Collagen is everywhere. So what is your supplement really made of?

It seems like collagen supplements are everywhere. People are putting it in their coffee, their smoothies and just about anything else it will dissolve into. But have you ever considered where your collagen comes from? 

• Is it bovine or marine? 
• Is it natural or denatured?  
• Is it small batch or mass produced? 
• Is it from a trusted single origin source?  

Collagen from beef

Bovine collagen comes from beef and is the most common source of collagen in supplements.  After harvesting the cattle for their meat, the cow hides (skins) are removed and then treated to extract their collagen protein.  

Did you know much of the bovine collagen currently sold comes from large multi-national companies that source cattle hides from all over the world? These companies are unable to share the exact source of the cattle because they are often drawn from multiple countries.

There is also uncertainty about the type of feed the animals were raised on – was it grass-fed or from a feed lot? In most cases the producers of bovine collagen are unable to guarantee that their beef is free of artificial growth hormones or excessive antibiotics. None of these unnatural farming inputs are welcome news for humans who consume bovine collagen products. 

  Intensive beef farming requires unnatural inputs

Marine collagen

Marine collagen supplements are typically produced from fish skin and scales.  Some marine collagen supplements are made from wild fish while others are made from farmed fish.  Wild fish live on natural diets.  Farmed fish are typically raised on an unnatural diet of dried pellets made from plant and animal trimmings, live in confined spaces and are given antibiotics to fight disease. 

Fish fail to thrive in cramped conditions

Wild fish is best 

The nutritional value in wild-caught fish is much higher than that of the farm-raised fish. The diverse and natural diet of wild fish creates a varied blend of nutrients by the time the fish is harvested. This makes wild fish the best source for natural and powerful collagen. 

line caught fish from deep ocean waters provide an optimal collagen source

Rare by Nature – single origin wild fish 

Rare by Nature’s marine collagen is sourced from sustainable populations of wild arctic codfish (Gadus morhua) that are caught in the pristine glacial fed waters of the Norwegian Sea.  You can see the area on a map by entering the DMS coordinates into your internet browser 068° 56' 53” N 001° 34' 32” W.  Our focus on traceability is such that we can identify the fishing boat that caught the codfish used to make each batch of our collagen.

Norwegian Sea

Rare by Nature collagen production 

Only the skin of the fish is used to produce Rare by Nature's collagen.  We do not use the scales.  Our small batch production methods preserve the integrity of the collagen. Each capsule contains 100% New Zealand wild sourced marine collagen, with nothing added or taken away.