I've read that "liquid collagen" is more effective than powdered collagen. Is this true?

No, powdered collagen provides the exact same benefits as liquid collagen for the same quantity of collagen consumed, and it is not diluted by water, offering better value.

Although some brands say that liquid collagen is more effective than the powdered variety, there is no credible scientific research to support this argument, which is simply based on misrepresentations of (1) what protein is, (2) of the manufacturing process for hydrolyzed collagen, and (3) of powdered collagens.

(1) "Liquid collagen" is simply a marketing term—there is no such thing as liquid collagen. Collagen is a protein and is not defined by a liquid or solid state. Brands marketing "liquid collagen" are actually just selling collagen + water.

(2) Water is used in the manufacturing of all hydrolyzed collagens, during a process called hydrolysis. Hydrolysis involves soaking the collagen in a food grade water-based acidic formula and enzymes to break it down into peptides (chains of amino acids) that are easily absorbed from the digestive tract. The mix is then spray-dried into powder. Companies selling "liquid collagen" then simply have water, and often other ingredients, added to the powdered collagen.

However, water serves no purpose beyond the spray-drying step other than to make the powdered collagen practical to consume. Whether the collagen powder is combined with liquid in a production facility or in your home makes absolutely no difference to how bioavailable it is. The only difference is that you are being charged more for less collagen if you buy liquid formulas.

We would prefer to let you add your collagen to whatever liquid or food you please, and not charge you for water.

(3) Brands selling "liquid collagen" sometimes claim that powdered collagens contain filler ingredients. This is not the case for Landish marine collagen products, which are made with pure hydrolyzed marine collagen, are of the highest quality, and are made in Canada according to industry best practices.. Ironically, water is the filler used in so-called "liquid collagens".

Finally we'll add that (4) "liquid collagen" products are almost always made from bovine or chicken sources, which involve questionable global sourcing practices and are much less desirable than clean, Canadian-made marine collagen. Learn more here.

Comparison

We combed the web, and found that the average serving of liquid collagen contains ~2.5 g of hydrolyzed collagen (~112 g in total), whereas Landish's Pure Canadian Marine Collagen, Beauty Blend, and Coffee Creamer respectively contain 8.33 g, 5 g, and 4.5 g per serving (250 g, 150 g, and 135 g in total). When it comes to the benefits of hydrolyzed collagen, research shows that more is more impactful (up to 10 g per day).

Most liquid collagens are sold at a premium, thanks to the magic of marketing, but even when they appear slightly cheaper per serving, you're actually paying significantly more per gram of collagen and other active ingredients (because most of the product is water), making powdered collagen a better buy.

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