Be Smart

In the beauty realm, collagen, a protein that acts as the support structure for the skin, seems to have maintained its standing as the most valuable resource of the body. If you don't have enough of it, you can get it injected or use methods for tricking your body into producing more.

Now, you can also drink it. Toki, a Japanese product, is a supplement, that claims to replenish the collagen in your skin. Now, how does collagen that you drink make its way through your digestive system to replenish collagen in your skin? I thought this would be a good question for our friends over at The Beauty Brains website (real scientists who answer questions about beauty products). The reply I got back says there's no evidence that drinking collagen has any effect on the skin, since digesting the protein breaks it down into its constituent amino acids, just like when you eat any protein.

Here's what the Toki website has to say about how their product works: "Toki contains Active Collagen, Calcium, and Hyaluronic & Dermatanic acids. These nutrients have been combined with 47 amino acids from Hijiki seaweed to promote absorption. Unlike topical creams, Toki supports internally. "