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Muscle-building amino acids found in whey protein are also abundant in common foods, including milk, meat, fish and eggs. Amino acids for the joints found in collagen protein are lacking in most people's diets. Collagen is only found naturally in bones and connective tissue from animals, and parts of these animals are not part of the usual traditional diet today.
Since both collagen and whey are proteins, many people are confused about how to use these proteins. Whey protein has been very popular since the 70s, while collagen is a new dietary supplement. Both collagen and whey come from animals, contain amino acids and come in powder form. Whey protein's superpower is muscle protein synthesis and collagen's superpower is connective tissue building (thanks to its unique amino acids and bioactive peptides).
Whey protein has been commercialized since the 70s (it was actually discovered thousands of years ago). We all know whey, and since you're reading this, you're probably consuming whey in your protein shake. The benefits of whey are well documented in almost all scientific journals.
But now comes collagen, which is also a protein in powder form. So what is the similarity between these two protein powders?
Similarities Between Collagen Protein and Whey Protein:
Differences with:
Understanding where your supplement comes from should be important to you. Why? Because you put it in your body every day and maybe several times. So maybe you are curious about what your dietary supplement actually contains and where it comes from?
Although both whey and collagen come from animals, that's where the similarities end.
There are two main proteins found in dairy products, whey (~20%) and casein (~80%). When Greek yogurt or cheese is made, milk proteins called caseins coagulate, leaving the byproduct whey behind. And a byproduct of these yogurt and cheese making processes is therefore called whey protein.
A byproduct of the cheese-making process, whey protein provides significant amounts of the essential amino acids needed to perform the functions that proteins perform in the body.
Collagen protein is found in the skin, bones, joints and in some organs of all fish, chickens and cattle. Collagen can even be extracted from the eggshell membrane. If you want to get more collagen from food, there are only four food groups that contain natural collagen, and these are always from animals - NEVER from the plant kingdom : bone broth, certain organs from animals, bone parts such as cartilage, skin, bone and joint parts, and eggs. These foods actually CONTAIN collagen, and are not to be confused with foods like vegetables and fruits that help BOOST collagen production or synthesis in your body. A collagen supplement is also a good option if you want to increase the levels of collagen in the body.
It is important to know the difference between collagen and collagen peptides. Collagen is simply the protein molecule and collagen peptides are the dietary supplement.
"Whey and collagen both come from animals. Whey is a dairy protein, and collagen is the most abundant protein in the bones, joints and skin of all animals.”
It is important to know how your dietary supplement is manufactured! And you should actually care about this and choose the best and pure food supplements without additives on the market , and actually know what you are putting in your body!
Most supplement companies make whey and collagen supplements the same way. By the way, did you know that food that is turned into a powder is considered a dietary supplement?
Whey protein production:
Collagen peptides are made by extracting collagen from animals such as cows, chickens, fish and even eggshell membranes which then undergoes a hydrolysis process. This degraded form of collagen is called collagen peptides, which can then be packaged in various forms (powders, pills, drinks, etc.) for the consumer. Since the Swedish Food Agency puts the responsibility on the consumer to choose safe food supplements, it is important to read the list of ingredients on the food supplement yourself and ALWAYS buy food supplements from a reputable manufacturer. If the dietary supplement is extremely cheap compared to similar dietary supplements on the market, then the dietary supplement may not be of optimal quality, and an example could be that the dietary supplement contains cheap fillers.
Chemically, the production of collagen protein is less harmful to the quality of the finished product (collagen peptides or hydrolyzed collagen) than that of whey protein.
Both whey and collagen go through, among other things, a drying phase, but the big difference is that the collagen's molecules are (to put it simply) harder. They withstand this processing much better than whey because the integrity of the amino acids stays together despite the tough manufacturing process.
Here is the more scientific explanation:
The amino acid composition of whey is extremely unstable when heated and exposed to acid (which occurs during the manufacturing process, especially hydrolyzed whey protein).
Not to drop a bombshell here, but to make you as a consumer think, drinking a glass of milk would probably be better than taking a whey protein supplement. Why? Because milk does not go through this breakdown process and loses BCAAs (branched chain amino acids). The protein you see on the milk label is the actual amount of protein you're actually getting. So in this case milk is a good choice.
"Both collagen and whey are turned into dietary supplements via a complex manufacturing process, but the collagen molecule holds up better because it is more durable and loses less of its nutritional value through this process."
Whey protein benefits
THE HEALTH AND BEAUTY BENEFITS OF COLLAGEN PROTEIN
Collagen can help the liver do its job of detoxifying our bodies from daily exposure to toxins, especially alcohol. One of the amazing and abundant amino acids in collagen peptides is glycine. Glycine provides a protective effect against alcohol-induced liver damage!
What is the difference in hormonal influence? For those of you who love the keto diet and whey protein, we have bad news.
