Myprotein CLEAR COLLAGEN Powder: Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein

It’s never a dull day when you’re following Myprotein and their supplements. The brand that partners with Mike and Ike and World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall is also known for its vast array of unique protein powders, including Myprotein Clear Whey Isolate and Myprotein Clear Vegan Isolate.

But those aren’t the only “clear” proteins in the arsenal that settle translucently and lend themselves to thinner, fruitier flavors. There’s another one we haven’t covered until now, and with the new Wild Cherry, Grape, and Strawberry Kiwi flavors released for Myprotein’s Impact Week 2022, it’s time to give it a go:

Myprotein Clear Collagen Powder

With Myprotein Clear Collagen, you get the same story but in a different product category. It uses collagen protein that’s been pre-hydrolyzed, which leads to faster and better intestinal absorption thanks to the shorter amino acid chains inside. But more importantly for others, it’s a thinner product that brings creative fruit flavors (as opposed to the standard chocolate and vanilla style flavors in Myprotein Collagen Powder).

And as you’ll see, most of the research studies we cite were performed using collagen protein hydrolysate, making it more relevant to the body of research on collage.

We dig into those studies and the benefits of collagen below, but first check the flavor availability with PricePlow and sign up for our Myprotein alerts so you don’t miss deals:

We briefly reviewed Myprotein’s initial endeavor into this space during Impact Week 2021, which a major deal week that rests on the opposite end of Black Friday. There, they released the Blue Raspberry flavor, which was surprisingly good. Now that it’s become a more permanent fixture, and we have the new Wild Cherry, Grape, and Strawberry Kiwi flavors for Impact Week 2022, so let’s do a full deep dive on it:

Myprotein Clear Collagen Powder Ingredients

Like the other supplements in their clear series, Myprotein’s Clear Collagen is a bit different because it uses hydrolyzed protein — in this case, hydrolyzed collagen peptides.

The benefits of collagen hydrolysate

Also known as collagen hydrolysate, it’s made from collagenous tissue, undergoes an extraction / purification / concentration process, and is then treated with enzymes (enzymatic hydrolysis) to break down the bonds. This makes them shorter and easier to digest, but also makes them non-gelling that dissolve easily in water.^[1]

Preclinical research has shown that collagen hydrolysate is able to completely pass the mucosal barrier in the small intestine thanks to its shorter structure.^[2] It then stimulates production of collagens in the extracellular matrix,^[3,4] which is described below.

It settles translucently, unlike standard collagen proteins

The major point is that these hydrolyzed proteins are more easily absorbed, and that applies to the water in your shaker cup as well as your body. When mixed, they settle translucently (hence the name using the word “Clear”), and allow for thinner, more fruity flavors. This is opposed to traditional collagen proteins that have longer amino acid chains, are more chalky, and have more traditional chocolate and vanilla flavors, such as the “regular” Myprotein Collagen Protein Powder.

With the key ingredient explained, let’s dive into the the science behind its use:

What is collagen?

Ignoring water content, your skin is made of about 80% collagen, which can be considered the scaffolding, or primary structure supporting the skin and other soft tissues — also known as the extracellular matrix.^[5] Consider collagen to be the “glue” that keeps skin and other soft tissues together.

Collagen is what keeps skin flexible – it’s composed of three amino acids — glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline — in a triple-helix structure that easily bends and folds.^[5] Collagen peptide bonds are formed by our cells keeping to hold our tissues (and thus our bodies) together.

The issue is that modern diets don’t always achieve great enough intake of the amino acids above. An easy way to get collagen is to eat collagen-containing foods, such as skin, bone broth, and meat off the bone. Unfortunately, these have fallen out of vogue in the world of processed, plant-based foods, making supplementation extraordinarily beneficial.

As discussed in our main Myprotein Collagen Protein article, there are two most common types of collagen:

• Type 1 collagen: the most abundant type of collagen in vertebrates that’s used to support skin, bone, eye, and other structures.^[6]
• Type 3 collagen: generally found alongside type 1 collagen, but is more abundant in blood vessels and connective tissues of organs such as the liver, lymphatic system, veins, and bone marrow.^[7]

The question is, can supplementing collagen lead to improvements in connective tissues? The answer is yes:

The benefits of collagen protein

Research has demonstrated that supplementing with collagen protein can lead to numerous benefits in both young and old individuals. We have seen:

• Reduced joint pain after six months with just a 1.2 gram dose^[8] and a 10 gram dose^[1]
• Improved hair, skin, and nail health^[9,10] – improved skin elasticity^[9] and less nail breaking!^[10]
• Better cardiovascular health endpoints (better HDL cholesterol)^[11]

Additionally, the effects seem to be longer-term than most supplements: The study demonstrating improved skin elasticity showed that the beneficial effects remained 4 weeks after supplementation stopped.^[9] This implies that collagen has some lasting power.

May help athletes, but we still suggest more muscle-building protein

For the Myprotein athletes out there, the study demonstrating reduced joint pain also led to improved recovery time.^[1] However, we always like to make clear that collagen shouldn’t be substituted for muscle meat and muscle-building protein (such as whey protein or an optimized pea protein like The ioPea), but this is still great to see.

Reason being, collagen’s higher levels of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline crowd out some of the other amino acids that are important for muscle protein synthesis and mTOR stimulation.^[12] This is not a big deal so long as it’s marketed properly, and you still know that you’ll want to get proteins with complete amino acid profiles high in all of the essential amino acids, especially the BCAAs. Myprotein can obviously help you out with that.

Flavors available:

The area below will keep track of all flavors PricePlow has seen:

If you’re not into this kind of product, but still want a cost-effective collagen protein powder, see our article on Myprotein Collagen Protein Powder, where you’ll find more of the “chocolate” and “vanilla” style flavors.

Another Clear favorite from Myprotein

There are two ways to look at the Clear Protein series supplements from Myprotein:

1. Shorter amino acid chains with faster and more complete intestinal absorption
2. Fun fruity flavors!

Some readers won’t care about the former and just want the latter, but many athletes will think the exact opposite. With Myprotein Clear Collagen, you have yet another option from Myprotein to improve your health – and if it takes a clear-settling fruity flavor to make that happen, then all the better.

To learn about Myprotein’s other clear proteins, see our articles on Myprotein Clear Whey Isolate and Myprotein Clear Vegan Isolate.

If looking for even more support, you can also consider stacking with Myprotein Hair, Skin, & Nails or Myprotein Hair, Skin, & Nails Gummies.