Your gut health is a reflection of your overall health, and if you are looking for a collagen product to support your gut health you likely already know the importance of a healthy gut. Gut health not only affects your digestive functionality, but your gut plays a role in your immune response, mood, and even your ability to lose weight.
But simply taking any collagen product and crossing your fingers and hoping for the best is a waste of time and money. That’s where our review process comes in.
We tried these collagen products so you don’t have to. Using a series of rigorous standards we have found the best collagen for gut health, and the results may surprise you!
Editor's Choice: Xyngular Complete Collagen
Our top pick for the best collagen for gut health is Complete Collagen from Xyngular. This collagen not only has multiple sources and types of collagen, as well as vitamin C but it is specially formulated with digestive enzymes and fulvic acid, both crucial for optimal gut health. No other collagen we researched had these two ingredients, and clearly, Xyngular is focused on formulating collagen (and other products) to elevate your gut health. Complete Collagen is far and away the best collagen for gut health, especially compared to other collagen products on the market.
Our Review Process
In order to understand the importance of collagen for your gut health, let’s do a quick review of how a healthy gut works. If your gut is healthy, it has a good balance of a variety of “good” bacteria that help break down your food into small enough pieces to move from inside your intestines to your bloodstream, taking the nutrients from your food to the cells throughout your body.
Most of the digestive system has a lining, bacteria, and muscle to help your food move from your mouth all the way through the system, absorbing nutrients and eliminating waste. However, there are so many factors that can damage or disrupt this system.
Leaky gut is one such problem which is when your intestinal lining gets so weak it can’t prevent undigested food or waste from moving through your intestinal wall into the rest of your body, causing an immune response and inflammation in your body.
Digestion issues like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, or irregularity can also be a symptom of an unhealthy gut. Less obvious signs of an unhealthy gut could be a weakened immune response, mood swings, difficulty losing weight, or sleep issues.
Not all collagen is created equally, and while many products will claim to be the best collagen on the market, what makes a collagen product “the best”? Our team decided on 11 criteria for the best collagen for gut health: collagen amount, protein amount, gluten amount, vegan-friendly, multi-sourced, hydrolyzed collagen, vitamin C taste, price, and accessibility. But for gut health specifically, our team added two extra criteria- the inclusion of digestive-specific enzymes and fulvic acid. Digestive enzymes help break down proteins in the gut, repair digestive tissues, and reduce inflammation in the gut, while fulvic acid transports nutrients to your cells more effectively.
#1: Xyngular Complete Collagen: When They Say Complete, They Mean It!
Collagen Specifications
Collagen Amount: 10 g
Protein Amount: 9 g
Gluten-Free: Yes
Multi-Sourced: Yes
Multiple Types: Yes
Hydrolyzed Collagen: Yes
Vitamin C: Yes
Taste: 4.5/5
Price: $$$$ $2.17 per serving, $65 for 30 servings
Accessibility: Have to order via distributor or website.
Digestive Enzymes: Yes
Fulvic Acid: Yes
Collagen Per Serving
10 g
Reasons To Buy
It has digestive enzymes, fulvic acid hydraulic acid, vitamin C, and multiple sources and types of collagen.
Reasons To Avoid
You can’t grab this collagen at Costco like you can with other collagen products. You have to either buy from a distributor or create an account and buy through the website. That being said, it’s actually kind of nice to have a distributor because they have direct expertise and can sometimes offer discounts.
Complete Collagen from Xyngular is actually complete for gut health. Complete Collagen has it all—multiple sources of collagen, it’s hydrolyzed and it has vitamin C (28% of your daily value, in fact), and a good flavor. But it has two key components for healthy gut function: digestive enzymes and fulvic acid. Digestive enzymes help break down protein in your gut, and without the boost of digestive enzymes your gut health might decline because it can’t process the extra protein from your collagen product. Fulvic acid helps the good bacteria in your gut flourish, as well as helps to move nutrients to your cells more efficiently. Without these two ingredients, your collagen isn’t the best option for gut health.
Complete Collagen is only available through Xyngular’s site or a distributor, but because it has fulvic acid and digestive enzymes, it is absolutely worth the extra steps to get your hands on this product if you want the best collagen for gut health.
#2: Skinnyfit Superyouth Multi Collagen Peptides: High-Quality Ingredients For Gut Health
Collagen Specifications
Protein Amount: 14 g
Gluten-Free: Yes
Vegan-Friendly: No
Multi-Sourced: Yes
Multiple Types: Yes
Hydrolyzed Collagen: Yes
Vitamin C: Yes
Taste: 4.5/5
Price: $$$$$ $3.35/Serving, $94 for 28 servings
Accessibility: Available on Amazon
Digestive Enzymes: No
Fulvic Acid: No
Collagen Per Serving
15.6 g
Reasons To Buy
Has multiple types of collagen from multiple sources, and it has vitamin C and apple cider vinegar. There are multiple flavors, tropical punch, peach mango, chocolate, and orange pineapple.
