The Collagen Glow - Founder's Cook Book

Our purist flavors (matcha / coffee / lucuma) contain collagen and their ingredient main flavor ingredient listed, with no other sugars, flavors or ingredients. Our mylk flavors, vanilla bean, rose contain <5g sugar per serving. Please see our ingredients HERE

See our comparison chart side by side HERE.

Both bovine (cow-derived) and marine (fish-derived) collagen have excellent benefits, but they differ in source, absorption, and targeted effects—which is why marine collagen is often more expensive. Here’s a breakdown:

Bovine collagen comes from cows, often sourced from their skin, bones, or cartilage. It primarily contains Type I and Type III collagen, which are excellent for supporting skin, bones, and joints. On the other hand, marine collagen is derived from fish scales or skin and mainly contains Type I collagen, the most abundant type in the body, responsible for skin health and anti-aging benefits. Since Type I collagen is the most bioavailable and crucial for skin structure, marine collagen is often seen as superior for beauty benefits.

Marine collagen has a smaller molecular size (4,000 Daltons in Crushed Tonic's marine collagen compared to 5,000 Daltons for bovine). Smaller peptides allow for faster and better absorption, making marine collagen particularly effective for skin health and anti-aging. While bovine collagen is still highly effective, it absorbs slightly slower due to its larger peptide size. (FYI - other bovine collagens are 9,000 Daltons!)

Marine collagen is better suited for improving skin hydration, elasticity, and reducing wrinkles. It’s also popular for beauty-focused results, including strengthening hair and nails, and it supports bone density and joint health as well. Bovine collagen, by contrast, excels in promoting joint health, gut support, and general body repair. Since it combines Type I and Type III collagen, it’s particularly beneficial for tissues, muscles, and bones.

Marine collagen tends to be more expensive because fish-derived collagen production is costlier. Additionally, it’s generally considered purer and less likely to cause inflammation or allergies compared to bovine collagen. Its superior absorption and beauty benefits also increase demand, contributing to the higher price.

Crushed Tonic’s marine collagen is tested for zero heavy metals and is both kosher and halal certified, making it suitable for a broader range of consumers. Similarly, Crushed Tonic’s bovine collagen is also kosher and halal certified and free from growth hormones, antibiotics, BSE, and TSE, ensuring a clean and safe product.

If your main focus is enhancing skin, hair, and nails, marine collagen may be worth the extra investment due to its superior absorption and high Type I collagen concentration. However, if you’re seeking more cost-effective and overall health benefits, such as joint and gut support, bovine collagen is an excellent choice. Ultimately, both are amazing quality sources of protein peptides and you can't go wrong with either!

Unflavored pouches contain 150g.

Every flavored pouch has 150g of collagen, and additional flavoring.

Matcha, Lucuma and Coffee contain about 185g NT WT.

Rest vary from 200-300g, depending on flavoring requirements. The more does not mean better, it just means we formulated for a different flavor profile (bolder, lighter etc) required for that specific flavor!

We recommend around 5-10g to 20g daily. For best effects on hair and skin, please make sure to consume daily as our bodies cannot store extra amino acids overnight!

For unflavored, mix 3 tsp (10g) into 1 tbsp of water.

For matcha / coffee, mix 1 tbsp (15g) into 2 tbsp of water.

For other flavors, mix 1-2 tbsp of powder into 2 tbsp of water. *Flavor profile will vary depending on amounts of water used. For best flavor, we recommend 2 tbsp of powder to 2 tbsp of water.

Whisk aggressively in a bowl, or shake in a reusable bottle for best texture.

You can test for quality of collagen by adding it to a cup of water; it should dissolve perfectly as shown here.

1. It is the most effective. Our tilapia fish skin collagen is the most bioavailable (AKA smallest in size and therefore best absorbed by our body). Tilapia skin also has the highest concentrations of protein and amino acids in their scales. Our bovine collagen also boasts of 5,000 dalton size, compared to 9,000 of other bovine collagen!

2. It tastes best! Other collagen types are known for a stronger, gamier taste, while both of our collagen is essentially flavorless.

3. Our collagen is sourced ethically and sustainably; because tilapia is so abundantly over-farmed (and the skin is so often discarded), sourcing collagen from tilapia is the most environmentally friendly.

Taking collagen supplements can be helpful during pregnancy and postpartum. Pregnant or breastfeeding women can experience brittle hair and even hair loss, so collagen can help restore hair back to health.

As the baby grows, more and more pressure is put on your joints.

Collagen peptides promote joint health by helping to repair joint matrix degeneration and improve long-term joint comfort and mobility, as well as helping to restore bone mineral density and support healthy bone metabolism.
There’s a LOT of stress put on our joints as we carry the weight of growing baby.

During breastfeeding

The postpartum benefits of taking collagen can help with skin elasticity by helping to tighten back loosened skin on the stomach, and preventing stretch marks and hairloss.

During breastfeeding, women are at risk of bone resorption; therefore, a daily collagen supplement may in turn reduce a woman's risk of osteoporosis later in life.

Yes!

Collagen isn't just for women— as it is with all protein, both men and women can benefit from collagen!

Our male customers’ love Crushed Tonic for its postivie impact on hair growth and hair loss prevention (especially thickening beard growth) and athletic performance by building muscles and bones.

Study 1
Method: By measuring the time and quality of skin's ability to return to the original state after stretching and pulling it using a cutometer (a skin elasticity meter).

At week 12, results showed that regular intake led to:

18% increase in skin firmness

27.2% decrease in skin elasticity

22.8% increase in skin hydration

Study 2

Method: By measuring the shadows cast by one's wrinkles. At week 12, results showed that regular intake led to an average of -9.73% in length of respondents' wrinkles' shadows.

Study 3

Method: By studying perioral and Crow’s feet wrinkles on 95 healthy 55-60 year old females.

At week 12, results showed that regular intake led to:

improved skin elasticity

reduced facial wrinkle appearance

improved skin complexion homogeneity and radiance

decrease of the mean score of facial wrinkles

This study was conducted by CPCAD / Hospital of Nice (France) and biomechanical measurements of volunteers were controlled by certified dermatologists. It was performed according to French regulatory competent authority (ANSM) and approved by the local Ethical Committee (CPP).Study 4Method: By measuring the degree of deformation and the time required for the skin to return to its original state.

At week 12, results showed that regular intake led to:

improved skin elasticity

decreased links

improved skin complexion homogeneity and radiance

The Cutometer® DUAL probe (Courage and Kazhaka, Köln, Germany) using a suction method measured a deformation perpendicular to the skin surface. A negative pressure of 450 mbars was applied to the skin through the probe for 2 seconds, followed by a relaxation period of 2 seconds. This cycle was performed 5 times.

The benefits of collagen and keratin may take up to 7 days for skin and 14 days for hair.