Collagen on

I'm only 28 yrs old and my cartilage is worn down on my hips due to arthritis , due to lyme or bart , what should I take to build collagen, anyone know of good supplements ? Also what do we take for nerve damage. I've never had this issue until last year or so. I dnt have diabetes or anything that would cause nerve damage either, bt if I sit on the toilet or sofa, drive my car etc., certain toes , my butt, thighs will suddenly get tingly numb and or pains and needles, and I was told by the doctor it was due to putting too much pressure on The nerves, which I dnt believe or feel nerve damage. What do ppl take to rebuild for nerve damage and support? I cant even sit on the toilet without doing numb ,just laying in bed for not even a few minutes, and my feet get pains and needles only in certain areas and it really freaks me out as it started just last year.

Yes Dude you're right, there's quite some controversy about it.

I've been digging into this for a while now.

The argument against collagen as a supplement is that the body can't absorb collagen in its whole form, hence they say its useless.

This is both true and not true. It's true in the sense that collagen needs to be broken down first. But it's not true in the sense that most of today's collagen products are hydrolyzed and therefore have no issue with the breakdown process.

Hydrolyzed collagen is a product in which the long chain amino acids are broken down into peptides that consist of just 2-3 amino acids combined as opposed to the entire amino chain at once (which is indeed impossible to absorb at once). The hydrolyzed collagen is (because of that) easily absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract.

It's mostly the glycine in collagen by the way that's helpful (and possibly proline). Glycine is also the one of few differences between protein powder and collagen powder.

You're welcome Dude, you've helped me countless times, so it's the least I could do.

Yes, I agree about being wary of "the one true way" thing.

I think everything works together, not just one thing. Thanks for pointing that out

Buhner recommends Great Lakes collagen powder in his book, and I have been taking it since before I knew I had Lyme, for about 5 years now. I take 2 tbsp daily in my coffee, and I post about this constantly, but I had tendinopathy in my foot for 2 years, saw 3 doctors, had an MRI, the tendon was thickened and scarred. I spent months and lots of money on physical therapy, had painful Graston done, had $300 custom orthotics made, and in the end it was a canister of collagen powder that healed my tendon in one month. So I still take it daily and will for the rest of my life, and I tell everyone about it. You can read all the articles about how it "doesn't work," but I know from personal experience and severe pain (I could not walk!) that it does.

Buhner recommends taking it with Vit C.

I did try a different brand at one point and it did not work at all for me, all my aches and pains came back within a month.