>> Charlie: Welcome to the Cook Eat Run podcast with X Miles, hosted
by me, Charlie Watson. I'm a runner, a mum, an
NHS dietitian, and author of the recipe
book for runners, Cook Eat Run. I'm also
a 16 times marathoner and love nothing more than sharing what
I've learned along the way through a lot of trial and
error. Cook Eat Run is the go to
podcast for running, nutrition training tips, marathon
debriefs, and, more. I'm here to answer all your questions
and fuel you with the knowledge you'll need to run faster,
further, and actually just to have more fun on the run.
So whether you're training for an ultra, want to improve your marathon
pb, or simply just get more out of your
running, you're in the right place.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Cook Eat
Run podcast with X Miles. Today I'm doing a bit
of a deep dive into the world of collagen with guest
Sian Seccombe As you'll hear, Sian is super passionate
about all things running, research and nutrition, boiling
down the literature so you can easily apply it to your training.
We're talking about the science, benefits and misconceptions
surrounding collagen supplementation for runners, especially
women over 30. Whether you're recovering from an
injury, training for a marathon, or just curious about how to
optimise your diet, this episode has something for everyone.
Sian's currently working towards a Masters in Sports
Nutrition and shares fun nutritional and running info on
TikTok and Instagram. Sian Sec. I'll
leave the link in the show notes. She's an ultra runner with pretty
speedy times on the roads and hosts her own podcast, the
Fuelled Runner.
So Sian, thank you so much for joining me this morning.
I am so excited to talk about this because I put a story up
on my Instagram about collagen
and runners and in specific, like specifically
women over, 30, because I'm a
runner over 30 myself and I was
inundated with questions and
I think that that supplements especially
are such a widely
discussed but not really kind of fully
understood topic. So I'm really excited to kind of deep
dive into collagen today. so thank you
so much for, for joining me and being willing to kind of go into this deep
dive with me. Firstly, can we start
talking first about kind of what collagen
actually is? What, what do we mean when we talk about
collagen?
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, it's such an interesting topic, isn't it? Like, especially when you're
saying like, supplements as A whole as a general,
it's such like a mysterious but like
specific and wide ranging, but like
nuanced and particular that actually it can feel so
overwhelming when someone's going, oh, you need to be taking xyz, oh,
you've hit this age and three days, so you need to have an extra bit of this
and that and that. So it's just like, yeah, spilling
it all down to like the basics of what it actually is and
where it's coming from. And I think especially collagen at the
minute is. It's really having its like
primary. It really is. Like
walk on your incline treadmill and take a collagen shot and ah, you're
dandy. Like, that doesn't quite work like that.
And I think that's the thing with collagen especially, like,
fundamentally, collagen is a
protein. So it's the most abundant
protein in your body. But
collagen is specifically made of
a certain number of amino acids. So all proteins
are made of amino acids, which just like the building blocks.
And when you're eating and taking in protein,
you can have things called complete and incomplete proteins.
So a complete protein would have that full
spectrum of Lego blocks, so all the amino acids your body
needs and it would go, right, okay, I need these colours
amino acids to build my collagen, or I need these
ones to do something else. And your body can make some of
those. So there's nine amino acids that your body
cannot make that it has to have
from your, like, you have to eat it in some
form. And collagen is made
of three essential acids.
So you have to take in those amino acids
for your body to be able to produce collagen.
So that's where the kind of thought process and
rationale of like specifically targeting
your collagen intake is coming from.
Because, like all your other different types of protein you've got
in your body, you can make those up. Like
there's so many amino acids go floating around that you're like, yeah,
cool, we can take these, our body can make them. But
collagen, you're like, no, you have to actually have given your
body those specific building blocks.
So when we're saying taking collagen,
it's. You're not like taking it in your mouth and then your
body's just like sticking it on your hair or your skin. Like, it doesn't,
doesn't have like that direct relationship. But the
idea behind taking supplements
is that you take it, it's digested, it's
broken down into Those amino acid
constituents, then your body has loads of
these free amino acids floating around and it's looking for
these essential ones to build collagen. And they're there
so it can go sweet. I, can grab these and easily,
without resistance, build up the proteins that collagen is
making. But collagen has so
many different roles in your body. So
the ones that we all know about, skin, nails,
hair, actually not
really, but you know, skating,
airtime. So it's actually that it's the hair
follicle, not your actual hair, that's related
to collagen. but there's literally no
science that taking collagen helps your hair.
