Today we have some feedback from folks on some of the negative impacts they experienced when consuming collagen. I’m sharing their questions and the feedback I gave them in the hope this will help you too. Not everyone experiences unpleasant symptoms when consuming collagen but those who are susceptible may experience the following: increased anxiety or new anxiety, feeling low, inability to sleep or worsening sleep, tension, irritability, gut issues, itchy skin, frequent urination, a bad mood, worsening psoriasis, blepharitis, panic attacks and a disrupted menstrual cycle.
The causes of these symptoms can be due to the serotonin-lowering effects of collagen, the dietary oxalate impact, a histamine reaction and/or a glutamate reaction to collagen.
Beth shares how she feels low and anxious after using marine collagen for five days:
Have just recently begun receiving your emails. I read the above article and wanted to let you know of my experience. I started taking Vital Proteins marine collagen to see if it would improve sun damage to my skin. I took one scoop for about five days. On the fifth day I felt very low. So low that it made me somewhat anxious. As I have trouble with anxiety I stopped it immediately. Felt better the next day. The container lists 19 amino acids including tryptophan but the amount of it is zero mg. I hadn’t noticed that when I started taking it. After reading your article I’m fairly sure that that is why I felt depressed.
I shared this: for individuals who have observed a mood dip or increase in anxiety since using collagen or gelatin, I suggest they stop using collagen/gelatin and see how they feel, then add it back and see how they feel (sometimes more than once if they are not certain).
If they do see a correlation, look at the low serotonin symptoms and do a trial of tryptophan or 5-HTP (after checking the precautions) to see if this improves their low mood and reduces their anxiety when using collagen/gelatin. This confirms if their symptoms are due to the serotonin-lowering effects and allows them to continue using it for the benefits it provides.
Be sure to read the above collagen/serotonin blog for some of the research on what makes some folks more susceptible to the serotonin-lowering effects: a current depression/anxiety or history of depression/anxiety (even a family history), prior use of antidepressants, OCD / obsessive compulsive disorder, MAOA and/or 5-HTTLPR (the serotonin transporter gene) polymorphisms, smokers or former smokers, and women polydrug ecstasy users. This is not a conclusive list.
It’s interesting that she mentions her product has tryptophan listed with zero mg. When I looked online I didn’t see it listed on the product at all. Maybe it’s a change they have made to the label.
I also shared that when you are new to the amino acids (and other anxiety nutrition solutions like real whole food, quality animal protein, fermented foods, organic produce, health fats, gluten/sugar/caffeine removal, blood sugar control, gut health, pyroluria etc) my book “The Antianxiety Food Solution” is a great place to start.
The above question and the following questions come from the popular blog, Collagen and gelatin lower serotonin: does this increase your anxiety and depression?
How long after stopping bone broth does it take for this anxious feeling to leave?
Diane asks about bone broth and collagen and how it causes extreme anxiety and sleep problems:
I just finished your book and have to say how awesome it is ! A wealth of information. As I am struggling with many of the issues, I do have a question on bone broth and collagen. I have definitely noticed extreme anxiety and inability to sleep with bone broth and collagen supplement.(plus spring allergies are at play as well) I even tried a piece of Turkey with my bone broth this week to see if that helped. I have such gut issues I was really hoping to use bone broth. Anyway, my question is how long after stopping bone broth does it take for this anxious feeling to leave? Days or weeks? I want it cleared out before I try adding tryptophan with the broth.
I thanked her for the great feedback on my book. It’s wonderful to have the foundational stuff in place and she’s getting that from my book.
I don’t have an answer on how long symptoms can last as it’s very individualized. Typically if the effects are caused by serotonin being lowered, using either tryptophan or 5-HTP can result in significantly less anxiety and better sleep in a few days, provided the optimal dose is used.
Keep in mind that spring allergies can often make things worse and more tryptophan or 5-HTP may be needed during the allergy period. The dose would then need to be reduced once allergy season has passed. I blog about spring allergies and increased anxiety here.
