>> Charlie: Welcome to the Cook Eat Run podcast with X Miles, hosted by me, Charlie Watson. I'm a runner, a mum, an NHS dietitian, and author of the recipe book for runners, Cook Eat Run. I'm also a 16 times marathoner and love nothing more than sharing what I've learned along the way through a lot of trial and error. Cook Eat Run is the go to podcast for running, nutrition training tips, marathon
debriefs, and, more. I'm here to answer all your questions and fuel you with the knowledge you'll need to run faster, further, and actually just to have more fun on the run. So whether you're training for an ultra, want to improve your marathon pb, or simply just get more out of your running, you're in the right place. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Cook Eat
Run podcast with X Miles. Today I'm doing a bit of a deep dive into the world of collagen with guest Sian Seccombe As you'll hear, Sian is super passionate about all things running, research and nutrition, boiling down the literature so you can easily apply it to your training. We're talking about the science, benefits and misconceptions surrounding collagen supplementation for runners, especially
women over 30. Whether you're recovering from an injury, training for a marathon, or just curious about how to optimise your diet, this episode has something for everyone. Sian's currently working towards a Masters in Sports Nutrition and shares fun nutritional and running info on TikTok and Instagram. Sian Sec. I'll leave the link in the show notes. She's an ultra runner with pretty speedy times on the roads and hosts her own podcast, the Fuelled Runner.
So Sian, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I am so excited to talk about this because I put a story up on my Instagram about collagen and runners and in specific, like specifically women over, 30, because I'm a runner over 30 myself and I was inundated with questions and I think that that supplements especially are such a widely discussed but not really kind of fully understood topic. So I'm really excited to kind of deep
dive into collagen today. so thank you so much for, for joining me and being willing to kind of go into this deep dive with me. Firstly, can we start talking first about kind of what collagen actually is? What, what do we mean when we talk about collagen?
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, it's such an interesting topic, isn't it? Like, especially when you're saying like, supplements as A whole as a general, it's such like a mysterious but like specific and wide ranging, but like nuanced and particular that actually it can feel so overwhelming when someone's going, oh, you need to be taking xyz, oh, you've hit this age and three days, so you need to have an extra bit of this
and that and that. So it's just like, yeah, spilling it all down to like the basics of what it actually is and where it's coming from. And I think especially collagen at the minute is. It's really having its like primary. It really is. Like walk on your incline treadmill and take a collagen shot and ah, you're dandy. Like, that doesn't quite work like that. And I think that's the thing with collagen especially, like, fundamentally, collagen is a protein. So it's the most abundant
protein in your body. But collagen is specifically made of a certain number of amino acids. So all proteins are made of amino acids, which just like the building blocks. And when you're eating and taking in protein, you can have things called complete and incomplete proteins. So a complete protein would have that full spectrum of Lego blocks, so all the amino acids your body needs and it would go, right, okay, I need these colours amino acids to build my collagen, or I need these
ones to do something else. And your body can make some of those. So there's nine amino acids that your body cannot make that it has to have from your, like, you have to eat it in some form. And collagen is made of three essential acids. So you have to take in those amino acids for your body to be able to produce collagen. So that's where the kind of thought process and rationale of like specifically targeting your collagen intake is coming from.
Because, like all your other different types of protein you've got in your body, you can make those up. Like there's so many amino acids go floating around that you're like, yeah, cool, we can take these, our body can make them. But collagen, you're like, no, you have to actually have given your body those specific building blocks. So when we're saying taking collagen, it's. You're not like taking it in your mouth and then your
body's just like sticking it on your hair or your skin. Like, it doesn't, doesn't have like that direct relationship. But the idea behind taking supplements is that you take it, it's digested, it's broken down into Those amino acid constituents, then your body has loads of these free amino acids floating around and it's looking for these essential ones to build collagen. And they're there so it can go sweet. I, can grab these and easily, without resistance, build up the proteins that collagen is
making. But collagen has so many different roles in your body. So the ones that we all know about, skin, nails, hair, actually not really, but you know, skating, airtime. So it's actually that it's the hair follicle, not your actual hair, that's related to collagen. but there's literally no science that taking collagen helps your hair.
