Health, fitness and the supplement aisle.
Collagen · Answer
For skin, joints and general use, the best time to take collagen is whenever you will remember it, because there is no evidence that morning, evening or with meals matters. The one exception is tendon support: small studies used 10 to 15 g with about 50 mg vitamin C 30 to 60 minutes before loading exercise. In South Africa, choose a daily habit you can keep.
For most goals, no. Trials of skin, joints and bone gave collagen once a day, usually dissolved in water or a drink, and none showed that a particular hour beats another. In the 12-month bone study (König 2018), participants simply took 5 g dissolved in water before breakfast. Because the benefits are expected to build over weeks to months, consistency matters far more than the clock.
The exception is tendon and ligament loading. Shaw and colleagues (2017) gave eight men 15 g of vitamin C-enriched gelatine one hour before six minutes of skipping. Blood amino acids peaked about an hour after the dose, and a collagen-synthesis marker roughly doubled versus placebo. A 5 g dose had little extra effect. A later study by Lis and Baar (2019) found a smaller trend that was not statistically significant, so this is a hypothesis, not a rule.
If you want to test it:
More on that protocol is in does collagen help joints and tendons.
| Option | Verdict |
|---|---|
| In the morning with water | Fine; matches the bone trial |
| In coffee or tea | Fine for collagen (hot coffee); keep iron tablets away from coffee |
| With a meal | Fine; may help if powder upsets an empty stomach |
| Before bed | Fine if you prefer; no sleep or recovery advantage is proven |
| After training | No evidence of benefit; it is not a substitute for whey (why) |
Vitamin C is needed for your body to build collagen, but most people eating fruit and vegetables get enough. Adding about 50 mg around the dose is cheap insurance for the tendon protocol; megadoses add nothing (vitamin C and collagen).
As of October 2026 a 10 g dose costs R10.44 with ATP Fitness Hydrolysed Collagen (910 g, R950, ATP shop) and R11.36 with The Harvest Table 800 g refill (R909, Faithful to Nature). At that price, 365 doses of ATP is roughly R3 800 a year. An ATP trade-off: it is unflavoured and has no published third-party test, so those who want flavour or a named branded peptide may prefer Biogen's Peptan range. See our collagen comparison.
Pick a fixed anchor, such as your morning coffee or your post-training smoothie, and link the scoop to it. Stop if you get stomach upset, and check with a doctor if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, have kidney disease or take regular medication.
| Product | Size | Price (source, date) | Servings | R per 10 g | Sweeteners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATP Fitness Hydrolysed Collagen | 910 g | R950 (ATP Fitness shop, 2026-10) | 91 | R10.44 | None |
| The Harvest Table Bovine Collagen Powder 800 g refill | 800 g | R909 (Faithful to Nature, 2026-10) | 50 | R11.36 | none |
Educational information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor, pharmacist or registered dietitian before using supplements if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, taking medication, or living with kidney, liver or heart disease. Prices were observed in October 2026 and are not offers.