My advice would be to use the tryptophan or 5-HTP to resolve the anxiety and insomnia and then once resolved, consider adding back the collagen and monitoring how she is doing. At this time she may need to bump up her tryptophan or 5-HTP yet again.
Is it a histamine reaction rather than low serotonin? (or an oxalate or glutamate reaction?)
Kelly believes her symptoms may be a histamine reaction and not caused by low serotonin:
If you become anxious, tense, irritable, can’t sleep AND have some issues with itchy skin, frequent urination, worsened gut issues, etc., then it’s a histamine problem from the collagen/glycine, and not serotonin at all.
I shared that these symptoms could actually be both since low serotonin can also cause anxiety, tension, irritability and insomnia. But I agree the itchy skin, frequent urination, worsened gut issues are a big clue it’s a histamine issue too or perhaps only a histamine issue. Gut issues would happen with both low serotonin and histamine.
I’d start with a trial of tryptophan or 5-HTP because if it is low serotonin you will know very quickly. You can see what symptoms resolve and by how much.
Challenges with dietary oxalates could cause all the symptoms she experiences. So it’s a matter of figuring it out for each person. If you already know you have histamine or oxalate issues it’s also relatively easy to figure out by simply stopping the collagen and/or adding the counter-measures you typically use – like quercetin for histamine reactions and calcium citrate for oxalate issues.
It’s possible that some of these symptoms are a glutamate reaction too – like anxiety, tension, irritability and insomnia – and the amino acid GABA may help in this instance.
A bad mood, insomnia, psoriasis, blepharitis, panic attacks, hormone imbalance – oxalates or serotonin-lowering effects?
Em shares how she had a really bad mood, full blown insomnia, worsening psoriasis, blepharitis, panic attacks and disrupted menstrual cycle:
I am soooo glad I found this article. I started taking Oslo Skin Labs collagen (Verisol, so it is considered good quality) half way through December 2021. Looking back, that is when the problems started. I started sleeping restlessly and it got really bad in January. Full blown insomnia. My psoriasis got much worse, the blepharitis too. I have severe Endometriosis and was worried that if these other inflammation issues (psoriasis causes skin inflammation and blepharitis causes eye inflammation) were worse then maybe my endo was worse also since that can’t be checked on the outside.
Besides the inflammation symptoms I was experiencing extremely bad moods, feeling tense to the point of bordering on panic attacks and also a disrupted menstrual cycle.
I have been on Amitriptyline for 1,5 years and it worked wonders on my mood and sleep and I just couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working any more. Then I realized that the only thing I changed was adding collagen to my diet in my fruit/vegetable smoothie ( I don’t drink coffee). So I started Googeling and found your article and stopped the collagen immediately. Have stopped for 2 days now and already my eyes are less red and inflamed. Pfew! It’s crazy and also scary how serious the side effects of collagen have been.
Do you think that besides the tryptophan lowering side effect that also the histamine might have played a part in my case? I don’t dare try the collagen with tryptophan supplement as the potential side effects are too serious to play around with. But I’m very bummed out about missing out on the skin and hair benefits.
Would love to hear your thoughts. I follow a vegetarian diet by the way and eat super healthy.
With Em I’d suspect an oxalate issue first because of the worsening psoriasis, blepharitis and endometriosis. She is also a vegetarian and this diet is often high in dietary oxalates. I write about oxalates and pain here.
However, with the “bad moods, feeling tense to the point of bordering on panic attacks and also a disrupted menstrual cycle”, I’d also suspect a serotonin-lowering impact. As mentioned above, a history of mood issues and antidepressant use can be a predisposing factor. She would need to work with her prescribing doctor if she wanted to use tryptophan or 5-HTP because Amitriptyline has the potential to cause serotonin syndrome.
It’s also possible that her symptoms are caused in part by a histamine or glutamate reaction too.
