Does Sugar Cancel Out Your Collagen? Glycation, Gummies and Your Skin

Sugar-coated gummy candies, sugar cubes, glazed pastries and a glass of lemonade on a linen tablecloth

Quick answer

Yes, sugar can damage collagen over time. When blood glucose is high, sugar molecules attach to collagen fibres and form cross-links called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs make collagen stiffer and less elastic (Gkogkolou & Böhm, 2012; Chen et al., 2022). The effect builds slowly over years and depends on your overall diet, not on any single food. The 2–4 g of sugar in a typical gummy won't ruin your skin on its own. But if you take collagen for your skin, it makes sense to choose a version that doesn't add sugar.

What is glycation?

Glycation is a slow chemical reaction in which sugars such as glucose and fructose bond to proteins without any enzyme involved. It is the same family of reactions (the Maillard reaction) that browns bread crust. In the body, sugars attach mainly to the lysine and arginine residues of proteins. Over a series of steps they form permanent advanced glycation end products (Chen et al., 2022).

Skin collagen is especially exposed because it is replaced so slowly. One study estimated the half-life of skin collagen at about 15 years (Verzijl et al., 2000). A collagen fibre can therefore collect glycation damage for a decade or more before it is replaced. AGE levels in skin collagen rise steadily with age.

Key takeaway: Glycation is a slow, cumulative process. Long-lived proteins like skin collagen collect AGEs over years, and higher blood sugar speeds that up.

How do AGEs change collagen and skin?

AGEs affect skin in three main ways (Gkogkolou & Böhm, 2012; Chen et al., 2022):

  1. Cross-linking. AGEs form bridges between neighbouring collagen fibres. The flexible network becomes rigid, so skin loses some of its ability to stretch and spring back.
  2. Resistance to turnover. Cross-linked collagen is harder for the body's enzymes to break down and replace, so damaged fibres stay in place.
  3. Inflammatory signalling. AGEs bind a receptor called RAGE on skin cells. That triggers oxidative stress and the release of enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases) that break down surrounding collagen.
Diagram showing glucose molecules binding to collagen fibres and forming rigid AGE cross-links
AGEs cross-link neighbouring collagen fibres, making the network stiffer and harder to replace.

What the evidence does and doesn't show: Most of the evidence comes from lab studies, ageing research and people with diabetes, whose blood glucose stays high for long periods. Researchers have not tested in a trial whether cutting dietary sugar reduces wrinkles in healthy people. The biology is well established, and the effect of any single food is small. Reviews in dermatology treat lower sugar intake as a sensible part of skin-ageing prevention (Danby, 2010).

Are sugary collagen gummies bad for your skin?

A few grams of sugar a day won't measurably age your skin on its own. Glycation tracks your total sugar intake and long-term blood glucose, not one gummy. But a supplement taken for skin has nothing to gain from added sugar, and it often contributes to the problem in small ways:

  • Sugar is often the main ingredient. Many gummy supplements list glucose syrup or cane sugar first, so most of each gummy is sugar.
  • The collagen dose is often small. Clinical trials showing skin benefits generally used 2.5–10 g of collagen peptides a day (Proksch et al., 2014; de Miranda et al., 2021). Small gummies often can't hold a dose in that range. Check the label for the milligrams of collagen per serving.
  • It's a daily habit. You take a supplement every day for months, so small amounts of sugar add up.

What should you look for on a collagen gummy label?

Label item What to look for Why it matters
Collagen per serving 2.5 g or more of hydrolyzed collagen (peptides) Matches the doses used in clinical trials
Total and added sugars 0 g, or as low as possible Avoids adding to your daily sugar and glucose load
First ingredient Not glucose syrup or cane sugar Ingredients are listed by weight
Sweetener type Low-glycaemic options (erythritol, stevia, maltitol) Raises blood glucose much less than sugar (see below)
Collagen source Marine (fish) or bovine, as long as it's hydrolyzed Peptide size matters more than the animal
Gelling agent Pectin or gelatin Pectin is plant-based. Gelatin adds a little collagen but no proven skin benefit at gummy doses

Do sugar alcohols cause glycation?

Sugar alcohols raise blood glucose much less than sugar. That matters because glycation depends on how much glucose is circulating. One review of the data assigned these glycaemic index (GI) values (Livesey, 2003):

Sweetener Glycaemic index (glucose = 100)
Glucose 100
Sucrose (table sugar) 65
Maltitol 35
Sorbitol 9
Erythritol 0
Steviol glycosides (stevia) ~0 (not absorbed as sugar)

To be clear, "zero sugar" doesn't mean zero glucose response. Maltitol is partly broken down to glucose in the gut, which is why its GI is 35 rather than 0. It's well below table sugar, but not nothing. Large amounts of sugar alcohols can also cause bloating or a laxative effect in some people.

How does collagen actually support skin?

Hydrolyzed collagen is collagen that has been broken down into short peptides. After you eat it, some of those peptides reach the bloodstream intact. The best studied is prolyl-hydroxyproline (Pro-Hyp), which appears in the blood within a couple of hours of eating collagen hydrolysate (Iwai et al., 2005; Yazaki et al., 2017). In cell studies, Pro-Hyp stimulates skin fibroblasts (the cells that make collagen) to multiply and to produce hyaluronic acid (Shigemura et al., 2009; Ohara et al., 2010).

The human evidence comes from randomized controlled trials:

  • A 2021 meta-analysis of 19 trials (1,125 participants) found hydrolyzed collagen improved skin hydration and elasticity and reduced wrinkles compared with placebo, typically over about 90 days (de Miranda et al., 2021).
  • A 2023 meta-analysis reached similar conclusions (Pu et al., 2023).
  • In a trial in 72 women, tuna-derived collagen peptides improved skin hydration, elasticity and density compared with placebo after 8 weeks (Morakul et al., 2024).

