand] A quick ingredient focus for Friday – vegan collagen. I’m a fan of collagen supplements in general as a support for the body’s natural building blocks to make more (and we do need it) but I’m not the only one! Apparently, the global market for collagen supplements was valued at $1 billion (yes, billion) and the future forecasts for it by 2032 is double that.
I think a big factor for many people not taking collagen is the animal derived content. I’m not a vegan or vegetarian although I eat very little meat these days so as a general rule I don’t have a problem taking it. I want to go into the future with strong joints, tendons, ligaments, nails, hair and skin. Longer term though, it makes sense to me to find products that have less environmental impact (cattle farming is heavy on the planet) with few collagen brands open about their sourcing methods.
YouGov tells us that 3% of the UK population is now vegan and that’s only going to grow. Vollagen comes from corn (hence pictures of a corn plant!) and non-GM corn at that. It’s a ferment of 16 amino acids that build protein, which in turn supports human collagen. As Vollagen is a single ingredient that is combined with other compounds, the one I’ve been looking at in particular is Terranova Vollagen Complex in case you want to give it a try. What’s drawn me to this is surrounding ingredients of rose hips, matcha, aronia berry and bilberry, all of which support collagen production and have antioxidant benefits.
I’m utterly a sucker for a supplement as I’ve said in many previous posts. If I took everything that I am drawn to I would be looking at a 3 course meal, something I raised with a nutritionist in the form of a ‘how can I cut down the supplements I’m taking’ and she just looked at me and said, why would you want to? A big factor is expense but Terranova Vollagen is £16.95 (HERE) and that feels manageable to me. Benefits to skin are a very pleasant side effect – I think brands get stuck on our vanity when actually, it’s our health – staying vitalized and not groaning every time we get off the sofa – that becomes more of a draw in the end. My aunt is eighty two (maybe eighty three – where is my memory supplement?) and she has been a vegetarian for sixty years so it’s not just Gen Z embracing a different style of diet.
Anyway, you know the word now – if you want non-animal derived collagen, look for Vollagen as an ingredient.
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