Collagen Supplements May Enhance Bone Health for Runners, Study Suggests

Could a collagen supplement help protect women's bones? A new study suggests it might.

Collagen is a protein that helps build bones, skin, hair, nails, cartilage, and tendons. While the body naturally makes collagen from the food we eat, collagen peptide supplements have become popular for supporting skin, joint, and gut health. Now, researchers say they may also help protect bone health in female runners.

The study, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, was led by researchers at the University of Connecticut.

Female runners are at a higher risk of bone injuries because running places repeated stress on the bones. Normally, the body breaks down old or damaged bone and replaces it with new bone. But if runners do not eat enough calories, their bodies may not have enough energy to rebuild bone properly. Over time, this can increase the risk of stress fractures, osteopenia, and osteoporosis.

This problem is especially common in women because low calorie intake can reduce estrogen levels, which are important for keeping bones strong.

Researchers wanted to see whether collagen peptides could improve bone health because 90–95% of the bone's organic structure is made of collagen.

In this small pilot study, female runners took collagen peptide supplements for four weeks. Blood tests showed that women taking the supplements had higher levels of markers linked to bone formation and lower levels of inflammation compared with before the study.

Researchers say these early findings suggest collagen peptides may help support healthy bone remodeling, allowing the body to build more bone while reducing bone breakdown.

However, this was a small, short-term study, so larger studies are needed to confirm the results and determine whether collagen supplements can reduce the risk of bone injuries in female athletes.

Besides potential bone benefits, collagen peptides have also been linked to improvements in skin, hair, joints, and gut health, making them a supplement with several possible health benefits.

REFERENCE: Kuhlman NM, Jagim AR, Blesso CN, Puglisi MJ, Chun OK, Jones MT and Fields JB (2026) Effects of collagen peptide supplementation on bone turnover, cytokine, and inflammatory markers in female distance runners: a randomized pilot study. Front. Nutr. 13:1825906. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1825906