Does Collagen Protein Count Towards Your Daily Protein Intake?
Learn whether collagen protein counts toward your daily protein intake, how it compares to whey and milk protein, and when collagen supplements actually make sense.
Does Collagen Protein Count Toward Your Daily Protein Intake?
Whether your goal is building muscle, losing fat, or supporting overall health, meeting your daily protein intake is essential. While it’s possible to reach your protein target through whole foods alone, protein supplements can make the process more convenient, affordable, and consistent.
Collagen protein supplements have surged in popularity, often marketed as an easy way to increase daily protein intake. However, collagen is not a complete protein, which raises an important question: does collagen protein actually count toward your daily protein goal?
This article explains what collagen protein is, how it compares to other protein sources, and whether it should be included when calculating your daily protein intake.
What Is Collagen Protein?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, accounting for roughly one third of total body protein. Its primary function is structural support, helping maintain the integrity, elasticity, and strength of connective tissues such as skin, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bones, and blood vessels.
Collagen is composed mainly of three amino acids: glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. These amino acids are considered nonessential because the body can synthesize them on its own under normal conditions. However, during periods of illness, injury, or high physical stress, endogenous production may not fully meet demand.
There are multiple types of collagen found throughout the body. Type I is the most abundant and is present in skin, bones, teeth, tendons, ligaments, and organs. Type II is primarily found in cartilage, while types III, IV, and V are found in skin, muscles, blood vessels, and supporting tissues.
Collagen used in supplements is typically sourced from animal connective tissues such as bovine, porcine, fish, poultry, or other animal skins and bones. Some collagen products are also produced using genetically modified yeast or bacteria to create vegan or vegetarian alternatives.
Most collagen supplements contain hydrolyzed collagen, also known as collagen peptides. Hydrolysis breaks collagen into smaller peptide fragments, improving solubility and digestion. Some products contain native collagen, which has not undergone hydrolysis and remains closer to its natural structural form.
Is Collagen a High Quality Protein?
Despite being highly digestible, collagen is considered a very low quality protein from a nutritional standpoint.
Protein quality is measured using the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score, or PDCAAS. This system evaluates how well a protein meets essential amino acid requirements and how efficiently it can be digested and utilized by the body. Scores range from 0.0 to 1.0, with higher scores indicating better protein quality.
High quality proteins such as milk protein, whey protein isolate, and whole milk have a PDCAAS of 1.0, meaning they provide all essential amino acids in sufficient amounts and are well absorbed.
Hydrolyzed collagen has a PDCAAS of 0.0 because it lacks the essential amino acid tryptophan. Without tryptophan, collagen cannot support many critical physiological functions, including muscle protein synthesis.
Because of its PDCAAS score, collagen cannot legally count toward the percent daily value of protein on nutrition labels. The daily value for protein is set at 50 grams, and collagen does not contribute toward that total.
While supplement labels may list grams of collagen protein per serving, they must indicate that those grams do not count toward the daily value. Some companies obscure this distinction by labeling collagen simply as protein, which can mislead consumers into believing all protein sources are nutritionally equivalent.
Should You Count Collagen Toward Your Daily Protein Intake?
From a regulatory and nutritional standpoint, collagen should not be counted toward your daily protein intake.
Although one study suggests collagen peptides may contribute to overall nitrogen intake, this does not change the fact that collagen lacks essential amino acids required for protein synthesis. As a result, collagen does not support muscle building, muscle preservation, or most metabolic functions associated with dietary protein.
Collagen can provide health benefits, but it should be viewed as a functional supplement rather than a primary protein source.
Can Collagen Help With Muscle Building?
Collagen protein is not effective for building muscle.
Research consistently shows that collagen has little to no impact on muscle protein synthesis when compared with high quality protein sources such as whey or milk protein. While collagen ingestion may cause a short term increase in muscle protein synthesis after exercise, this effect is brief and significantly weaker than that of whey protein.
Whey protein stimulates muscle protein synthesis at rest and for several hours after training due to its complete amino acid profile and high leucine content. Leucine is a branched chain amino acid that activates the mTOR pathway, a key driver of muscle growth.
Collagen contains very little leucine and no tryptophan, making it poorly suited for muscle building or muscle preservation.
This is why milk protein based products like PEScience Select Protein can count 100 percent of their protein content toward the daily value. Select Protein provides 23 grams of high quality protein per serving, equating to 46 percent of the daily value based on a 50 gram reference intake.
What Is Collagen Protein Best Used For?
While collagen is not ideal for muscle growth, it may offer benefits in other areas.
Research suggests collagen supplementation may help support joint health, reduce joint pain, improve connective tissue integrity, support skin elasticity, and reduce exercise induced muscle soreness. These benefits are likely related to collagen’s high glycine and proline content and its role in connective tissue metabolism.
Collagen can be a useful addition to a nutrition routine focused on joint support or skin health, but it should not replace complete protein sources.
How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?
The recommended dietary allowance for protein is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight, which represents a minimum intake needed to prevent deficiency.
For a 150 pound individual, this equals about 54 grams per day. However, this amount is widely considered insufficient for optimal health, body composition, and performance.
The acceptable macronutrient distribution range allows 10 to 35 percent of daily calories to come from protein. For someone consuming 2,000 calories per day, this equates to roughly 50 to 175 grams of protein.
Most people benefit from consuming 0.45 to 0.55 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. Athletes and individuals aiming to build muscle may benefit from intakes up to 0.9 grams per pound.
High quality protein sources include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, and well formulated plant protein blends. Protein supplements can help bridge gaps in intake, but quality matters.
Choosing the Right Protein Supplement
Not all protein supplements are created equal. Plant based proteins often have lower PDCAAS scores and should be adjusted on nutrition labels to reflect digestibility and amino acid availability.
For example, a pea protein powder listing 20 grams of protein per serving should adjust that number to reflect its PDCAAS, which is typically around 0.9. Without adjustment, protein content may be overstated.
Reputable brands adjust protein values based on PDCAAS and prioritize label transparency, ensuring consumers know exactly how much usable protein they are getting.
The Bottom Line
Collagen protein supplements can support joint health, skin health, and connective tissue function, but they should not be counted toward your daily protein intake.
Because collagen lacks essential amino acids, particularly tryptophan, it has a PDCAAS of 0.0 and does not support muscle building or protein synthesis in the same way complete proteins do.
To meet your protein needs, focus on high quality animal or properly formulated plant protein sources. Protein supplements can be a convenient and cost effective tool, but collagen should be viewed as a specialized supplement rather than a primary protein source.