>> Charlie: I think that's where some of the confusion comes from because for so long we've been bombarded with take this supplement to get your hair and skin and ah, nails more like healthier. And actually that's what we see in mainstream media. And there isn't the evidence behind it, but hopefully, as we're going to discuss a little bit later, there is a little bit of evidence behind taking it for like endurance runners.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah. And that's the thing, like, there is actually some amazing evidence and science behind collagen, but it doesn't, it's not quite so like black and white of like how it actually shows up to like, ah, a woman in her 30s should take collagen because of blah, blah, blah. It's more nuanced and it's more actually like your body's overall processes, especially as a runner or someone who's had surgery or an injury or like something like that.
Because collagen is related to all of your connective tissues especially. And that's also where there's evidence to show that supplementing with collagen does actually have a beneficial effect. So it's. If you're overall healthy and you're eating a good diet, you. You're probably getting everything you need.
You probably don't need it. Whereas then, like, if you had an injury or you have got ligament issues or you've had surgery, actually that's when we go, okay, there is evidence and there is protocols to follow where collagen supplementation can actually, really, really is going to help. And we know
it's going to help. Rather than kind of you're taking in all these extra amino acids that then your body's going to go, well, actually I've got plenty of these because you're already trying to hit all this protein in your diet you actually eat. You're actually getting it elsewhere, like A protein yoghurt that's got collagen in it, like
an egg. All these other, like, there's so many different ways where you get collagen in your diet that you wouldn't necessarily think, oh, yes, I'm having my lovely dose of collagen. It's like, it does it. It's not this magical thing that you can't get from elsewhere. And that's so the thing of like, you really can get it in your food. So, like, especially meat options. So there's the kind of difference between collagen boosting foods and collagen
rich foods. So a collagen rich food would come from an animal source and would be something where you're actually ingesting collagen that your body then breaks down and sends off. So that would be like milk, bone broth, chicken, beef, shellfish and fish, has a lot of collagen in it because of like in food chain, that's one of like the most direct sources of where those like amino acids are coming into the food chain. Is that like a fish level? But then you also have like
collagen boosters. So things like eggs or like, nuts, soya, more like plant based, would be like collagen boosters. Because when we think about collagen, it doesn't act on its own. And this is where the whole like vitamin C, hyaluronic acid comes into it, which I feel like is another thing that gets like muddled up in this. Like, here, take a supplement. You're m. Like, oh my God, it's got like 12 million things in it. What is it doing?
But when you're looking at collagen supplements, actually vitamin C and hyaluronic acid are the two things that we go. No, actually, like, if you're trying to help yourself, like in terms of collagen production, connective tissues, tendon ligament health, bone health as well, which is a big one for collagen. Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, we know, are, going to help you, especially if you're ageing.
So that's kind of then where this, that's actually the science behind where this whole, like, oh, ah, you're ageing, so you need to take collagen comes from. Because as you age, there's basically some enzymes in your body that like to break down collagen. So as you get older, that's kind of why your skin goes. Yeah, all the fun things. >> Charlie: Yeah. >> Sian Seccombe: Because these enzymes are getting a bit snappy. Happy. Mm m. But vitamin C is actually something that can step
in and turn those enzymes off. So it's essentially an inhibitor of those enzymes. So then if you're taking your collagen with your vitamin C, that's where you're. >> Charlie: Getting a bit of a double whammy. >> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, you're getting the double benefit of, okay, we're gonna, we're gonna dial down this collagen breakdown and we're gonna allow the collagen synthesis to happen. And then, yeah, there's also like some evidence around hyaluronic acid saying that actually it
helps with the collagen production. so yeah, it's like a, it's another form of in your cell it's basically getting involved in all the processes. It's all in like the cell membranes and tissues. And it gets very sciencey and very niche. But yeah, essentially that's where when you see like the skin, things with like, oh, I've got vitamin C and hyaluronic acid in me, plus me on your face. Like that's where the idea is from. Right? >> Charlie: Yeah, got it.
