The experts may say that taking collagen — and using a collagen-based product — offers many perks, but is this popular supplement really something vegans should have stored in their medicine cabinet?
The answer is to be cautious. At its natural root, collagen is a type of protein. In fact, it is the most abundant protein found in living creatures (via Healthline.) Although there are 28 types of collagen, the most commonly found type is type I. Type I collagen is in the connective tissue, skin, tendons, bones, and cartilage of animals.
This means that, sadly, products containing natural collagen are more than likely produced from removing these proteins from the aforementioned animal by-products. All of this can potentially leave vegans between a rock and a hard place. After all, medical professionals tell us that collagen is essential to healthy diets since it constitutes an enormous part of our chemical makeup (via WebMD). Thankfully, there seem to be vegan collagen supplement alternatives that are available.