Whey protein stimulates insulin release much more than collagen peptides because whey increases postprandial serum insulin levels due to its high content of leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine and threonine. Insulin promotes the growth of lean tissue like muscle, but it also blocks fat burning and can lower your blood sugar, making you hungry.
Summary: Whey focuses primarily on helping you build muscle, but collagen can help with everything else around the muscle (tendons, ligaments, bones, skin, blood vessels, etc.) while affecting insulin much less, if at all.
The chemistry behind collagen and whey lies in the amino acids.
Collagen protein molecule
Collagen protein is a complex, massive and huge molecule that needs to be broken down into smaller pieces - this is where the term "hydrolyzed" comes from.
Why does collagen need to be hydrolyzed? It would be impossible to consume collagen powder without it being hydrolyzed. Drinkable collagen protein is only found in hydrolyzate (a substance produced by hydrolysis). Collagen powder can therefore be called hydrolyzed collagen or collagen peptides.
The whey protein molecule
The whey protein molecules are much smaller and do not need to be broken down. Therefore, drinkable whey protein is sold as isolate, concentrate and hydrolyzate.
Why do supplement companies break down whey into hydrosylate if it is not required for easy consumption? Because dietary supplements (such as hydrolyzed whey protein) are the hypoallergenic form of whey. Some people are allergic to intact whey protein but it is almost impossible to be allergic to the degraded hydrolysates.
Summary: Collagen and whey protein molecules have different sizes, which affects their availability in supplements. Because whey is smaller, they come in many types (eg hydrolysates). The collagen's molecules need to be broken down for simple consumption.
This is where the whey vs collagen comparison becomes apparent. Protein consists of 20 amino acids. 9 of them your body does not produce at all and are therefore called essential amino acids.
Whey protein is a complete protein because it contains 20 amino acids, including all 9 essential amino acids. It is by definition a complete protein source.
Collagen is not a complete protein as it contains 19 amino acids, including 8 essential amino acids. Collagen lacks the essential amino acid, tryptophan, but collagen contains two unique amino acids. This is where things get interesting. Collagen protein contains 2 amino acids that whey protein lacks:
This is where the comparison becomes complicated and requires further exploration as collagen contains a different spectrum of amino acids.
If you are really interested in getting healthy, you will be interested to know that this way of talking about protein dates back to the 20th century, long before we understood much about metabolism and before we had a clue about DNA and the role of amino acids in regulating growth at the genetic level.
Whey is pretty much synonymous with weights and muscle building - your body needs protein for recovery. The science behind protein's ability to accelerate muscle recovery and improve performance and strength is well documented. Remember, the question here is not whether your body needs protein. It's all about how you go about getting that protein.
If you're vegan, you should eat plenty of protein-rich nuts, seeds, grains and legumes in your diet. If you're not vegan, you get high-quality protein from beef, eggs, poultry and fish.
If you want to supplement with a dietary supplement to build muscle, whey is certainly your first choice. Why? Because whey is good for muscle protein synthesis.
Muscle protein synthesis is a naturally occurring process where protein is produced to repair muscle damage caused by intense exercise. It is an opposing force to muscle protein breakdown where protein is lost as a result of exercise.
In addition to being a protein with all the essential amino acids, whey also contains a lot of the special branched amino acids that stimulate our muscle cells to generate new muscles. These amino acids can interact directly with the DNA inside our cells to turn on segments required to build new muscle. In that sense, branched-chain amino acids can have a growth hormone-like effect.
If you only ate whey and no other protein source, and an otherwise perfectly balanced diet, you would get the basic amino acid building blocks you need to make all the proteins in your body. But if you want to optimize your body composition, you must also eat other foods than whey.
This is collagen's superpower. Collagen protein is simply the best protein for the connective tissues that are next to and around your muscles, such as skin, ligaments, tendons, and even your skeleton.
Collagen contains 2 amino acids that whey lacks (as we mentioned above). These unique amino acids, plus proline, work individually and as well as bound to other amino acids to form certain short peptides (2-3 amino acids in a chain) to give collagen its rejuvenating magic.
When you think of these special amino acids and peptides, think genetic change.
These special collagen-derived compounds are found nowhere else in the edible world and have a special bioactive property that makes them capable of generating powerful anabolic effects, very similar to human growth hormone.
Bioactive collagen peptides and its unique amino acids have been shown to specifically turn on the collagen-producing genes in specialized cells in our skin, hair, ligaments, tendons, etc., called fibroblasts. This fibroblast DNA activation is collagen's superpower and the key to how we increase our collagen production.
Collagen's bioactive amino acids and peptides support the connection points between muscles and bones, and between the skeleton. If you don't have strong attachment points, your muscular and trained body can literally fall apart/tear apart.
Summary: Collagen helps create strong connective tissue thanks to the unique amino acids and bioactive peptides.
Eating foods rich in protein along with collagen supplements is a good combination if you want to maintain a strong and healthy body.