>> Charlie: I think that's where some of the confusion comes from because for so long
we've been bombarded with take this supplement
to get your hair and skin and ah, nails more
like healthier. And actually that's what we see in
mainstream media. And there
isn't the evidence behind it, but hopefully, as we're going to discuss a little
bit later, there is a little bit of evidence behind taking it
for like endurance runners.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah. And that's the thing, like, there is actually some
amazing evidence and science behind collagen,
but it doesn't, it's not quite so like black and white
of like how it actually shows up to like, ah, a
woman in her 30s should take collagen because of blah, blah, blah.
It's more nuanced and it's more actually like your
body's overall processes, especially as a
runner or someone who's had surgery or an
injury or like something like that.
Because collagen is related to all of your
connective tissues especially. And that's also where there's evidence
to show that supplementing with collagen does
actually have a beneficial effect. So it's.
If you're overall healthy and you're eating a good
diet, you. You're probably getting everything you need.
You probably don't need it. Whereas then, like, if you
had an injury or you have got
ligament issues or you've had surgery, actually
that's when we go, okay, there is evidence and there is
protocols to follow where collagen supplementation can
actually, really, really is going to help. And we know
it's going to help. Rather than kind of you're
taking in all these extra amino acids that then your body's going
to go, well, actually I've got plenty of these because you're already trying
to hit all this protein in your diet you actually
eat. You're actually getting it elsewhere, like A protein
yoghurt that's got collagen in it, like
an egg. All these other, like, there's so many
different ways where you get collagen in your diet that you wouldn't
necessarily think, oh, yes, I'm having my lovely dose of collagen.
It's like, it does it. It's not this magical thing that
you can't get from elsewhere. And that's so the thing
of like, you really can get it in your food. So,
like, especially meat options.
So there's the kind of difference between
collagen boosting foods and collagen
rich foods. So a collagen rich food
would come from an animal source and would be something
where you're actually ingesting collagen that your
body then breaks down and sends off. So that would be
like milk, bone broth,
chicken, beef, shellfish and
fish, has a lot of collagen in it because of
like in food chain, that's one of like the most direct
sources of where those like amino acids are coming into the food chain. Is that
like a fish level? But then you also have like
collagen boosters. So things
like eggs or like,
nuts, soya, more like plant
based, would be like collagen boosters.
Because when we think about collagen, it doesn't
act on its own. And this is where the
whole like vitamin C, hyaluronic acid comes
into it, which I feel like is another thing that gets like
muddled up in this. Like, here, take a supplement. You're m. Like, oh
my God, it's got like 12 million things in it. What is it doing?
But when you're looking at collagen supplements,
actually vitamin C and hyaluronic acid
are the two things that we go. No, actually, like, if you're
trying to help yourself, like in terms of collagen
production, connective tissues, tendon
ligament health, bone health as well, which is a big one
for collagen. Vitamin C and
hyaluronic acid, we know, are, going to help
you, especially if you're ageing.
So that's kind of then where this, that's actually the
science behind where this whole, like, oh, ah, you're ageing, so you need
to take collagen comes from. Because
as you age, there's basically some
enzymes in your body that like to
break down collagen. So as you get older, that's
kind of why your skin goes. Yeah,
all the fun things.
>> Charlie: Yeah.
>> Sian Seccombe: Because these enzymes are getting a bit snappy. Happy. Mm m.
But vitamin C is actually something that can step
in and turn those enzymes off. So it's essentially an
inhibitor of those enzymes. So then if
you're taking your collagen with your vitamin C,
that's where you're.