>> Sian Seccombe: Putting it on your skin, the evidence isn't there that it's going to do anything but like ingesting. If we're looking at kind of the recovery, all those kind of things, that's where you're then getting the extra benefit. >> Charlie: Okay, so, so we've kind of touched on the fact that there's not the evidence for it to be helpful for kind of skin and
hair. But for endurance runners, if we don't have an injury, if we are eating a meat based or, you know, kind of a flexitarian diet, is there evidence that we over 30? I'm, I'm not asking for anyone in particular, I mean myself, but should we be supplementing? Could we be supplementing? Is there any harm in supplementing? >> Sian Seccombe: I'd say there's definitely no harm in additional because essentially all you're doing is
having some extra protein. But if you're having collagen, you're just having those tiny little bits of the protein picture. So you'll not have, if you had whey protein that's essentially got all the building blocks of collagen in it. So you're just like doubling up on those specific amino acids. All that's going to happen is if you've got too much is your body then puts that your body can't store those amino acids
for later. So what it'll do is it'll either turn them into energy and then store them as fat or they'll be metabolised differently, they'll turn into something else, like your body will do. There's so many different pathways. Your body can send those down, but it's not going to have, like, a negative effect. There's no science that says supplementing with collagen is going to cause a negative effect, but what you've got to do is looking at your diet as like a
whole picture. So actually, for somewhat one person, supplementing with collagen might be way more useful than another, because the rest of their diet doesn't have enough protein, has no shellfish, has no chicken. They don't have. They don't include leafy greens, they don't have nuts. It's dependent on that, like, bigger picture. So saying like, okay, like, should you be having it every day? Should you be. How much dose should you have? It's like, well, what else are you
eating? Is kind of the bigger question of there is no, like, magical solution. And also, when you're ingesting it, if there's something else your body wants to do, those amino acids, it's going to do that first. It's going to prioritise something else. Like, it's not going to go, you know what? I really need nice nails. It's just not going to do that. Like, it
will. Especially as an endurance runner, you are training at a level where you have got constant turnover of tissue, so your muscle protein breakdown and synthesis is
kind of constant. So you do a session, that muscle protein breakdown is happening, but then after that window of session, your muscle protein synthesis is going back up, and that's when you're looking to go, okay, so after I've trained, I want to eat that bolus of protein because that's where I want those amino acids in my body to make the most of the fact that my muscle protein synthesis rate right now has increased because I've put my body under
stress, I've broken the tissues down by training a bit. And then that's how we then benefit from it. And that's where the idea of, like, dosing with collagen around training comes from. So, so especially when it's like with injury, like tendon ligament injury, there's a lot of evidence now that if you supplement with collagen 30 to 60 minutes before you then exercise, after the exercise, you will have an increased rate of collagen
synthesis and muscle protein synthesis. If you've had that supplement of collagen before, than if you didn't have that supplement of collagen. So it's basically if you're then getting like an extra super boost on the effect of your physio exercises if you've, like, hurt, your Achilles tendon or whatever. But as a general runner, that additional, like, there's actually not the huge difference between just having protein after. Like, it's all very nuanced and kind of like 1%.
Yeah. In terms of, like, how much is this going to help? Like, there's loads of protocols they've tried, they've tried. Like, so some people with, they're looking at Achilles tendons, so people doing three sets of calf raises throughout the day, having collagen before and then seeing the effect versus just doing it once a day and they're like, oh, there's a little increase. But we've looked at a sample size
of 15 athletes. So, like, a lot of the science shows that it's a good idea and directionally wise is saying, okay, we should actually think about applying this. But when we get it down to the black and white of yes or no, it's very difficult. And it's actually quite in line with the things people are saying a lot about protein now. So there's the argument of protein of spreading out throughout the day versus a huge amount after a workout.