With appreciation for helping to create awareness about these issues with collagen
I have much appreciation for each of these women for asking these questions and sharing their symptoms so we can all learn. There is not much awareness about collagen being problematic for some susceptible folks and it’s a very rude awakening when you start using something for the health benefits and have a bad reaction. Hopefully their stories and others like this will help create more awareness.
The good news is that once you identify your cause/s and address them as above, you can often continue to consume collagen.
Resources if you are new to using tryptophan/5-HTP and other amino acids as supplements
If you are new to using any of the amino acids as supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see all the symptoms of neurotransmitter imbalances, including low serotonin and low GABA).
If you suspect low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.
There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control, sugar cravings, self-medicating with alcohol and more.
The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs. You can find them all in my online store.
If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support.
If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.
Have you experienced any adverse symptoms when using collagen? Please share the symptoms so we can all learn from each other .
And were you able to figure out if it was due to low serotonin, a histamine or glutamate reaction or because of dietary oxalates?
If it was low serotonin, has tryptophan or 5-HTP helped so you can continue to use collagen?
If you have questions please share them here too.
Johanna says
Since supplementing with Collagen Peptides I’ve been having trouble with elevated BP. Just nocturnal systolic. Not sure if there is any correlation or just coincidence. Will discontinue and see.
Trudy Scott says
Johanna
I have clients do a few on-off trials to confirm, especially since collagen often helps reduce high blood pressure …. “Peptides derived from food proteins may lead to significantly reduced blood pressure and could therefore be a supplement or alternative to pharmaceutical treatment for mild hypertension.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2596738/
Can you please share which product and how much elevated nocturnal systolic BP is. I assume you are measuring it at home and I’m curious why?
Debbie says
Hi, Trudy!
5-HTP or anything that increases serotonin (e.g., SamE, SSRI’s, etc.) gives me ‘panic’ attacks within hours of taking it. I have severe anxiety disorder w/panic attacks. Do you have any suggestions on why my body might respond to 5HTP in this way?
D.E.
Trudy Scott says
Debbie
I see this happen in a few cases: someone doesn’t need serotonin support/doesn’t have low serotonin symptoms, someone does better with tryptophan (this is common), someone is using too high a dose of 5-HTP (50mg is the starting dose but very sensitive folks can start with 10mg or less) or someone has high cortisol (more on that here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/5-htp-can-raise-salivary-cortisol-does-this-cause-a-wired-tired-feeling/)
If you are new to the amino acids (and other anxiety nutrition solutions like real whole food, quality animal protein, fermented foods, organic produce, health fats, gluten/sugar/caffeine removal, blood sugar control, gut health, pyroluria etc) my book “The Antianxiety Food Solution” is a great place to start. More here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-antianxiety-food-solution-by-trudy-scott/ It’s a comprehensive approach – amino acids AND diet.
Patrick says
Hello, so glad to be on this mailing list, and Trudy have always appreciated your candid approach to treating mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression using natural means. Also a huge fan of GABA for mental and physical health issues including gut issues, both synthetic and naturally fermented forms.
I just wanted to offer my take being someone who has suffered with IBS-D for many years. Always on the lookout for ways to slow down the motility and allow food to be properly absorbed, I have found that tryptophan and 5-htp do the opposite. I have noticed some supplement companies put 5-htp in their motility formulas, and I believe this a fairly well-held view on the serotonin precursors. Collagen and bone broth products, especially that sold by Great Lakes and Paleo Valley, for me provide solid gut/skin healing and support brain health without any tryptophan, which is actually what I am looking for. I do occasionally experience insomnia but this is more often due to dysbiosis than a lack of tryptophan, though I must admit I do consume animal protein daily as well, so there is some tryptophan in there, probably the right amount for someone with my condition.
If someone is worried about the effects on sleep, I feel that GABA and all of the wonderful herbal products that support GABA such as Ashwagandha and Skullcap do wonders for sleep, whereas from my biased perspective, tryptophan can go both ways in whether it supports good sleep.
Just 2 cents, thank you!