>> Charlie: Getting a bit of a double whammy.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, you're getting the double benefit of, okay, we're gonna,
we're gonna dial down this collagen breakdown
and we're gonna allow the collagen synthesis to
happen. And then, yeah, there's also like some evidence
around hyaluronic acid saying that actually it
helps with the collagen production. so yeah,
it's like a, it's another form of in your cell it's
basically getting involved in all the processes. It's all in like the cell
membranes and tissues. And it gets very sciencey and very
niche. But yeah, essentially that's
where when you see like the skin, things with like, oh, I've got vitamin
C and hyaluronic acid in me, plus me on your face. Like
that's where the idea is from. Right?
>> Charlie: Yeah, got it.
>> Sian Seccombe: Putting it on your skin, the evidence isn't
there that it's going to do anything but like
ingesting. If we're looking at kind of
the recovery, all those kind of things, that's where you're then getting
the extra benefit.
>> Charlie: Okay, so, so we've kind
of touched on the fact that there's not the evidence for it to
be helpful for kind of skin and
hair. But for
endurance runners, if we don't have an injury, if we are
eating a meat based or, you know, kind of a
flexitarian diet, is there evidence that
we over 30?
I'm, I'm not asking for anyone in particular, I mean
myself, but should we be supplementing? Could we
be supplementing? Is there any harm in supplementing?
>> Sian Seccombe: I'd say there's definitely no
harm in additional because essentially all you're doing is
having some extra protein. But if you're having collagen,
you're just having those tiny little bits of the
protein picture. So you'll not have, if you had
whey protein that's essentially got all the
building blocks of collagen in it. So
you're just like doubling up on those specific amino
acids. All that's going to
happen is if you've got too much is your body
then puts that your body can't store those amino acids
for later. So what it'll do is it'll either
turn them into energy and then store them as fat
or they'll be metabolised differently, they'll turn into something
else, like your body will do. There's so many
different pathways. Your body can send those down,
but it's not going to have, like, a negative effect.
There's no science that says supplementing with collagen is going to cause
a negative effect, but what you've got to do
is looking at your diet as like a
whole picture. So actually,
for somewhat one person, supplementing with collagen
might be way more useful than another, because the rest
of their diet doesn't have enough
protein, has no shellfish, has no chicken. They don't
have. They don't include leafy greens, they don't have
nuts. It's dependent on that, like,
bigger picture. So saying like,
okay, like, should you be having it every day? Should you
be. How much dose should you have? It's like, well, what else are you
eating? Is kind of the bigger question of
there is no, like, magical solution.
And also, when you're ingesting it, if there's something else your body wants to
do, those amino acids, it's going to do that first. It's going to
prioritise something else. Like, it's not going to go, you know what? I really need nice
nails. It's just not going to do that. Like, it
will. Especially as an endurance runner,
you are training at a level where you have got
constant turnover of tissue, so your
muscle protein breakdown and synthesis is
kind of constant. So you do a session, that muscle
protein breakdown is happening, but then
after that window of session, your muscle protein
synthesis is going back up, and that's when you're looking
to go, okay, so after I've trained, I want to
eat that bolus of protein because that's where I want those
amino acids in my body to make the most of the
fact that my muscle protein synthesis rate right now
has increased because I've put my body under
stress, I've broken the tissues down by training a bit.
And then that's how we then benefit from it.
And that's where the idea of, like, dosing with
collagen around training comes from.
So, so especially when it's like with
injury, like tendon ligament
injury, there's a lot of evidence now
that if you supplement with collagen 30
to 60 minutes before you then
exercise, after the
exercise, you will have an increased rate of collagen
synthesis and muscle protein synthesis. If
you've had that supplement of collagen before, than if you didn't have that
supplement of collagen. So it's basically if
you're then getting like an extra super boost
on the effect of your physio exercises if
you've, like, hurt, your Achilles tendon or
whatever. But as a
general runner, that additional,
like, there's actually not the huge difference
between just having protein after. Like,
it's all very nuanced and kind of like 1%.
Yeah. In terms of, like, how
much is this going to help? Like, there's loads of
protocols they've tried, they've tried. Like, so some people with,
they're looking at Achilles tendons, so people
doing three sets of calf raises throughout the day,
having collagen before and then seeing the
effect versus just doing it once a day and they're like, oh, there's a
little increase. But we've looked at a sample size
of 15 athletes. So,
like, a lot of the science
shows that it's a good idea and directionally
wise is saying, okay, we should actually think about applying
this. But when we get it down to
the black and white of yes or no,
it's very difficult. And it's actually
quite in line with the things people are saying a lot about protein
now. So there's the argument of protein
of spreading out throughout the day versus a
huge amount after a workout.