Reasons To Avoid
A high price point per serving, the chocolate flavor is not good.
Skinnyfit Superyouth Multi Collagen Peptides hits almost all of our criteria for the best collagen for gut health- multi-sourced collagen, multiple types of collagen, vitamin C, and hydrolyzed. By adding apple cider vinegar, they have added a helpful ingredient to digestive health. Skinnyfit Collagen has several flavors to choose from, including tropical punch, peach mango, chocolate, and orange pineapple, you’ll never get bored of taking collagen. That being said, we don’t love the chocolate flavor- stick with orange pineapple or unflavored. This supplement dissolves fairly well in water, making it easy to consume in most beverages.
While Skinnyfit Superyout Multi Collagen checks all our boxes, we really struggle with the price point. While we are big believers in “you get what you pay for”, the cost of this supplement is a little baffling. If you want the same basic features but for $30-40 less, opt for Xyngular’s Complete Collagen.
#3: Vital Proteins Original Collagen Peptides - A Solid Choice For A Collagen Supplement
Collagen Specifications
Protein Amount: 18 g
Gluten-Free: Yes
Vegan-Friendly: No
Multi-Sourced: No
Multiple Types: Yes
Hydrolyzed Collagen: Yes
Vitamin C: Yes
Taste: 3.75/5
Price: $$$ $1.30 per serving, $42 for 28 servings
Accessibility: Available on Amazon
Digestive Enzymes: No
Fulvic Acid: No
Collagen Per Serving
20 g
Reasons To Buy
Almost no taste or texture once it’s mixed into your beverage, easy to measure the correct amount of product, and lots of other collagen products from Vital Protein you can choose from.
Reasons To Avoid
The unflavored collagen is okay, but the other flavors don’t taste great, especially the chocolate version. Also, the product sizes haven’t been consistent- canisters and scoops are getting smaller with no change in price or explanation. Some people struggle to digest this collagen product.
Vital Proteins Original Collagen Peptides is a great runner-up to Xyngular’s Complete Collagen. It’s a little less expensive and easier to get (available on Amazon). We love that it has vitamin C and that it is hydrolyzed. Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides also come in a variety of flavors, including chocolate, lemon, and vanilla.
While it might seem like a better product because it has higher collagen and protein amounts, it can be challenging to digest that much protein for those who aren’t active or actively trying to build muscle. It is especially hard to digest if you don’t take a digestive enzyme with it.
That all being said, Vital Proteins is a great product that has plenty of great reviews on Amazon, making it our third choice for the best collagen for gut health.
#4: Bulletproof Gut Health Collagen Protein: A Solid Choice Without Vitamin C
Collagen Specifications
Protein Amount: 18 g
Gluten-Free: Yes
Vegan-Friendly: No
Multi-Sourced: No
Multiple Types: Yes
Hydrolyzed Collagen: Yes
Vitamin C: No
Taste: 4/5
Price: $$$ $1.83 per serving, $22 for 12 servings
Accessibility: Available on Amazon
Digestive Enzymes: No
Fulvic Acid: No
Collagen Per Serving
20 g
Reasons To Buy
Relatively decent price, dissolves well and is fairly tasteless, and has tons of protein and collagen.
Reasons To Avoid
Only one source of collagen and it doesn’t have vitamin C, digestive enzymes or fulvic acid.
Bulletproof Gut Health Collagen Protein is a solid third choice in our review. The price is reasonable, the reviews on Amazon are pretty good, and the taste and dissolveability are decent. However, you get what you pay for, and as our first two collagen products had vitamin C included in the product, this one does not.
Vitamin C is crucial for collagen synthesis, and if you aren’t taking a vitamin C supplement with your Bulletproof Collagen, you likely won’t receive the product’s full benefits. That being said, if you are willing to remember to take a separate vitamin C supplement you should be fine to try this product.
Overall, Bulletproof Gut Health Collagen is good collagen for the price, but missing some of our primary criteria for a good collagen supplement: Vitamin C, digestive enzymes, and fulvic acid.
