Drinking Collagen: A Health Revolution or Another Wellness Trend?
Now an essential active ingredient, collagen is on the lips of all healthistas. How to choose from the many brands on the market, and what are the ways to integrate it into your wellness routine? Elements of response with Candice Veuillet and Maïlys Canova, passionate duo behind the brilliant brand of food supplements Apnée.
What is the genesis of the Apnée brand, and under what circumstances did you decide to create the brand?
Candice Veuillet: Passionate about beauty and nutrition, I grew up in a home where food was always at the heart of health, and where it was very natural to supplement in periods of stress, insomnia, of fatigue. When I discovered the incredible powers of collagen on the appearance of my skin more than five years ago, everything seemed obvious to me. I tested many of them over many months before identifying the key factors that will make Apnea the best collagen on the French market! And it was alongside Maïlys that the adventure began with the challenge: creating an ultra concentrated, effective, clean and French collagen with a delicious taste!
Maïlys Canova: For my part, I was able to see the incredible effects of collagen on Candice, whom I have known for almost 20 years now! Very curious to know how this miracle active ingredient worked, I started to dig into the subject. I was able to first notice an incredible craze for drinking collagen abroad, but also, in support, numerous solid scientific studies advocating its effectiveness. This deeper approach to beauty immediately spoke to me. It was completely in line with my concept of “feeling beautiful”: something that goes far beyond the surface, an internal ritual to reveal one's beauty above all in depth and for it to shine outwards. When we were interested in what existed on the French market in 2019, we said to ourselves that there was really something to offer. It is indeed impossible to find a collagen that is both sufficiently dosed, with a clean formulation, designed in synergy and obviously, impossible to find a collagen with a tasty taste! This “collagen revelation” arrived at a time when the planets were aligned. We jumped head on into the adventure to create Apnée, the first brand dedicated to the powers of marine collagen.
Can you discuss in more detail the benefits of collagen for the skin and the body in general?
CV: Collagen is a real gem for the beauty of skin, hair and nails, but it also has benefits for our body in general. This is because collagen is the most abundant protein in our body. It is found in all structures of the body: skin, teeth, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, connective tissues.
Collagen is often presented as the architect of our skin since it preserves all its structure, its firmness, its elasticity and also plays a crucial role in its degree of hydration. The problem is that from the age of 25, its production decreases and this phenomenon accelerates over time. It has been scientifically proven that ingesting collagen helps increase collagen synthesis in the skin and thus promotes the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles, improves the elasticity and firmness of the skin, significantly increases its degree of hydration and strengthen the hair. This is not the case when collagen is applied to the skin, since its action will be confined to the surface and it will not be able to stimulate the production of collagen which takes place in the dermis. At the level of our body, collagen is also known to relieve joint pain and accelerate sports recovery. It even has beneficial properties for digestion.
You choose marine collagen. What is the difference between this and bovine collagen?
CV: Present in our body, collagen is also present in terrestrial and marine animal tissues. There are several types: bovine collagen, extracted from the skin and cartilage of cows; and marine collagen, extracted from fish skin and bones. Marine collagen is scientifically recognised for its exceptional ability to be assimilated by our body, because it has an amino acid composition very close to that of human collagen. Directly extracted from fish skin, bones and scales, it is a 100% natural ingredient!
MC: Beyond this effectiveness and as part of an overall reduction in our meat consumption, it also seemed to us that the use of marine collagen made more sense. Especially since we only use leftover fish and no fish is killed just to make our collagen.
You were among the pioneers of the Collagen wave when you created the brand. Since then, many brands and products enriched with collagen have multiplied and not all formulations are equal. What are the specific features of Apnea products compared to your competitors?
CV: It's true that at the time when we created Apnée, collagen was very little talked about in Europe! Today it is one of the most famous assets in the world. But in the market it is easy to be fooled. It is therefore very important to choose your collagen carefully. For Maïlys and I, it was fundamental to create a product that was effective and good because recurrence is key to obtaining visible and lasting results! When you choose your collagen you need a concentration of 5g per day minimum; that the collagen is of marine origin and that it is in the form of peptides (or hydrolyzed). We also work with marine collagen extracted in France and sourced from responsible fishing. Its molecular weight must be low for optimal absorption by our body. In fact, collagen that is too large is of no use, since it is not able to pass the intestinal barrier.
It also has to be good, so that you want to drink it every day! That it is free from any trace of harmful substances (antibiotics, heavy metals, GMOs, etc.)
Whether it is combined with other active ingredients for even greater effects! It has in fact been scientifically proven that the action of collagen is potentiated by the presence of active antioxidants or vitamins, which are found in each of the Apnea formulas. At Apnée, we have brought together all these criteria in our formulas in order to offer the best collagen on the market.
You emphasize the “pleasure” dimension of your drinks, as tasty as they are beneficial for the body. How do you recommend consuming them?
CV: Indeed, this was one of the first challenges when creating Apnée: creating gourmet drinks in order to make daily intake a moment of pleasure and thus be able to note the benefits! Personally I love our formulas with a little hot water and a dab of oat milk.
MC: Our formulas have been designed to simply fit into a routine. Depending on the cures, you can mix them with milk or water, hot or cold, in your coffee or tea, or in a smoothie, yogurt, compote... But you can also add them to your recipes for granola, energy balls, frozen yogurt, porridge and so on!. Our formulas, in addition to being tasty, have the advantage of being healthy and low in calories. It's up to you to choose the ritual that brings you the most pleasure! For my part, it's depending on the period, a Salted Kiss in my chicory, after lunch or a Le Cœur Qui Rêve herbal tea with aromas of verbena and lemon before bed. Instant pleasure guaranteed!
Which Apnea product would you recommend to someone who wants to discover the brand?
CV: It's difficult to say because it depends on this person's skin type, their age, their tastes... But if I didn't know anything about this person, I would recommend Bain de Minuit, the universal collagen treatment! A real anti-aging bomb, the formulation is a gem, just read the reviews on our site to see it, and the taste is to die for!
