Want A Side Of Collagen With That?
Women's Health Australia|October 2018

Ingestible collagen is being hailed as a hero for everything from your tum to your training. But, how legit is it? WH sorts the reality from the hype

Alex Davies
Want A Side Of Collagen With That?
I throw my usuals in the blender: banana, zucchini, spinach, almond milk, nut butter. Then I grab a small sachet of collagen – the latest addition to my pantry – and sprinkle in the powdered contents. Yep, I’m spiking my smoothie with the same stuff that’s been a standard injectable filler in the cosmetic world for decades.

Once reserved for beauty-circle chat, collagen is fast becoming a wellness staple for devotees crediting it for a soothed gut and bolstered workouts as well as glowing skin. Don’t fancy it as a powder in your blend? Then munch on a collagen bar, brew a collagen coffee or even sip on a bottle of water packed with the stuff. But between the marketing speak, new science and the fact not all experts are drinking the collagen-infused Kool-Aid, a big question remains: is the hype worth buying into?

WHERE IT STARTED

Anna Lahey clocked the trend six years ago on a holiday in Japan. “Women there have been using marine collagen for over 300 years,” says the Sydney-based entrepreneur. “It’s part of their daily diet: people go to a restaurant and actually have their meal infused with collagen; they go to their supermarket or the equivalent of 7-Eleven and collagen’s available; they go to the gym and there are collagen drinks on offer. We just didn’t have anything like that in Australia back then.”

Curious, she brought some powder home from her trip and saw “amazing” results over a year of using it herself – stronger nails, better skin and a reduction in the hair loss she’d struggled with since her teens. After waxing lyrical about this new wonder product to friends and family, Lahey co-launched a marine collagen range – Vida Glow – into the Australian market in 2014. (The brand now ships worldwide and claims to have an 80 per cent repeat customer rate.)

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM WOMEN'S HEALTH AUSTRALIAView all
Women's Health Australia

Clean Up Your Digital Act

The realistic way to make over your relationship with tech

time-read
3 mins  |
June 2020
Women's Health Australia

9 Biggest Lies In Wellness

Whether activating your glutes or your almonds, the struggle to decipher #fitspo fact from fiction is real. Between social media influencers, Reddit zealots and that pushy guy at the supplement store, some seriously ridiculous – and potentially dangerous – ideas have moved from fringe theory to health gospel. It doesn’t help that the booming wellness industry, worth an estimated $4.5 trillion, is difficult to regulate. So to help you navigate these heavily filtered waters, here are the new health virtues that shouldn’t be – and a few simple tactics you can use to actually improve your life.

time-read
5 mins  |
June 2020
Women's Health Australia

Kate The Fighter

Actress Kate Beckinsale is stronger than ever thanks to a no B.S diet, near-daily workouts and a refreshingly optimistic outlook. (oh, and she’ll date whoever she wants, thank you very much)

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2020
Women's Health Australia

Welcome to the land of Oat Milk & Manuka Honey

Nestled in the rural outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, lies the town of Serenbe: a revolutionary wellness utopia designed to keep its residents fit, thriving and happy – for life. Could it hold the cure for the maladies of urban living? Or should its promises be taken with a healthy pinch of Himalayan salt? Before the world went into lockdown, one zen-seeking writer made the journey to find out

time-read
9 mins  |
June 2020
Women's Health Australia

Ride Big

Laura Enever walked away from her pro surfing career to conquer the big waves as a freesurfer. Here, she reveals why she followed her heart

time-read
3 mins  |
June 2020
Women's Health Australia

OUR KINDA GIRL... Elle Ferguson

Take a scroll through Elle Ferguson’s Instagram and you’d be forgiven for thinking the mogul had it easy: an impressive following, a successful tanning product range, and better locks than a haircare commercial. What you won’t find on there are the sleepless nights, countless rejections and the time she spent relabelling bottles on her living room floor. Here, the 32-year-old talks backing yourself and the secret behind her beauty brand, Elle Effect.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2020
Women's Health Australia

If it's not a Hell Yeah, it's a NO!

Sure thing! No probs! Of course! Happy to help! The word ‘yes’ easily rolls off the tongue in a million agreeable ways. But what if we told you that, contrary to everything the world has taught you so far, saying yes isn’t actually the key to winning at life? In fact, it might just be holding you back.

time-read
8 mins  |
June 2020
Women's Health Australia

How to Live to...120

Jennifer Aniston, J.Lo and Jane Fonda have nailed the art of defying time, but us mere mortals don’t have their kind of dough (or specialists). Instead, take a lesson in longevity from the “blue zones”, hot spots that are home to the planet’s longest-living populations.

time-read
7 mins  |
June 2020
The AI Revolution Is Coming: Here's How To Future -Proof Your Career
Women's Health Australia

The AI Revolution Is Coming: Here's How To Future -Proof Your Career

Robots are coming for your job. Not only yours, but another 20 million jobs around the world over the next 10 years. That’s how media outlets reported on the results of a 2019 paper released by global forecaster Oxford Economics. If you think that sounds rather dystopian, wait until your anxiety-fuelled googling brings up news headlines claiming it’s actually 800 million jobs – not a meagre 20 mill – that will be eliminated by robots by the time 2030 hits.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2020
Where Have All The Drinkers Gone?
Women's Health Australia

Where Have All The Drinkers Gone?

Teetotalism has become a badge of honour, the alcohol-free market is booming and mindfulness has ousted getting messy. But while millennials are showing up for sober club nights, the next generation has opted out of drinking culture entirely. WH finds out why...

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2020