"Becca's Favorite Things: Further Food's Marine Collagen Peptides"

Welcome to the first of this year’s “Becca’s Favorite Things” blog.  The mission of this blog series is to share some of the things which are loved by yours truly and even gift some of the items to my delightful readers.  My beloved Marine Collagen Peptides made by Further Food is the first product in my “Becca’s Favorite Things” blog series and CONTEST!! 

I chose Further Food’s Marine Collagen Peptides for a couple of reasons.  First, it has been a true game changer in my life.  Second, Further Food’s is a company founded by WOMEN that gives some of their proceeds to fight chronic illness and promote healthy eating programs. 

What is collagen and why do you need it?  Collagen is the most abundant protein in our body; it makes up the majority of our bone mass, skin, and connective tissues.  As we age our bodies produce less collagen which wreaks all sorts of havoc on our bodies, particularly the body of a certain soaper.  We get wrinkles, our skin starts to sag, our joints aren’t as happy as they were in our 20’s, burpees are harder (they suck no matter your age but I swear they get harder), and etc… Get the point?  Here’s a short science lesson.  The building blocks of proteins are amino acids. Our bodies need amino acids and only produce the non-essential varieties.  We need to get the essential amino acids through diet. Most of us don’t get these essential amino acids in our diets.  Our ancestors used to get them because they ate things like bone broth as part of their regular diets.  Since modern conveniences, like many broths from a carton, typically lack the requisite nutrients we need supplementation. 

I started looking into collagen supplements for the sole purpose of reducing pain and inflammation in my rotator cuff which I injured during a rather heavy snatch in a CrossFit WOD (I’ve come to the conclusion that I am just not physiologically made to do certain things and a snatch is one of them).  Nothing was torn or broken, just some major inflammation.  Months went by and nothing helped my shoulder, not even rest or physical therapy.  I was miserable because I am a gym junkie (that is seriously a thing).  It was so bad that the physical therapist was to the point of sending me for cortisone injections.  Here is a quick tidbit on me, I don’t eat red meat or pork.  I’m not a true pescatarian because poultry makes its way onto my plate occasionally but I do draw a hard line and haven’t eaten red meat in nearly 6 years.  This made my collagen quest difficult because most of the collagen available comes from animals which I don’t eat. 

Almost ready to give up and get the shots in my shoulder, I ironically stumbled upon Further Food’s Marine Collagen Peptides while playing on my phone in the physical therapist’s office.  The Marine Collagen Peptides come from cod skin, it is type I collagen (the most abundant type in our body), and contains all eight of the essential amino acids (you know, the ones our bodies don’t naturally produce??).  I’ve been taking it for over a month now and haven’t looked for anything better because I don’t think that it can get any better.  My rotator cuff pain is nearly gone.  I am able to do my regular intense-ish workouts and back to chaturanga-ing with the best of them.  My nails, which I put through the wringer as a soaper, are much stronger.  I haven’t noticed any hair or skin changes and haven’t paid attention to the other potential effects of the collagen because my main concern was my pain.  I am now conducting an unofficial clinical trial on myself and husband to see how it impacts us besides the whole pain/inflammation thing.

Let’s talk specifically about how I use Further Food’s Marine Collagen.  The first time I tried it, I jumped right in and just added a scoop to some water and took the clumpy mixture back. I nearly puked. I went online and read a little more about it and saw that it works best with hot beverages/foods.  Now, I add a scoop to my empty morning coffee cup then add a little coffee and stir.  If it doesn’t go into solution, I add a little more coffee and stir until all the clumps are gone. Once it is all dissolved, I top off my cup and add some milk. I like to use a small amount of coffee at first because I found that if you add your total liquid amount the collagen might clump up and you can’t get it to break up even with stirring (clumps=gross to me).   

One scoop in an empty mug!      See, its a fine powder!      It needs to go into solution or the clumps will make it taste gross!

I’ve used the same technique with black tea and even soups.  I have yet to find a warm liquid that the collagen won’t dissolve in and once it is in something (besides plain water) you can’t taste it!  If you give the collagen a shot, the Further Food website has a wealth recipes using the Marine Collagen Peptides and their other supplements like the bovine containing collagen peptides. However, I don’t foresee myself using it in anything other than my coffee, tea and occasional bowl of soup because these methods work just fine.

The people at Further Food have been an honest pleasure to work with.  I reached out to them pitching my blog/contest idea and they immediately agreed to bless a winner with a container of their Marine Collagen Peptides.  They even gave me a discount code for my users to take advantage of!  Further Food has invited me to become an affiliate of theirs where I will receive a small commission from each sale of their product that is purchased by those who use my code.  If anyone does purchase I plan on donating the commissions to various non-profits which are near and dear to my heart.    

Mosey on over to Further Food to check out the Marine Collagen Peptides and their other awesomeness.  I don't think that you will regret trying any of their products.  If for some reason you do then Further Food offers a 30-day money back guarantee. The link below has the 5% discount applied but if you run into issues, enter "REBECCA" at checkout!

https://shop.furtherfood.com/discount/REBECCA

Finally, would you like to win a jar of Further Food's Marine Collagen Peptides???  Duh, who wouldn't?  They are AMAZING!  For one chance to win you can either leave a comment with your thoughts on collagen supplements here on the blog or on the Bars by Becca Facebook post where this blog is first shared!  For a second entry share this post (COMMENT THAT YOU SHARED) and like https://www.facebook.com/FurtherFood/  Contest runs from November 27th, 2018 until 2:00 pm EST December 2nd, 2018. A winner will be selected at random from all eligible entries on or about December 3rd, 2018.

Good luck!

Bathe well.  Be well.

Becca


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