And actually the results and the science is so mixed. Like, you
have one camp saying this, one camp saying that, and
it's actually going, okay, we're not elite. We don't need the
1% here. We're looking for just like, actually, can we make
our bodies as happy as they can be? Can we give
them what they need? Yeah. Cool. The best
way to do that is actually just make sure we're having enough of
everything throughout the day and supporting our
body in that way, because it's not going to go, oh, your
collagen was 20 minutes late. So I'm not going to make you any new tendons.
Like, it's going to, it's going to look for it and it's going to have it there and
it's going to make, it's going to make do. Like, our bodies are super smart.
We kind of have to trust them a bit. But there
is the evidence.
>> Charlie: Like, so, okay,
as someone, who has trained for multiple
marathons, I often feel
quite sore. I don't know if you've seen the memes. That's like, what's the regular
amount of pain? And it's like zero. And I'm like, you know,
I'm like, I did a strength session the other day and I have been
sore for days so this, like,
idea that if, you're kind of recovering from an
injury or having, you know, doing the physio, I feel
like, in a state of maybe slightly uncomfortable,
like, more often than not when I'm marathon training, like,
you've got the, like, long run recovery, the strength recovery. I'm like,
is this okay to say, you know, the speed workouts
and then you've got life, you've got work. You're not.
>> Sian Seccombe: Not.
>> Charlie: Everything is kind of perfect. I'm trying to crawl around on the
floor after a toddler. Is there,
for something like that, I would think, oh, well, I want
to boost my tissue repair. I want to protect my
joints. I make a noise every time I
bend down. Will collagen.
Stop that. Is there
a right. This is your injury, or if
we're having the micro
tears, because we're strength training and
we're running long and we are doing, a
lot of time on our feet. Is. Is there
a kind of this is when it would be beneficial, or is it
literally a case of person by person?
Look at your diet, look at
what your kind of history of injuries are and what you're going through at the
moment kind of thing? Don't know if that question made sense.
>> Sian Seccombe: But I totally get you, because it is. And it's like, it's
that whole thing, right, of, like, taking these really niche
science journals that are done on 12 cyclists in a, pod
in Switzerland, applying that to, like, general
life. We're like, how are we doing this? But actually, in
terms of kind of as an endurance runner, like, I'm the same. Like,
something always hurts. And everyone's like, is this. Is this meant to happen?
I'm like, no, it's fine. It's so fine. And we also got ourselves
that, right?
>> Charlie: Yeah. I got asked at work yesterday if I had a limp,
and I was like, no. I just went to the gym for the
first time in ages on Monday, and I
can't walk. But thank you for asking.
>> Sian Seccombe: It's like, oh, I did it the other day. I did, like, weird split squat
lunges I hadn't done before, and I literally couldn't sit on the toilet. I was
like, I haven't used a towel rail to get down. I'm like, oh,
God, it is. And it's like, actually, there is
never gonna be, like, a magical
answer that's gonna solve all that and make us, like,
superhumans that don't creak.
>> Charlie: Because I was hoping you were going to say,
take this. You're gonna live to be 100
and run a marathon. Age 95.
>> Sian Seccombe: I know absolute goals, right? But like I,
I'm someone who's really injury prone and like my ligaments
are all over the place. Like I'm hypermobile, I have
ligaments stretching all over the place. So I constantly m take
collagen because you know what? If in doubt there's some
evidence out there that says it's going to help me, I'm going to take it because
there's no downside to me taking it.
And endurance runners need more
protein than average people. Because
we do have that constant cycle and because you have a really
high energy output, what you need to do
is ensure there's enough protein to protect your muscle
mass. Because there's a balance between
where there's kind of questions over energy
availability and it's pretty
hard to like consistently hit the
energy output you're taking to like match it with what
your input intake of food is. Especially like
marathon runners, it's quite difficult. So what you want to do
is your absolute best to try and maintain the strength
you've got. Because we all know like through your training blocks, like
you have like a few weeks where you're like, oh, I feel super strong. And then the
next you like can't lift up half the weight you were doing because you're like, your
long runs tripled. Yeah. What's going on?