Trudy Scott says
Patrick
Thanks for sharing and yes serotonin support does improve motility so with IBS-D (diarrhea for other blog readers) using something like collagen that may actually reduce serotonin and could be helpful in this instance. This goes back to biochemical individuality and no one-size fits all.
Glad to hear GABA and other herbal sleep support does wonders for you! Thanks too for your kind words 🙂
GH says
Hi Trudy,
I’m so grateful for your blogs and seeing this again was so timely. I just started taking collagen again hoping for joint support for my knee arthritis. My sleep is awful, last night I woke with panic like symptoms and used EFT tapping to calm myself back to sleep. There is also an increase in irritability. I take 2.5 mg of Lexapro in the morning and 500 mg of tryptophan at night. I’ve been afraid to add more tryptophan because of fear of serotonin syndrome. Would it be safe to do it in the afternoon because it separated by 8 hours from the Lexapro? I’m not sure it’s worth it to continue to take the collagen. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I tend toward IBSC and didn’t realize that serotonin helps with motility. I have toyed with getting off the SSRI but have never made it past the 2.5 mg. Do you have a blog on tapering? Thanks in advance for your response.
Karen says
Thanks for this Trudy.
Would time of day taken effect collagen’s potential to lower seratonin? I have always taken and recommend other take it at night to optimize the benefits.
Trudy Scott says
Karen
Good question that I don’t have a conclusive answer for but since serotonin starts to dip from mid-afternoon and into the evening, I’d say it would be more problematic at this time in those who are susceptible to the serotonin-lowering effects.
I am curious why you take and recommend taking it at night to optimize benefits?
cecilia fasano says
Hi Trudy! I’ve been following you for a long time .. and i LOVE YOU!!
I have a low serotonin .. but i also take Lexapro (20mg). I very much want to stop taking it because a) my situation has changed: and, I really want to address my serotonin! I also take collagen, but i have no noticeable negative side effects .. it actually does help my hair and nails!!
Have you any suggestions that might help me get off anti-depressants! I’m 78, relatively very healthy, not at all depressed! And would like to enjoy the rest of my life without them, even though i really sleep good with them!! I think my problem was always anxiety, not depression!
Long may you wave, dear Trudy. You help so many people!!
xx’s
Cecilia Fasano
Trudy Scott says
Cecilia
Thanks for the lovely love message – you made my day!
My book The Antianxiety Food Solution is the best place to start https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-antianxiety-food-solution-by-trudy-scott/ starting to make the dietary changes. I have all my clients get nutritionally stable before we discuss tapering with their doctor.
Joy says
Dear Trudy
I am so blessed to read your post on collagen causing anxiety, bad mood, sleep and pain in the stomach .
I have been taking collagen peptide from Vital Proteins according to the dosage of 1 scoop in the night with my protein shake for a few days. I am now experiencing anxiety, wakefulness at night, frequent urination, mood swings and stomach pains.
OAt and mycotoxin test results have shown high yeast and mould toxicity markers and also dysbiosis. I have tried many different modalities with different practitioners. I would like to hear your opinion on how can I fix my gut issues.
Thanks
Trudy Scott says
Joy
Glutamine is very helpful for leaky gut when collagen isn’t tolerated. More here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/glutamine-healing-leaky-gut/
With high yeast and mold toxicity working with a practitioner is best. That said I do have a gut chapter in my book that may be helpful.
If you are new to the amino acids (and other anxiety nutrition solutions like real whole food, quality animal protein, fermented foods, organic produce, health fats, gluten/sugar/caffeine removal, blood sugar control, gut health, pyroluria etc) my book “The Antianxiety Food Solution” is a great place to start. More here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-antianxiety-food-solution-by-trudy-scott/
Pamela tressillian says
I do not seem to have anxiety or sleep problems with collagen.
I do , however, have severe gut problems with bloating and gas. Otherwise the effects have been good.
Is there anything I can take for the gut issues?
Thank you.
