Vegan Collagen Capsules

With this product, an honest chat matters most. These are the questions our naturopaths ask in store, starting with what's in the tub and what you can reasonably expect from it.

A good fit if

• You're vegan or vegetarian, so genuine collagen products are off the table for you
• You want vitamin C and amino acids in one product rather than two
• You accept that the evidence is thinner than for animal collagen peptides and want it said plainly
• You're prepared to give it at least eight weeks, the shortest time used in the published research
• You'd rather read an ingredient list than a claim on the front of the pack

Check with us first if

• You've had kidney stones or a kidney disorder, and the product contains high-dose vitamin C. High intakes may increase oxalate and uric acid in your urine.
• You have hereditary haemochromatosis. Long-term high-dose vitamin C could make iron overload worse.
• You have kidney disease or a prescribed protein restriction. The amino acid amount is small compared with a collagen powder, but a plant protein blend sold as plant collagen is a different matter.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. The amino acids are found in food, but these formulas often add herbs, plant extracts, vitamins and minerals, so the whole formula needs checking.
• You already take a vitamin C supplement, a multivitamin or a greens powder. Builders often provide 500 to 1,000 mg on their own, and it's the total that counts.
• You're buying it as a protein source. An amino acid blend at one gram a day isn't a serve of protein and shouldn't be counted as one.
• You take prescription medicines. Check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.

• Amino acid complex, capsules or powder. Best known for: A fixed daily dose of an amino acid blend made to resemble the make-up of human type I collagen. Absorption: The amino acids arrive already separated, so there's no protein to digest first. That's about convenience, not about how well it works. Typical use: Usually around 1 g of the complex a day, as two capsules or a scoop stirred into water. The simplest way to buy in this category.
• Builder with vitamin C and mineral cofactors. Best known for: Amino acids packaged with vitamin C, and often zinc, biotin or silica. Absorption: Vitamin C is the one addition with a defined role in making collagen. The others are sold on association rather than on a proven collagen step. Typical use: The most common type in Australia. Check its vitamin C milligrams against what you already take.
• Plant protein powder marketed as plant collagen. Best known for: Hemp or pea protein with an added amino acid complex, bamboo silica and hyaluronic acid. Absorption: You're buying a protein powder with a small added complex, so the protein grams and the complex grams are two separate numbers. Typical use: A shake to have alongside meals. Check the order of the ingredient list before you compare it with a capsule.
• Silica-only products sold as collagen support. Best known for: Bamboo, horsetail or colloidal silica with no amino acids in the formula at all. Absorption: Not a builder in the sense used here. There's no amino acid supply and no vitamin C. Typical use: Often shelved beside builders, so it's worth keeping them separate in your mind before you compare products.
• Animal collagen peptides: the alternative. Best known for: Bovine, marine or chicken hydrolysates: actual collagen, with more human trial evidence behind it. Absorption: Digested to amino acids and short peptides, two of which show up in the blood and are studied as signals. Typical use: Covered on our collagen page and its source-specific pages. Not an option if you're vegan or vegetarian.

Reference values. There's none for collagen or for any builder blend, because neither is an essential nutrient. The reference value that does apply is for vitamin C: the NHMRC sets 45 mg a day for adults, 60 mg in pregnancy and 85 mg while breastfeeding. Most builders supply many times that.

Typical supplemental range. Australian capsules usually provide around 1 g a day of an amino acid blend, taken as two capsules. Powders provide more, and the published trial of a plant-based collagen alternative used 5 g a day in a single sachet for eight weeks. These are different products at different strengths, so it's especially important to compare the grams per serve.

Upper level. There's no upper limit for the amino acid blends. There is one for the vitamin C that comes with them: 2,000 mg a day for adults 19 and over. That's worth knowing, because absorption falls below 50 per cent above 1 g a day, and vitamin C that isn't absorbed draws water into your bowel. That's why diarrhoea, nausea and stomach cramps are the most common complaints at high intakes.

Worth knowing. Two numbers tell you whether you're comparing like with like: grams of the amino acid blend per serve, and milligrams of vitamin C per serve. A tub can be large while the blend inside is small. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Legumes, tofu and tempeh: everyday serves. Soy foods are among the richest plant sources of glycine, proline and lysine together
• Pumpkin seeds, peanuts and other legume-family seeds: A handful. Useful for lysine, which is the amino acid plant-based diets most often run short of
• Wheat gluten, seitan and oats: regular serves. High in proline, though low in lysine, which is why variety does more than any single food
• Capsicum, kiwifruit, citrus and broccoli: A couple of serves a day covers the vitamin C the build step requires several times over
• No plant food contains collagen: it is an animal structural protein, so a plant diet supplies the parts and never the finished protein

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

• If you're expecting collagen. These products contain none; collagen is an animal protein and can't come from plants.
• Phenylketonuria. Check the label for phenylalanine; an Australian listed medicine supplying more than 500 mg in its maximum daily dose must carry a pregnancy warning statement for it.
• A history of kidney stones or kidney problems. High vitamin C intakes have the potential to increase oxalate and uric acid in the urine.
• Hereditary haemochromatosis. Long-term high-dose vitamin C could worsen iron overload and lead to tissue damage.
• High total vitamin C. The adult upper limit is 2,000 mg a day; above it, diarrhoea, nausea and stomach cramps are the usual complaints.
• Soy, hemp, wheat and other allergens in plant-protein blends. These must be declared in bold and in a 'Contains' statement.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. The whole formula needs checking, since added herbs and plant extracts are common in this category.
• Kidney disease or a prescribed protein restriction. This mainly applies to plant-protein blends rather than capsules.
• Children and teenagers. These formulas are made and dosed for adults.
• Products bought from overseas websites. They aren't regulated in Australia for quality, safety or allergen labelling.
• Doubling up. Vitamin C is also in multivitamins, immune formulas and greens powders, so add up your total.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.