And actually the results and the science is so mixed. Like, you have one camp saying this, one camp saying that, and it's actually going, okay, we're not elite. We don't need the 1% here. We're looking for just like, actually, can we make our bodies as happy as they can be? Can we give them what they need? Yeah. Cool. The best way to do that is actually just make sure we're having enough of everything throughout the day and supporting our body in that way, because it's not going to go, oh, your
collagen was 20 minutes late. So I'm not going to make you any new tendons. Like, it's going to, it's going to look for it and it's going to have it there and it's going to make, it's going to make do. Like, our bodies are super smart. We kind of have to trust them a bit. But there is the evidence. >> Charlie: Like, so, okay, as someone, who has trained for multiple marathons, I often feel quite sore. I don't know if you've seen the memes. That's like, what's the regular
amount of pain? And it's like zero. And I'm like, you know, I'm like, I did a strength session the other day and I have been sore for days so this, like, idea that if, you're kind of recovering from an injury or having, you know, doing the physio, I feel like, in a state of maybe slightly uncomfortable, like, more often than not when I'm marathon training, like, you've got the, like, long run recovery, the strength recovery. I'm like, is this okay to say, you know, the speed workouts
and then you've got life, you've got work. You're not. >> Sian Seccombe: Not. >> Charlie: Everything is kind of perfect. I'm trying to crawl around on the floor after a toddler. Is there, for something like that, I would think, oh, well, I want to boost my tissue repair. I want to protect my joints. I make a noise every time I bend down. Will collagen. Stop that. Is there
a right. This is your injury, or if we're having the micro tears, because we're strength training and we're running long and we are doing, a lot of time on our feet. Is. Is there a kind of this is when it would be beneficial, or is it literally a case of person by person? Look at your diet, look at what your kind of history of injuries are and what you're going through at the moment kind of thing? Don't know if that question made sense.
>> Sian Seccombe: But I totally get you, because it is. And it's like, it's that whole thing, right, of, like, taking these really niche science journals that are done on 12 cyclists in a, pod in Switzerland, applying that to, like, general life. We're like, how are we doing this? But actually, in terms of kind of as an endurance runner, like, I'm the same. Like, something always hurts. And everyone's like, is this. Is this meant to happen?
I'm like, no, it's fine. It's so fine. And we also got ourselves that, right? >> Charlie: Yeah. I got asked at work yesterday if I had a limp, and I was like, no. I just went to the gym for the first time in ages on Monday, and I can't walk. But thank you for asking. >> Sian Seccombe: It's like, oh, I did it the other day. I did, like, weird split squat lunges I hadn't done before, and I literally couldn't sit on the toilet. I was
like, I haven't used a towel rail to get down. I'm like, oh, God, it is. And it's like, actually, there is never gonna be, like, a magical answer that's gonna solve all that and make us, like, superhumans that don't creak. >> Charlie: Because I was hoping you were going to say, take this. You're gonna live to be 100 and run a marathon. Age 95. >> Sian Seccombe: I know absolute goals, right? But like I, I'm someone who's really injury prone and like my ligaments
are all over the place. Like I'm hypermobile, I have ligaments stretching all over the place. So I constantly m take collagen because you know what? If in doubt there's some evidence out there that says it's going to help me, I'm going to take it because there's no downside to me taking it. And endurance runners need more
protein than average people. Because we do have that constant cycle and because you have a really high energy output, what you need to do is ensure there's enough protein to protect your muscle mass. Because there's a balance between where there's kind of questions over energy availability and it's pretty hard to like consistently hit the energy output you're taking to like match it with what your input intake of food is. Especially like