Trudy Scott says
Pamela
I’d check other ingredients in the product or consider the oxalate aspect. More on oxalates here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/oxalate-crystal-disease-dietary-oxalates-and-pain-the-research-questions/
Sarah says
Thank you for this article. I took collagen for a little over a month when my knees started bothering me. My knees aren’t in that great of shape to begin with, but the only thing that I can think of that I had changed was taking collagen. I thought collagen would be good for joints. Do you have any idea why it would have made my knees worse? Or do you think it must be unrelated to the collagen?
Trudy Scott says
Sarah
It may be have been the oxalate aspect. More on oxalates here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/oxalate-crystal-disease-dietary-oxalates-and-pain-the-research-questions/
sander says
Trudy, how are you? could you help me with a question please? When I take hydrolyzed collagen, I find myself feeling sadder. I think it actually affects serotonin metabolism. But, due to our current diet, which has a lot of muscle meat (and therefore a lot of methionine), we need collagen to balance this. What would you suggest we supplement with to meet this collagen need? Would natural gelatin be a good choice or is it the same thing as hydrolyzed collagen? Take the amino acid glycine maybe?
Thank you very much for your attention and excellent blog!!!! With eternal gratitude, I wish you all the best.
Trudy Scott says
Sander
Per the blog, if collagen is lowering serotonin, we use tryptophan or 5-HTP
Daniel says
Hi Trudy,
Love your book and all your work!
Wouldn’t we just cure all these problems by simply opening a few capsules of tryptophan and shaking it up in the opened collagen container? This way, we would have some tryptophan in every serving and scoop and we could enjoy our collagen as well !
Trudy Scott says
Daniel
I recommend using tryptophan as needed on an individual basis since not everyone needs added tryptophan and some folks may need more than the next person
Thanks for the kind words
Lani Hubbard says
Hi Trudy,
I watched one of your videos on collagen-increasing anxiety. The collagen I am taking does have 10mg of Tryptophan, along with the other amino acids. Could this be too low compared to the other amino acids to cause low serotonin? I know the other amino acids can be problematic, too, in collagen. I did notice increased anxiety and insomnia after starting the collagen. I will stop it and see if I notice a difference.
Thank you,
Lani
Trudy Scott says
Lani
A typical starting dose of tryptophan for worry type anxiety and insomnia is 500mg so 10mg is really low and would likely not be enough for folks prone to low serotonin. Also tryptophan needs to be taken away from other amino acids to be effective.
Please let me know which collagen product and how you feel after stopping. And my message is this – if collagen is helping but also lowering serotonin then consider adding tryptophan.
Denise R. Abdale says
I have taken collagen tablets all along in the AM at breakfast and never had any issues with being able to fall asleep at night. I started a new powdered multicollagen powder and suddenly I was wired & up for 24 hours straight!!! I did not fall asleep until 9 AM the next morning. Could it have been the new collagen powder? I never knew collagen could affect someone in various ways until I saw your post come into my email and read this blog. SHOCKING!!!
Trudy Scott says
Denise
When a new product or supplement triggers an issue it’s always the first thing we suspect. I’d look at the labels of both closely to see what is different. Please do share when you figure it out (you’re welcome to share actual product name too)
Robin Bell White says
Hi Trudy,
I find your whole premise of amino acids to treat mood and psychological issues very intriguing. I have been using herbs for a long time but have recently tried GABA, L-theanine and a blend by Now foods called True Calm. They are great additions to my “natural pharmacy”.
As far as collagen and gelatin causing the issues you describe, it makes a lot of sense if someone is allergic or sensitive to the proteins the collagen or gelatin are made from. I myself am allergic to anything that comes from a cow – milk, cheese, whey, gelatin, glycerin, beef, etc. I have realized that when I eat any of these things for more than 3 -5 days in a row, it causes me “cold and flu-like symptoms” including joint pain and low-grade fever. I feel like I have been run over by a truck and my mood suffers. So avoid these things as much as possible.
Trudy Scott says
Robin
Wonderful to hear GABA, L-theanine and a blend by Now foods called True Calm are helpful. I’d love to hear how they are helping.
