Great Lakes Collagen Peptides Powder Supplement for Skin Hair Nail Joints – Unflavored – Quick Dissolve Hydrolyzed, Non-GMO, Keto, Paleo, Gluten-Free, No Preservatives – 16 oz Canister

My “Joint Juice”. My initial motivation to purchase this product was very simple, joint pain. I have bad knees (who doesn’t nowadays), it’s general arthritis, crepitus, and the “pain hangover” from working out and lifting heavy weights. My typical routine has me icing after workouts, which I will still do. I like this supplement, but it’s not a miracle powder.I wanted something in addition to my fish oil supplement to help my joints, if even possible. I’m pretty skeptical about supplements that make those kind of claims, and I really raised an eyebrow to the metabolic part, and especially from the review about claiming to help her PCOS, it’s on the front product page when you scroll to reviews. That is a very bold claim. I have PCOS, and I wouldn’t assume that a powder I could take with water and a wedge of lemon would be beneficial for something that I’ve had to change my entire lifestyle to fight against.I purchased this product and received it mid May and have been taking it since. I only take 1 serving of this product a day, so just 2 tablespoons. So first, let’s talk about the taste.I started with taking it in my morning orange juice/water mix that I take my iron supplement with. It does make your drink frothy, which I find absolutely disgusting. I do not like frothy anything, that is personal preference. You can shake it up and put in the fridge for 30 minutes or so and the froth goes away. This “recipe” did not work for me. I tried straight water and lemon, not as frothy, but also felt like a chore to drink. And, it never really dissolved all the way. The way I drink it now works best for me. On my gym days, I use my 32oz wide mouth Nalgene bottle and took a blender ball from one of my  BlenderBottle 3-Pack Water Bottle of 28oz, Blue/Black/Red, 28 ounce  and stuck it in there. Next I fill it 75% with water, 2 tablespoons of the Great Lakes powder, and 1  Starbucks VIA® Refreshers Valencia Orange (3 Pack/Boxes) 6 Packets Each Box  (green coffee extract), shake up a few times, then add ice to the top. I let it sit for a bit as it will get frothy, but dies down. If I am not working out there is no need for any caffeine, so I use a  Crystal Light Pure, Lemonade, 7-Count, 2.17 Ounce (Pack of 6)  or homemade (unsweetened) Green iced tea, or something similar to have some kind of flavor to it.As far as the benefits, I have noticed that my knees are less achy than normal. Although I have been doing a lot more recovery/physical therapy exercises, it could be the combo of both. My hair, which has always fallen out excessively has stopped shedding so much. That alone is worth it for me to always use this product. I feel like I leave hair everywhere I go, and it gets into everything. My BF hasn’t been complaining about it as much, so I know that means there’s been a change as well.One of the best benefits of this supplement is the hunger factor. If I’m just drinking water and my Starbucks VIA, by the time my workout is over I’m typically ravenous and want to eat everything and anything I can find. Which totally defeats the purpose of my workout. However, once I added this to my water/VIA blend, it really keeps the satiety in check and I have no issues running a couple errands after working out, then coming home and eating a sensible meal. I think that’s the biggest bonus to this supplement, at least for me because I’m actively losing weight. I also powerlift, so the little amount of protein I’m getting during the workout probably does help me during the workout and with recovery.I will say that a few weeks into this I did have a cooking accident and cut my finger pretty deeply. Nothing that required stitches, but it was gross. The cut healed very quickly and the scar is barely visible. I have old cuts from cooking slips that you can still clearly see the scars. I’m assuming those are never going to really be non-visible, but that’s something I don’t really care about, I just thought it was interesting enough to add. Some people like that kind of thing.My nails do look healthier, less ridges. I’m iron deficient, so they have always expressed ridges on the nail, but maybe the combo of this and my iron pill are finally working!However, the only downside is that using this product I started to get small, barely noticeable whiteheads. They go away quickly. I’ve had very clear skin for the past few years, and this is the only change to my diet. I am attributing it to this product, but I’m sure the only person that notices them is myself. It was more noticeable when I first started this product, but now after a couple month, it doesn’t happen as much (but still happens).As far as weight loss claims or PCOS help, the only thing this product has helped with losing weight is what I mentioned above, satiety. It does curb hunger, at least for me. The weight loss I’ve noticed is because I workout and track my calories, not because I added Collagen Hydrolysate to my diet.Another reviewer is right, it is cheaper to buy this in the bulk 6 pack on their website, which is probably what I will do in the future. Wish they gave that option on Amazon, since I’m a prime member, and I don’t recall if Great Lakes offers free shipping.

Don’t wait to purchase. I’ve used Great Lakes before, but stopped due to family/life happenings. Bad mistake. I felt my joints start hurting again, finger nails getting brittle, knees cracking so loud they’d wake the dog. Couldn’t walk as far without knee pain, even started getting arthritis in my finger. So I ordered (and started up a monthly subscription). I’ve been adding 2 scoops (scoop included) in my morning coffee. I’ve even mixed it in with scrambled eggs! With the unflavored I can’t taste it. I can now bend my finger with no pain, the dog even sleeps better as he can’t hear me waking by him any longer. Is this a cure all? No….But my dog loves that we can now have longer walks and I can also be more active with the grandkids with out hurting all the time. Don’t hold back thinking about purchasing Great Lakes Collagen, you’ll wish you’d started taking it sooner!

Just like the Video Reviews say. This is SO much better than the “Culinary” collagen we had before. Goes in the water, dissolves, is drinkable with just a very slight flavor that is like bone marrow. It is a good source of protein.