marathon runners, it's quite difficult. So what you want to do is your absolute best to try and maintain the strength you've got. Because we all know like through your training blocks, like you have like a few weeks where you're like, oh, I feel super strong. And then the next you like can't lift up half the weight you were doing because you're like, your long runs tripled. Yeah. What's going on? >> Charlie: So kind of cumulative fatigue.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah. And it's like, okay, so at that point, protein intake in your diet as a whole, looking at that going, right, is my protein source complete in terms of am I getting everything I need? So if you're eating meat and you're eating fish and dairy, you'll find your diet's complete. If you're vegan
or vegetarian, you need to have a mate. You need to have a think about like looking into like complete protein sources, but then like the addition of the collagen, it's not going to hurt, like it's not going to harm. And all it's doing is basically just like adding extra protein in those specific flavours of amino acids that like build up collagen. So that's going to support extra, all those bits of your body, your connective tissues, your joints, your bones that are so important
for insurance runners especially. Like, we don't realise the impact endurance running has on your
bones. Like the amount, especially now, like the amount of stress fractures and like bone stress injuries that I'm seeing online and I've spoken to some physios and stuff about it, like it's absolutely exploding because especially in women, because people don't realise, like, the impact of, like, energy availability, marathon training, bone repair cycles, which need collagen and need like protein support and need energy like any carbs and that kind of
interplay of like, how are you going to support your muscles best to recover so that then you can do your next training session is going to have. Is having collagen going to help? It's definitely not going to hurt. Like, it's a. It's difficult, especially if you're new to marathon training, to get it right the first time and that's why so many people get injured. So if you're going right, I'm really making a conscious effort to get enough protein without
sacrificing carbs. And actually, if having a collagen shot or powder or something like that in your smoothie or in your electrolyte drink or however you want to take it, it's going to help you up your protein intake up everything sweet, excellent. Like, it's. It's only. It's not going to negatively do anything bad. And the fact you're conscious and thinking about it is actually going to help even more.
>> Charlie: If you want to try adding collagen to your routine. You can save 10% off collagen repair from Pillar Performance and SIS collagen@xmiles.com with code COOKEATRUN. That's code COOKEATRUN for 10% off the collagen at, X mill. So if people do want to take a collagen supplement, what should they be looking for? What dosage is it in the. Kind of recommended to help promote kind of the recovery and especially injury kind of healing, that kind of thing.
>> Sian Seccombe: Yeah. So if you're looking for just like a general collagen supplement, there are two types. So they're kind of like the marine collagen and then there's like the bovine collagen. So if you're vegan or veggie, you'd go for the marine one and then ideally you'd go for the bovine one. Because if you think about it in terms of like a food chain, the marine collagen is like, from plants and
cows. That's like right at the bottom. And then the bovine collagen, it's already like processed, it's already gone up one layer. So, like, it's kind of already done some of the work for you.
It's more. It's a more direct source, than your body having to like, do extra work to kind of digest it and sort out and put it in the right filing cabinet, like, but then there's also another step of that of like you want hydrolyzed collagen because again, it's just a bit broken down and your body, it can absorb it easier and it's easier to digest and it's like.
So hydrolyzed collagen is ideally what you're looking for and then you can either get it just like pure, literally just a white powder, nothing else in it. Lovely. Don't want gums, we don't want stabilisers. Well, there might be stabilisers because that's like, you know, shelf stable. >> Charlie: But. >> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, yeah, exactly. But you don't want like fillers and. >> Charlie: Yeah, I was going to ask about this. Like, what, what should
we be avoiding? What are the kind of red flags to see on the back of the pack that we don't want to see in there? >> Sian Seccombe: Ah, yeah, like, personally I always avoid like the plague, alcohol, sugars. So anything ending in ol, especially if you're an IBS girl, like I am, oh, they're gonna send you absolutely sideways and then you won't be doing your long run because you'll be in the bushes. So there we go, let's avoid those.
