Collagen for Joints
If you are looking at collagen for joints, here is a straight answer on what collagen is and what a food company in Australia is allowed to tell you about it.
Collagen for joints: what collagen is
Collagen is the main structural protein in animal connective tissue, including skin, tendons and cartilage. Collagen powders are made from animal hides, bones or fish skin, broken down into peptides so they dissolve. Ours is bovine.
Why we make no collagen claim
In Australia, collagen sold as a food has no pre-approved health claim. A company can only make one if it has its own systematic review notified to Food Standards Australia New Zealand. We have not done that, so we do not claim anything for collagen itself. Be wary of collagen products that do without saying where the claim comes from.
The claim that does exist: vitamin C
There is an approved claim linking a nutrient to collagen and cartilage, and it belongs to vitamin C. Complete Joint Care contains 40 mg of vitamin C per serve, enough to carry it:
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal structure of cartilage and bones.
Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
Each 5 g serve of Complete Joint Care provides 40 mg of vitamin C (100% of the recommended dietary intake) and about 5 mg of zinc (about 40% of the recommended dietary intake). Enjoy as part of a healthy diet that includes a variety of foods.
Which product to choose
- Complete Joint Care: collagen plus glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, turmeric, vitamin C and zinc. 5 g serve.
- Hydrolysed Collagen Peptides: collagen only, unflavoured, 9 g protein per 10 g serve.