#5: Live Conscious Collagen Peptides: One Source Of Collagen And No Vitamin C
Collagen Specifications
Protein Amount: 10 g
Gluten-Free: Yes
Vegan-Friendly: No
Multi-Sourced: No (Bovine Collagen Only)
Multiple Types: Yes
Hydrolyzed Collagen: Yes
Vitamin C: No
Taste: 3/5
Price: $$ $0.85 per serving, $35 for 41 servings
Accessibility: Available on Amazon
Digestive Enzymes: No
Fulvic Acid: No
Collagen Per Serving
11 g
Reasons To Buy
Mixes well into liquid, especially in warmer temperatures, a reasonable price for the product, and the scoop is easy to use and measure.
Reasons To Avoid
Doesn’t have vitamin C, multiple sources and types of collagen, digestive enzymes or fulvic acid. The bag that it comes in is harder to manage than a canister or can like other collagen products.
Live Conscious Collagen Peptides are a decent choice for your collagen supplement. However, it’s missing some of our primary criteria for a great collagen product, namely no vitamin C, only one source of collagen (Bovine), and no digestive enzymes or fulvic acid.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this product, it mixes well, you can’t taste it too much, and it dissolves okay. But if you are going to go to the trouble of taking a collagen supplement why not make sure it has all the important features to make it the most effective it can be?
Also, the packaging left us unimpressed. If you’ve ever tried collagen before, you know it can be somewhat clingy and difficult to remove if it gets wet. So a bag with floppy sides and an opening you have to hold open with one hand while you scoop with the other isn’t effective and is an unnecessary problem.
How Collagen Helps Heal The Gut
Think of collagen as the glue that holds your body together. It is the fundamental building block of your hair, skin, nails, joints, bones, and other connective tissues. As the most abundant protein in the body, it is crucial for most systems to function properly, from your digestive system to your skeleton.
Your body slows the production of collagen around 25, which is why sagging skin and weak joints become a problem as you age. That’s why supplementing your body with collagen can help you feel better even as you get older- you’re giving your body a boost in collagen to keep literally supporting itself.
As we age, collagen becomes not just a building block but a tool for repairing our bodies. Nowhere is this more true than in the gut. Collagen helps improve and cleanse your gut health by repairing the intestinal lining to prevent or soothe leaky gut and IBS, aids in digestion and nutrient absorption, and helps regulate stomach acid to prevent heartburn and ulcers. Collagen heals your gut, and when you add this supplement to your diet you are not only reducing your likelihood of unpleasant gut problems, you are increasing the results of a healthy gut like a happier mood and weight loss.
Best Way To Add Collagen To Your Diet
So how can you make sure your body is getting the full benefit of the collagen you take? There are a few factors to consider:
As far as the best time of day to take collagen, it depends on how you will best remember to take it. The time of day doesn’t affect the effectiveness of collagen, but consistency absolutely does. Add collagen to your existing routine to ensure you are consistent with your intake.
The amount of collagen you need depends on your weight and your activity level. Generally speaking, between 2.5 g and 15 grams is a safe place to start. If you are active and trying to build muscle, you can shoot for a higher amount, but if you are fairly sedentary you might not need more than 2.5-5g a day.
Collagen is an incomplete protein, meaning it has 8 of the 9 amino acids required to be a complete protein, so it shouldn’t be your only source of protein in your diet. Additionally, vitamin C is critical for collagen synthesis, so if your collagen supplement doesn’t have vitamin C in it, make sure you are either taking a vitamin C supplement or eating a diet very high in vitamin C.
Make Gut Health Your Priority
Gut health impacts all of your body’s systems and functionality and while the road to better gut health can be a long one, including collagen in your routine will help you feel better faster. That’s why choosing the highest quality collagen product matters- if you are going to spend the time and effort to improve your gut health, let it be with the best ingredients and formula.
Make sure your collagen product has multiple sources and types of collagen, vitamin C, hydrolyzed peptides, and most important digestive enzymes and fulvic acid, then take it consistently to get results. The only collagen product we have found that supports your gut with digestive enzymes and fulvic acid is Complete Collagen from Xyngular, and for that reason, it blows all the other competitors out of the water. If you want to repair your gut, improve joint health, and stabilize your mood, Complete Collagen is the best collagen for gut health.
Editor’s Choice:
Many dietitians, physicians, and researchers call your gut your second brain. That’s because your gut is fundamentally linked to your hormones, nutrition, mental health, and more. If your gut isn’t healthy, you aren’t healthy. It’s never been easier to make sure your gut has all the help it needs by adding collagen to your routine. But not just any collagen is best for gut health, Xyngular’s Complete Collagen blew all the other competitors out of the water by adding digestive enzymes and fulvic acid. Both of these ingredients improve gut health, but no other collagen had them on their ingredient list. Improve your second brain to lose weight, feel happier, and balance your hormones with Complete Collagen from Xyngular, trust us, you’ll love it!