>> Charlie: So kind of cumulative fatigue.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah. And it's like, okay, so at that point,
protein intake in your diet as a
whole, looking at that going, right, is my
protein source complete in terms of am I
getting everything I need? So if you're
eating meat and you're eating fish and
dairy, you'll find your diet's complete. If you're vegan
or vegetarian, you need to have a mate. You need to have a think about
like looking into like complete protein
sources, but then like the addition of
the collagen, it's not going to hurt,
like it's not going to harm. And all it's doing is
basically just like adding extra protein in those
specific flavours of amino acids that like build up
collagen. So that's going to support
extra, all those bits of your body, your connective
tissues, your joints, your bones that are so important
for insurance runners especially. Like, we don't
realise the impact endurance running has on your
bones. Like the amount, especially
now, like the amount of stress fractures and like bone stress
injuries that I'm seeing online and I've spoken to some
physios and stuff about it, like it's absolutely
exploding because especially in women,
because people don't realise, like, the impact
of, like, energy availability,
marathon training, bone
repair cycles, which need collagen
and need like protein support and need energy
like any carbs and that kind of
interplay of like, how are you going to support your muscles best to
recover so that then you can do your next training
session is going to have. Is having collagen going
to help? It's definitely not going to hurt. Like, it's
a. It's difficult, especially if you're new to
marathon training, to get it right the first time and that's
why so many people get injured. So if you're going right, I'm
really making a conscious effort to
get enough protein without
sacrificing carbs. And
actually, if having a collagen shot or
powder or something like that in your smoothie or in your
electrolyte drink or however you want to take it, it's going
to help you up your protein intake up
everything sweet, excellent. Like, it's. It's
only. It's not going to negatively do anything bad. And the fact
you're conscious and thinking about it is actually going to help even
more.
>> Charlie: If you want to try adding collagen to your routine. You can
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off the collagen at, X mill.
So if people do want to take a collagen supplement, what
should they be looking for? What dosage is it in the.
Kind of recommended to help promote kind of
the recovery and especially injury kind of
healing, that kind of thing.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah. So if you're looking for just like a
general collagen supplement, there are two
types. So they're kind of like the marine collagen and
then there's like the bovine collagen. So if you're vegan or
veggie, you'd go for the marine one and then
ideally you'd go for the bovine one. Because
if you think about it in terms of like a food
chain, the marine collagen is like, from plants and
cows. That's like right at the bottom. And then the bovine
collagen, it's already like processed, it's already gone up one
layer. So, like, it's kind of already done some of the work for you.
It's more. It's a more direct source, than your
body having to like, do extra work to kind of digest it
and sort out and put it in the right filing cabinet,
like, but then there's also another step of
that of like you want hydrolyzed collagen because again,
it's just a bit broken down and your body, it can
absorb it easier and it's easier to digest and it's like.
So hydrolyzed collagen is ideally what
you're looking for and then you can either get it just like
pure, literally just a white powder, nothing
else in it. Lovely. Don't want gums, we don't want
stabilisers. Well, there might be stabilisers because that's like,
you know, shelf stable.
>> Charlie: But.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, yeah, exactly. But you don't want like fillers
and.
>> Charlie: Yeah, I was going to ask about this. Like, what, what should
we be avoiding? What are the kind of red flags to see
on the back of the pack that we don't want to see in there?
>> Sian Seccombe: Ah, yeah, like, personally I always avoid like the
plague, alcohol, sugars. So anything ending in
ol, especially if you're an IBS girl, like I
am, oh, they're gonna send you absolutely
sideways and then you won't be doing your long run because you'll be
in the bushes. So there we go, let's avoid those.
but yeah, I think as well it's then thinking about like
we were talking about earlier about like the vitamin C. So when you're
taking your collagen supplement, you can either look for one which has
vitamin C in it. So like, you know, like the little sachet
ones, like they're also very expensive though.
