What Is Collagen All About?

Collagen supplements are everywhere—pills, powders, gummies—all promising younger-looking skin, stronger joints, better sleep, and more. On The Rest Is Science, Hannah Fry brings co-host Michael Stevens a beige pill and asks a straightforward question: what is actually going on with these things, and do they work? To answer it, she draws on the work of doctor and author Zan van Tuleken, whose book Make Me Well systematically separates fact from fiction in the wellness industry.

What collagen actually is

Collagen is a protein, and it is everywhere in the human body—about 30 percent of all protein in you is collagen. It gives skin its toughness and stretchiness, provides flexible strength in bones, and is found in tendons, joints, the tip of your nose, and the ends of your ears. When you pull the skin on your elbow and feel that resistance, that is collagen at work. As you age, your body's ability to make collagen degrades, which makes the idea of supplementing it intuitively appealing. People have been trying to ingest collagen for a very long time: according to van Tuleken's book, the 12th-century abbess and scholar Hildegard von Bingen wrote about using animal extracts to treat joint pain.