What you describe is another issue altogether – and is still a very real issue. This may be related to alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), also called alpha-gal allergy, red meat allergy, or tick bite meat allergy. Often all products from cows are an issue. Animal products from other mammals are typically an issue too so this may not be AGS.
Sharon says
Trudy,
My name is Sharon and I am thankful to find your article since you are the only person I have found who has mentioned the negative effects of collagen supplements. I notice these things from the time I took collagen peptides from Vital Proteins;
-water retention possibly from the hydration collagen causes
-hormones are disrupted when I work out too much right before my period which causes it to be delayed.
-Excessive blood dilation/circulation to the point I could not combine with other supplements that raise circulation.
-And a more serious slightly angry disposition
I have discontinued the collagen peptides and no longer experience those things. I have OCD/Body Dysmorphic disorder and IBS, so I switched to cold brew coffee and stopped drinking regular brewed coffee on an empty stomach because the acidity was causing horrible bloating. Have you witnessed any cases where people found relief for OCD/BDD? Thanks!
Trudy Scott says
Sharon
You are most welcome and thank you for sharing. Water retention is common and hormone changes/angry disposition may be related to low serotonin caused by collagen intake. I’m not sure about the circulation issues other than it possibly being related to hydration. Doing a trial with tryptophan or 5-HTP when there are other low serotonin symptoms helps to know if these symptoms are caused by low serotonin. OCD, Body Dysmorphic disorder and IBS all have low serotonin in common.
I have not published a blog on OCD and BDD and have been meaning to so stay tuned. I typically start with serotonin support and also look into low GABA, microbiome imbalances, cortisol, sex hormone imbalances and oxytocin. Feel free to describe your symptoms, a typical day and what you have tried – and what helps and what has not helped.
Matty says
I have read other blog type articles on a possible connection between Collagen and low mood. However many say that if you are eating a variety of other proteins daily, from fish, chicken, dairy, etc., these would be providing adequate amounts of tryptophan to easily offset any tryptophan lowering effects of collagen. What do you think?
Trudy Scott says
Matty
I agree this may be the case in some instances but not all. I share specific studies about susceptibility in this blog – Collagen and gelatin lower serotonin: does this increase your anxiety and depression? https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/collagen-gelatin-lower-serotonin-increase-anxiety-depression/
Please do share links to some of those articles
Leonie says
Dear Trudy,
I’ve started to take fish collagen for a few days now and I experience itchiness on my skin, different places, changing all the time. Can this be due to the collagen and is this a reason to stop or can it be just adjustment to the collagen? What is your opinion about this and did you hear about the itchiness before? Tank you for your article and I look forward hearing from you! Kind regards, Leonie
Trudy Scott says
Leonie
As I share in the blog some folks experience itchy skin with collagen. A good way to be sure is to stop and then add it back
Leonie says
Thank you for your reply Trudy! Do you know if the itchiness can be just an adjustment to the collagen and disappear with time? Kind regards, Leonie
Robin Lavay says
I started collagen supplements 2 years ago Vital Proteins). Over the course of the two years I developed anxiety, depression, bloating and a productive cough. I was trying to figure out what has been different in the last couple years, and boom I thought collagen. I googled it and found your blog, thank you so much for this info you have provided. I tried tryptophan, however it didn’t help. Have you ever heard of collagen causing tightness in throat, wheezing and coughing?
Trudy Scott says
Robin
With these symptoms I’d suspect a possible glutamate reaction. Here is a blog on GABA (which counters glutamate) and throat issues https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/vagus-nerve-rehab-gaba/
I’d also want to rule out a histamine reaction
Has the anxiety, depression, bloating resolved since stopping the collagen? Curious what dose of tryptophan and which product?
Robin Lavay says
Hi Trudy, thank you for your reply. Yes, the bloating, anxiety, and depression are about 90% better now. I also forgot to mention well taking collagen I had no energy and was very sleepy (not like me at all). I tried Now L-Trytophan 220 mg, I took 2 a day.