Marine or bovine collagen? Fish collagen is mostly type I, the main collagen type in skin (Coppola et al., 2020). Bovine collagen contains types I and III. Both sources have positive skin trials. How finely the collagen is hydrolyzed (the peptide size) probably matters more than which animal it comes from (León-López et al., 2019).

Where The Good Jelly Co. fits

We make collagen candy, so we have an interest here. These are the facts so you can compare.

Each 60 g bag of The Good Jelly Co. collagen candy contains:

  • 6 g of hydrolyzed Type I marine collagen, within the range used in skin trials.
  • 0 g of sugar (0 g added sugar), sweetened with maltitol, erythritol and stevia.
  • Pectin as the gelling agent (plant-based).
  • 1,000 mcg of biotin.
  • 110 calories.

One bag is one serving. It's made to be eaten as a snack, not swallowed as a pill. Contains fish.

Shop The Good Jelly Co. collagen gummies →

Frequently asked questions

Does sugar destroy collagen?

Sugar doesn't destroy collagen right away. Over years, high blood glucose drives glycation: sugars bond to collagen fibres and form advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs cross-link and stiffen collagen and make it harder to replace. Skin collagen lasts about 15 years, so the damage builds up slowly.

Can a gummy with 3 grams of sugar damage my skin?

Not on its own. Glycation reflects your total sugar intake and long-term blood glucose, and 3 grams is a small share of what most people eat. But a supplement you take every day for skin has no reason to add sugar, so a zero-sugar option is the more consistent choice.

Do sugar alcohols like maltitol cause glycation?

Sugar alcohols raise blood glucose much less than sugar, so they add much less to glycation. Maltitol has a glycaemic index of about 35, compared with 65 for table sugar and 100 for glucose. Erythritol is close to 0. Maltitol is partly digested to glucose, so it isn't completely glucose-free.

Is marine collagen better than bovine collagen for skin?

Both have positive clinical trials for skin. Marine collagen is mostly type I, the main collagen in skin, while bovine collagen contains types I and III. How finely the collagen is hydrolyzed into small peptides probably matters more than the source animal.

How long does collagen take to work for skin?

Most clinical trials measure skin hydration and elasticity after 8 to 12 weeks of daily use. A 2021 meta-analysis of 19 trials found benefits after about 90 days of hydrolyzed collagen supplementation.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

References

  1. Gkogkolou P, Böhm M (2012). Advanced glycation end products: Key players in skin aging?. Dermato-endocrinology 4(3):259-70. PubMed 23467327
  2. Chen CY, Zhang JQ, Li L, et al. (2022). Advanced Glycation End Products in the Skin: Molecular Mechanisms, Methods of Measurement, and Inhibitory Pathways. Frontiers in medicine 9:837222. PubMed 35646963
  3. Verzijl N, DeGroot J, Thorpe SR, et al. (2000). Effect of collagen turnover on the accumulation of advanced glycation end products. The Journal of biological chemistry 275(50):39027-31. PubMed 10976109
  4. Danby FW (2010). Nutrition and aging skin: sugar and glycation. Clinics in dermatology 28(4):409-11. PubMed 20620757
  5. Livesey G (2003). Health potential of polyols as sugar replacers, with emphasis on low glycaemic properties. Nutrition research reviews 16(2):163-91. PubMed 19087388
  6. Iwai K, Hasegawa T, Taguchi Y, et al. (2005). Identification of food-derived collagen peptides in human blood after oral ingestion of gelatin hydrolysates. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 53(16):6531-6. PubMed 16076145
  7. Yazaki M, Ito Y, Yamada M, et al. (2017). Oral Ingestion of Collagen Hydrolysate Leads to the Transportation of Highly Concentrated Gly-Pro-Hyp and Its Hydrolyzed Form of Pro-Hyp into the Bloodstream and Skin. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 65(11):2315-2322. PubMed 28244315
  8. Shigemura Y, Iwai K, Morimatsu F, et al. (2009). Effect of Prolyl-hydroxyproline (Pro-Hyp), a food-derived collagen peptide in human blood, on growth of fibroblasts from mouse skin. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 57(2):444-9. PubMed 19128041
  9. Ohara H, Ichikawa S, Matsumoto H, et al. (2010). Collagen-derived dipeptide, proline-hydroxyproline, stimulates cell proliferation and hyaluronic acid synthesis in cultured human dermal fibroblasts. The Journal of dermatology 37(4):330-8. PubMed 20507402
  10. Proksch E, Segger D, Degwert J, et al. (2014). Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Skin pharmacology and physiology 27(1):47-55. PubMed 23949208
  11. de Miranda RB, Weimer P, Rossi RC (2021). Effects of hydrolyzed collagen supplementation on skin aging: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of dermatology 60(12):1449-1461. PubMed 33742704
  12. Pu SY, Huang YL, Pu CM, et al. (2023). Effects of Oral Collagen for Skin Anti-Aging: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients 15(9). PubMed 37432180
  13. Morakul B, Teeranachaideekul V, Wongrakpanich A, et al. (2024). The evidence from in vitro primary fibroblasts and a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of tuna collagen peptides intake on skin health. Journal of cosmetic dermatology 23(12):4255-4267. PubMed 39075819
  14. Coppola D, Oliviero M, Vitale GA, et al. (2020). Marine Collagen from Alternative and Sustainable Sources: Extraction, Processing and Applications. Marine drugs 18(4). PubMed 32326635
  15. León-López A, Morales-Peñaloza A, Martínez-Juárez VM, et al. (2019). Hydrolyzed Collagen-Sources and Applications. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) 24(22). PubMed 31703345