Like I have a massive tub of just like the
hydrolyzed collagen powder that I just like chuck into
things. It's like 20 quid on Amazon, like or
wherever you want to get them from. Like they're, they're
a much easier source but you just then have to think about how you're
adding them into your diet. Yeah, but actually the most important thing is that you're
taking it right rather than it's all well and good having it, but if it's just
sitting in the cupboard, it's not, it's not helping. So
it's then kind of going, okay, am I taking it with a
source of vitamin C? So if I'm putting it my
smoothie. Is there an orange juice in there?
Is there ah, like something else with vitamin C?
Mango, pineapple, like anything really.
And then also like how you're taking it,
you can take it with anything. Like there is nothing
that's going to stop it being as Good as it would
be. So, like, I know lots of people put them in coffees now.
So, like, heating up, not going to be a problem.
It's fine. Like, it doesn't like,
null the properties of what it's trying to do.
Because we're not heating up to like
90 degrees here. We're just making it
warm to drink it. We're not denaturing the
proteins, we're not breaking down the amino acids. Like, if
you kind of think of it like when you cook a chicken breast,
the chicken breast is then not protein because you've cooked it
and that's going to be a lot hotter than if you've made a
coffee. So it's kind of like the boundary.
But it's absolutely fine having it.
>> Charlie: And there's no sort of caffeine inhibitor
with the collagen.
>> Sian Seccombe: Not that they've proven. Yeah, not
that there's actually enough robust evidence on,
caffeine in itself is a whole nother wild
world of like, ergogenic, sport aid and supplement.
Like, it's a wild world. but I just really
like coffee, so I drink the same.
But actually, you know, then, then someone goes, right, I'm going to prove
coffee is good for you. So they write, right, look how many antioxidants
and everything else is in there. And it's a wonder drug.
>> Charlie: It's delicious. I'm not going to give up that morning
coffee.
>> Sian Seccombe: No, that's the thing. That's the
thing. Like, actually, in the grand scheme of things,
if having it in your coffee is going to be the
way that you take it, cool, Absolutely
fine. Like, if remembering to have it is going to be
having it with your electrolytes when you have those, or you
stack it in with your creatine and everything else you're putting in your bottle,
like, the best thing to do is take it daily. If
you're going to be supplement with it, in terms
of like amounts for, like, daily
consumption. I would also
say a preface that just test it out on
a day that you are, like, at home or,
like, gonna see how your tummy reacts. Because some people
do have kind of like, interesting effects when
they take, like, pure collagen.
it's just kind of like an anecdotal. It's nothing to,
it's nothing to be scared of. It's just if you think about if you
ate like a massive steak and you hadn't had one for like two weeks,
your stomach would be like, oh, hello. What we got? What are we doing here? And
it's just that kind of like a similar thing of like, just. Just give your stomach
or like do a half dose the first time you've done it. Just to like, be
like giving you a heads up here. Stomach. This is what we're
dealing with now.
>> Charlie: Yeah, yeah.
>> Sian Seccombe: but it's quite. Because again, it's the, like
looking at the rest of your diet and
seeing how much protein am I getting from elsewhere.
Blah. I would just go with the
dosage that's on the packet of the particular collagen you're
using. But in terms of for
injury, they say the kind of
evidence is around 10 to 20 grammes,
30 to 60 minutes before the stress episode.
So before the exercises or the rehab
or whatever you're going to do. That's where
that's the dosage that they suggest will actually increase the
collagen synthesis rates the most for specific
tendon issues and tendon repair and
recovery. similar dosage is
suggested kind of with like surgery and wound repair.
Obviously you're not gonna then like do exercise after
that, but, like, actually those kind of dosages,
perhaps both ends of the day, is what
people are kind of looking at in terms of when they're doing the studies
to investigate this. Those. The ballparks
of how much they're looking at. So it's not huge amounts, but
it's also not small amounts. So
it's. Yeah, it's more in the realms of like, ah, my protein yoghurt
has 15 grammes. Like, that's more the kind of realms of
collagen we're looking at. It's not like a beta alanine, where
you've got like 2, 3 grammes. It's. It's 10 to
20 grammes.
