Collegen Proteins - Do you absorb them well or not?

Hi, I am doing lots of research on these different collegen protein options. the prostat 64 was tolerable if i put it in some cranberry juice and water. so it seems like a viable option for me. but will it get me to where i need to be protein wise? I don't want to waste my time suffering through the taste and of course the money to find out i am protein deficient. thanks.

The protein thing can be very confusing - sometimes you feel like you have to be a chemist to understand it all. We have posted on this topic quite a few times, so if you feel like looking through the archives, you can find even more information. Here's the deal.  Proteins are made up of amino acids.  It's the combination of amino acids that identify what type of protein that you have - this means that whey protein has a different amino acid profile than collagen. Your body requires a specific set of amino acids from your food to do the work it needs to do - build and repair tissue, build blood cells, etc.  This specific set of amino acids may be called "essential" and you must get them from your diet.  If one of these amino acids is missing, then it can shut the whole factory down. (It's like building a house & running out of nails - it stops the show!) Now dietitians will preach and preach about whey protein being the best choice for a protein supplement.  Milk has two major  proteins - whey and casein.  Whey is from milk - but it doesn't have the lactose in it (so don't worry about intolerance).  Whey protein is complete in the amino acids that your body needs, it is well tolerated by most people, and is well digested. But you asked about collagen.  Collagen protein is from animal origin also.  It is relatively well absorbed and tolerated (some types smell awful - sorry!) - the deal is that collagen is missing some of the amino acids that your body needs.  This is especially a problem in the beginning phases post-op when a person is using protein supplements as their only food source.  If collagen is the only source of protein, there will be problems with amino acid deficiency and therefore the body will shut down processes that it may well have completed if it was given complete amino acids.  Now a word on the body, it is a great recycler - it hangs on to everything that it can use again.  The body stores extra amino acids in the muscle and other tissue - and if it isn't getting enough of what it needs, it can steal from these reserves.  Over time, this stealing from the storehouse results in a clinical protein deficiency. For a person who is post-op, consumes other protein foods, and used collagen protein to supplement the diet, the lack of amino acids isn't as big of an issue because the limited amino acids can show up in the protein foods they are eating. So if I was counseling you pre-op, I would suggest you find a whey protein that you like for the immediate post-op period.  When you get to 6-8 weeks out and your diet advances to include meat, see how you tolerate your protein foods.  Continue whey if you are not able to eat your protein.  When you get to the point that you can eat protein and you need a little protein boost, then use your stores of collagen. Good luck & happy holidays!