Hydrolyzed collagen vs. non-hydrolyzed collagen
To put it simply, the difference between hydrolyzed collagen and non-hydrolyzed collagen is the molecule size.
When collagen is in the natural form, each molecule is around 30,000 daltons. Daltons are a unit of mass used to express the size of atoms and molecules, and you’ll see them used in biochemistry quite often.
The dalton size is essential for collagen supplements because when you consume collagen, each molecule has to be small enough to be absorbed through your stomach pores.
Human stomach pores can only fit molecules that are 4,000 daltons or less.
So, if collagen in the original molecule size is consumed, it is hardly bioavailable. Sure, you may be able to break it down a little to absorb some of the collagen, but you will end up passing most of it through your system before it can be fully absorbed.
That’s where the process of hydrolysis comes into play. Hydrolyzed collagen (also known as collagen peptide protein) is still collagen, but hydrolysis has broken down the molecules into a smaller dalton size.
Most standard hydrolyzed collagen is broken down to be 10,000 daltons. As we know from our stomach pore size, that’s still too big. So, to fully absorb collagen, your body needs to break it down even more to be fully digestible.
If there isn’t that much of a difference in dalton size, are there really that many hydrolyzed collagen benefits versus non-hydrolyzed collagen ones?
Understanding the hydrolysis of collagen
The definition of hydrolysis is: “A chemical process of decomposition involving the splitting of a bond and the addition of the hydrogen cation and the hydroxide anion of water.”
As mentioned, to get collagen peptide proteins or hydrolyzed collagen, the collagen molecules must go through hydrolysis. The word peptides describes a compound consisting of two or more amino acids linked, in this case, collagen, a protein made up of amino acids.
So, when collagen has been through hydrolysis, it means that the collagen molecule has been separated into two highly digestible amino acids.
Are there more hydrolyzed collagen benefits vs. non-hydrolyzed collagen benefits? Learn more about hydrolyzed collagen and how it can level up your next workout.
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