>> Charlie: Yeah. Which I think in my experience is usually what they
suggest in the back of the pack. Mine certainly says two scoops
is 20 grammes. I usually just do one in my coffee.
and that's. I just find two is a
bit overwhelming in terms of then the flavour and the,
like, the texture change.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, the texture's weird sometimes, isn't it?
>> Charlie: Like, yeah.
>> Sian Seccombe: It's also just trying ones and seeing which ones you like best
and, work for you best because you can get ones which are like, stacked
with like, you've got your vitamin C, you've got hyaluronic acids, you've got other
things in there. And especially if you're a kind of a woman in
your 30s, you're going. Right. There's actually a list of things I'm trying to hit
right now? Is there a. Is there a collagen
that might have all of these lovely things in there for me? So it's like
just making your life easier. Really.
>> Charlie: Love that. Yeah, we're all about trying to streamline things because,
yeah, like you say, there are so many supplements
that we like
Instagram, like media tells us that we
should be taking. And it's trying to philtre that down
and think what's actually the most
necessary for me? What are my goals, what am
I, what's the rest of my diet looking like?
What, you know, what actually is going to make a
difference and when should I be doing that and what should I be taking? Because
it's not. Supplementation is such an
uncontrolled, unregulated market
that it's. Yes, it's quite scary
what you could be taking.
>> Sian Seccombe: It's. It's the wild west.
Honestly, some of the stuff I see on Instagram and
TikTok, like, I mean, I've. I'm doing a
masters at the moment and literally we do
a module about the wild west of supplements because it's
so crazy of like, the stuff people say. And I
also think, like, there's quite a comparison
trap you get stuck in with Instagram and stuff of like, oh,
no, everyone else is taking collagen. I'm not taking collagen. I'm
falling behind. I'm failing as a woman and I'm going to end up wrinkly and grey
and in a corner on my own. Like, no, it's all fine.
Don't worry, guys. Like, just because everyone else is doing it
doesn't mean you need to do it. And actually your diet
could be way better than everyone else than the people that you're
worried you're, like, not doing as well as, or
like not doing the right thing as, like. Actually, to be honest, it's
probably a marketing campaign. Someone's trying to sell you something and it's just
about money. Whereas actually you can look at
your own diet and go, you know what, let's look at my
food first as a food
first approach. That's always going to be the best
way to give your body what it needs is
in the form that it actually came from first.
So the closer something looks to real
food, the happier your body's going to be
with it, really. Because then there's definitely no like alcohol, sugars
or weird things in there. So if you look
at your diet and you go, you know what? I actually eat a really
good amount of protein. You're going to be giving your body
what it needs for collagen. Could you supplement
if you would like to? Absolutely. Is it going to
hurt? No. Do you need
to? People have
not been supplementing with collagen for very many years and have all been
fine. So, like, there's no one
very. Like, you would probably have to have a medical issue to be
deficient in protein or deficient in collagen.
So it's actually just going, okay, am I
supporting my body in a whole picture? The best way
possible. You're doing all right. Like, don't. It's not.
If you forget to have your collagen one day, it's fine. It's not
the end of the world. Like, diets don't have to be perfect.
Bodies don't either. It's absolutely fine.
>> Charlie: So, okay, just to kind of sum up, we're saying a
lot of people just said in the question box, where do I
start? And so from what I'm kind of
gathering is that we start with food. We look
at the diet as a whole. Am I getting these sources
of collagen in my diet? Am
I going through a rehab, an injury, a
recovery process? Maybe,
then I want to start adding in some collagen. Or maybe I look at
my diet and I think, actually I'm vegetarian, I'm vegan, or
I don't eat a lot of meat or I don't know about anyone
else, but I feel like I eat more meat at the weekends
when I'm like, eating at home. Whereas, like the kind of pat lunches for
work or just like kind of, you know, quick
dinners that I'm having are, maybe
less. And especially breakfast. Like weekends I have eggs for
breakfast. Weekdays I have overnight
oats. So it's. Yeah, my week
maybe is balanced, but during the week
where I'm doing the most of my training maybe isn't so balanced. So just kind
of, for me, it's, that's why I kind of thought actually
this might be beneficial.
