Collagen heavy metal content
In another thread, some people were discussing the heavy metal content of collagen peptide supplements. I asked Keith McCormick about his own OsteoNaturals supplement. He sent me the Gelita lab report. I'll summarize the key tiems. For each metal, I'll list the desired specification, and the actual result.
Cadmium: < = 0.10 ppm, < 0.10 ppm
Mercury: < = 0.02 ppm, < 0.02
Arsenic: < = 0.7 ppm, < 0.7 ppm
Lead: < = 0.50 ppm, < 0.01 ppm
So, it is not free of heavy metals, but it doesn't have a lot. What I don't know is what levels are acceptable. Most of the brands contain metals. Vital Proteins was sued a few years ago; they are owned by Nestle, a notorious company for ignoring consumer health. Of course it's a little suspicious that the OsteoNaturals lab test was performed by Gelita itself - the maker of Fortibone.
I am now thinking that the benefit of using collagen peptides, which is small to begin with, is not worth it. I need to do some more research.
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@jozer According to Harvard Health, a review and analysis of 19 studies, published in the International Journal of Dermatology, that had a total of 1,125 participants. Those who used collagen supplements saw an improvement in the firmness, suppleness, and moisture content of the skin, with wrinkles appearing less noticeable. That sounds promising, but it's unclear if these skin improvements were actually due to collagen. Most of the trials used commercially available supplements that contained more than collagen: vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, coenzyme Q10, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin sulfate were among the additional ingredients.
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1 Reaction@tombenson I just went to their website but when I clicked on the links within the website noting worked. Shouldn't the website be up and running now?
@rjd Just to update, I decided to continue taking it. My conclusion was that the heavy metal content was low enough to not be a concern. Sometimes I mix it into a smoothie, but my go-to drink is fat-free milk + 1 tbsp collagen + 1 tbsp Ovaltine. It's a calcium / collagen / vitamin drink all in one.
My wife does take collagen, and she has mentioned something about skin and nails, so I guess it is helping her.
@njx58 thanx for info. There was a sense that maybe you were going to stop collagen and if you did, I was interested in your rationale.
@meri8181
You can get Algecal without strontium I believe in the bone density product. What did you take instead?
I have been taking NativePath brand Fortibone.
I don’t want all the added vitamins in the AlgaeCal products.
I’d rather have control of my own dosages.
@meri8181 FYI the AlgaeCal collagen product does not have any "added vitamins". It has 3 other types of collagen that effect other parts of the body like hair, skin, joints etc... AlgaeCal does make a calcium product that has some other minerals in it but this is NOT the collagen.
@michieg
I have started Algae Cal plus three months ago. I have had a spontaneous compression fracture in January and I have 50% chance of other fractures. I also started to take the collagen from the same company, But I have not been taking the strontium as I know for fact, that it alters the number on DEXA scan. Unfortunately I cant take the medications as I have severe reaction with all of them. I am hoping in a miracle.
Anyway, I agree completely with what you say about Algae Cal.
Algecal for bone density has Fortibone plus two other products. No calcium no strontium but amino acids. Anyone review the contents of the amino acids and or consider vitamin C and Boron supplements?
Please advise
I have T-score left hip -2.6 August 2026. No HRT, started Onero/Liftmor with trainer 8 months ago, calcium/D3 (just adding K2. Seriously considering Fortibone but do any brands have independent lab verifications, such as NSF International, USP (United States Pharmacopeia), or current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) compliance?