Protein Gummies

Choosing bovine over marine collagen mostly comes down to allergies, beliefs and what you're happy to eat. Those answers settle it faster than any debate about absorption, which is why our naturopaths ask them first.

A good fit if

• You're planning to take a proper daily serve rather than an occasional scoop
• You have a fish, crustacean or mollusc allergy, which rules out marine collagen but not this one
• You want types I and III together rather than a source that's almost all type I
• You already eat beef and have no religious, ethical or dietary reason to avoid products from cattle

Check with us first if

• You keep halal or kosher. 'Bovine' on a tub tells you nothing about how the animal was slaughtered or processed. Only a certification mark does, and while a few Australian products are certified, most aren't.
• You have kidney disease or have been told to limit your protein. A 10 to 20 g daily serve is a real amount of protein, and collagen shouldn't be standing in for your other protein.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. Collagen itself is a food-type protein, but flavoured blends add herbs, vitamins and minerals that need checking as a whole formula.
• You're concerned about sourcing from a country with a past BSE (mad cow disease) risk. Hide is treated as a safer source than bone, but most tubs don't say which was used.
• You take prescription medicine. Check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.

• Bovine hide collagen, unflavoured peptides. Best known for: The default tub: one ingredient and no flavour. Absorption: Dissolves in cold liquid without setting; peptide size within the usual 2,000 to 5,000 dalton range doesn't change what reaches the blood. Typical use: Stirred into coffee, water or a smoothie. Tubs run from about 240 g to 800 g, dosed by scoop or tablespoon.
• Bone-derived or mixed-source bovine collagen. Best known for: Uses bone rather than hide, which is the source difference the TSE safety guidance actually cares about. Absorption: No difference in the finished peptide; the difference is all in the raw-material controls applied earlier. Typical use: Rarely stated on a label. If sourcing matters to you, ask the brand directly.
• Grass-fed and grass-finished bovine collagen. Best known for: A claim about how the cattle were raised, and the most common premium positioning in the category. Absorption: Identical. What the cattle eat doesn't change collagen's amino acid sequence or how it's digested. Typical use: Widely available. Choose it if the farming matters to you.
• Halal- or kosher-certified bovine collagen. Best known for: Certification covers slaughter and the whole processing chain, which the word 'bovine' on a label tells you nothing about. Absorption: Identical to any other bovine collagen; certification is a supply-chain audit, not a formulation change. Typical use: Look for the certifying body's mark. Don't assume an uncertified bovine product complies.
• Flavoured bovine collagen blends with cofactors. Best known for: Collagen at a lower dose per serve alongside vitamin C, zinc, B6 or herbs, in a flavoured powder. Absorption: The collagen behaves the same; you just get fewer grams of it in each scoop. Typical use: Check the collagen milligrams per serve, not the tub size.

Reference values. None. Collagen isn't an essential nutrient, so the NHMRC sets no recommended intake for it. Two other values matter, though: protein, because a serve of collagen counts towards it, and vitamin C, which your body needs to build collagen at all.

Typical supplemental range. Australian bovine collagen is dosed by a 10 g tablespoon or a 5 g scoop, and tubs range from about 240 g to 800 g, so at 10 g a day an 800 g tub lasts about 80 days. The doses used in published trials are on our collagen page rather than repeated here.

Upper level. Neither the NHMRC nor Australia's permitted ingredients list sets one. What matters is that 10 to 20 g of collagen a day is a real amount of protein, and it counts as part of your daily protein rather than on top of it. That's important if you've been told to limit your protein.

Worth knowing. Before you buy, check the serve size against the tub size: divide the grams in the tub by your daily serve to see how long it will last. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Slow-cooked beef shin, oxtail, brisket or chuck: one braised serve. The connective tissue that turns sticky is bovine collagen converting to gelatin in the pot
• Beef tendon: A traditional cut in several cuisines and almost entirely collagen, though it needs hours of cooking
• Beef bone broth: about one cup from bones simmered for several hours. Same animal and tissues as the powder, but the yield per cup is undeclared and varies enormously
• Bovine gelatin, leaf or powder: one sachet, roughly 10 g. The same protein as the powder, one processing step short of a hydrolysate; it sets on cooling, so it will not stir into a cold drink

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• Mammalian meat allergy (alpha-gal). ASCIA advises avoiding gelatin products and gelling agents, and bovine collagen is a mammalian gelatin derivative. Don't take it.
• Vegans and vegetarians. It comes from cattle; vegan collagen builders contain no collagen.
• Halal, kosher or other religious dietary requirements. Only a certification mark shows compliance; the word 'bovine' doesn't.
• Kidney disease or a prescribed protein restriction. 10 to 20 g a day is a real protein load, and collagen shouldn't replace your other protein.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. Check the whole formula; flavoured blends often add herbs, vitamins and minerals.
• Bone-derived rather than hide-derived material. The TSE guidance adopted in Australia applies extra raw-material controls to bones, and most labels don't say which was used.
• Signs of an allergic reaction: rash, hives, swelling of the lips, face or throat, wheezing or difficulty breathing. Get urgent medical care.
• Products bought from overseas websites. They aren't regulated in Australia for quality, source declaration or allergen labelling.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.