Re: Collagen and above-cited studies:
Mechanism, therefore application is faulty thinking. It has led to many of the worst and counterproductive recommendations in exercise and sport science.
Spelled out a bit more: there are always things that happen internally in response to a dose of something, whether a supplement, food, or exercise. Those immediately post-dose effects are often entirely meaningless and 100% completely erased by what happens in the body over the next 12-96 hrs. Evermore, they are completely erased when tracked longitudinally over the course of 6-8 weeks of use of a supplement or an approach.
Examples include:
- Ratios of carbs to protein post-workout being meaningful. Hogwash.
- Low inter-set rest in lifting boosting post-exercise testosterone & GH increase, and those hormone bumps being strongly augmentative of hypertrophy response and critical to and strongly predictive of muscle growth magnitude over time.
What are the specific claims that the podcast mentioned? I listened for a few minutes but it just was a long intro of “what is collagen.”
Here’s my current blurb I send to clients:
Collagen probably doesn’t have an ideal amino acid profile to support body composition as well as whey protein or even soy protein. Definitely not ideal for meal replacement or use during a workout. As far as it’s benefits for other purposes (hair, nails… etc.), my jury is still out. If you’re going to use it, just count it toward your protein macros for the nearest meal, and maybe only do half your protein from any given meal as collagen.