>> Sian Seccombe: And that's. So that's exactly like, that's such a good way of
thinking about it. Because if you think when
you're stacking your training, a lot of your training is
happening, then when you're going, okay, actually this is not
where I'm getting my most, like, optimal,
like protein sources. And your
body, like we've said earlier, it can't keep hold of
those proteins, so it can't. Hang on, go, you
know what? I'm going to use those in three days time when I know I'M going to
the gym. It's. No, it doesn't work like that. so it is
actually going okay if I've got a massive strength session today
or I'm doing a massive strength session tonight. I
know my dinner tonight needs to have a really good
protein source after the gym or am I going to have
a protein supplement of some form or can I have a
big bowl of Greek yoghurt and berries before I
go to bed that's then going to give me a big protein
boost that I'm going to go to sleep. All these recovery protein synthesis is going to
happen and I've hit protein. So Greek
yoghurt, berries, protein and vitamin C.
Lovely.
>> Charlie: That's perfect. That is my daily with a little bit of dark
chocolate. That's my like pre bed
most nights.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, chocolate's antioxidants is fine.
>> Charlie: Perfect. Yeah.
>> Sian Seccombe: It's actually, it's a vegetable, it's a plant at this point it's fine.
>> Charlie: Just coffee and chocolate. Don't take it away from me. Tell me
it's an essential part of my diet.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah. And also like as a runner probably is
like the worst diet you can have is one that doesn't have enough energy.
So anyone who tells me I can't eat chocolate or coffee, I
absolutely see it. I'm not involved in
this.
>> Charlie: I feel like that is the perfect way to finish the especially
given that it's like January, people are
feeling like they kind of need to be doing all the things or
cutting everything out. The most important message. And
M again this is not really collagen related but I love that
that the worst diet is one that doesn't have enough energy.
So yeah, make sure you are fueling your
runs.
>> Sian Seccombe: Exactly. And if you're hitting your energy in
all likelihood you are having enough protein and enough
amino acids to give your body what it
needs to go through all the collagen synthesis process
and look after your tendons and muscles. So it is actually
going. If you then decide come January 1st, you know
what, I'm going to start training for London marathon. I'm going to restrict my
food. Oh, you are on a one way path to injury
and burnout. Like that is not. Oh, let's not
do that. It's not fun. It's not fun for anyone. Like
actually making sure your diet, you're looking at your diet
going, what's the most nutritious thing? Like
actually going, you know what, we're going to add things to our
diet, not take things away. So
okay, I know I want to think about my collagen. I'm going
to add in and make sure I'm having enough
protein and vitamin C. Those type of
ways of looking at your diet, like that shift almost
of like the mindset of doesn't have to come from
supplement. Like it is actually coming from food as well.
And just looking at your diet and going, you know, actually it's
not a magic wand having a collagen supplement. We
can do this through food. I might well be okay already.
And it is okay to go. Actually I'm going to, I'm going to pass
on the collagen supplement right now. Like I might add it in
later in my training in my marathon block because
actually that's when I'm starting to feel like I'm really feeling the
effects of training. I'm not recovering properly.
That's when you go, okay, I'm going to start looking at like
a, energy availability and then B, potentially
protein intake and protein kind of
completeness again. Yeah. Could collagen help
around your gym sessions? Maybe. Happy days.
>> Charlie: Great. And thank you so much. I'm going to leave a link to
some of the, collagen supplements that
we, we would recommend in terms of if
that is something you want to try that don't have the
artificial sweeteners that or the sugar
alcohols that, are available on
XMiles. This podcast is sponsored by xmiles. If you do want to
try it, there's be a little discount code in the show
notes. Thank
you so much for listening to this week's episode of the Cook Eat Run
podcast with X Miles. Hope you found it as interesting as
I did and please let me know if there are any other topics you want
covered. I'd love to be able to share more kind of
useful information, especially for women runners
and over 30, which I'm definitely in that
category. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen
to the show and leave a rating and review. It really helps. And
yeah, send me a DM on what m topics you want us to cover this
year.
Thank you so much for listening to Cook Run, the podcast
hosted by me, Charlie Watson, sponsored by X Miles.
They are your one stop nutrition shop.
Come and find me on social media thereunner. beans and
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Bye.