but yeah, I think as well it's then thinking about like we were talking about earlier about like the vitamin C. So when you're taking your collagen supplement, you can either look for one which has vitamin C in it. So like, you know, like the little sachet ones, like they're also very expensive though. Like I have a massive tub of just like the hydrolyzed collagen powder that I just like chuck into things. It's like 20 quid on Amazon, like or
wherever you want to get them from. Like they're, they're a much easier source but you just then have to think about how you're adding them into your diet. Yeah, but actually the most important thing is that you're taking it right rather than it's all well and good having it, but if it's just sitting in the cupboard, it's not, it's not helping. So it's then kind of going, okay, am I taking it with a source of vitamin C? So if I'm putting it my smoothie. Is there an orange juice in there?
Is there ah, like something else with vitamin C? Mango, pineapple, like anything really. And then also like how you're taking it, you can take it with anything. Like there is nothing that's going to stop it being as Good as it would be. So, like, I know lots of people put them in coffees now. So, like, heating up, not going to be a problem. It's fine. Like, it doesn't like, null the properties of what it's trying to do. Because we're not heating up to like 90 degrees here. We're just making it
warm to drink it. We're not denaturing the proteins, we're not breaking down the amino acids. Like, if you kind of think of it like when you cook a chicken breast, the chicken breast is then not protein because you've cooked it and that's going to be a lot hotter than if you've made a coffee. So it's kind of like the boundary. But it's absolutely fine having it. >> Charlie: And there's no sort of caffeine inhibitor with the collagen.
>> Sian Seccombe: Not that they've proven. Yeah, not that there's actually enough robust evidence on, caffeine in itself is a whole nother wild world of like, ergogenic, sport aid and supplement. Like, it's a wild world. but I just really like coffee, so I drink the same. But actually, you know, then, then someone goes, right, I'm going to prove coffee is good for you. So they write, right, look how many antioxidants and everything else is in there. And it's a wonder drug.
>> Charlie: It's delicious. I'm not going to give up that morning coffee. >> Sian Seccombe: No, that's the thing. That's the thing. Like, actually, in the grand scheme of things, if having it in your coffee is going to be the way that you take it, cool, Absolutely fine. Like, if remembering to have it is going to be having it with your electrolytes when you have those, or you stack it in with your creatine and everything else you're putting in your bottle,
like, the best thing to do is take it daily. If you're going to be supplement with it, in terms of like amounts for, like, daily consumption. I would also say a preface that just test it out on a day that you are, like, at home or, like, gonna see how your tummy reacts. Because some people do have kind of like, interesting effects when they take, like, pure collagen. it's just kind of like an anecdotal. It's nothing to,
it's nothing to be scared of. It's just if you think about if you ate like a massive steak and you hadn't had one for like two weeks, your stomach would be like, oh, hello. What we got? What are we doing here? And it's just that kind of like a similar thing of like, just. Just give your stomach or like do a half dose the first time you've done it. Just to like, be like giving you a heads up here. Stomach. This is what we're dealing with now. >> Charlie: Yeah, yeah.
>> Sian Seccombe: but it's quite. Because again, it's the, like looking at the rest of your diet and seeing how much protein am I getting from elsewhere. Blah. I would just go with the dosage that's on the packet of the particular collagen you're using. But in terms of for injury, they say the kind of evidence is around 10 to 20 grammes, 30 to 60 minutes before the stress episode. So before the exercises or the rehab
or whatever you're going to do. That's where that's the dosage that they suggest will actually increase the collagen synthesis rates the most for specific tendon issues and tendon repair and recovery. similar dosage is suggested kind of with like surgery and wound repair. Obviously you're not gonna then like do exercise after that, but, like, actually those kind of dosages, perhaps both ends of the day, is what people are kind of looking at in terms of when they're doing the studies
to investigate this. Those. The ballparks of how much they're looking at. So it's not huge amounts, but it's also not small amounts. So it's. Yeah, it's more in the realms of like, ah, my protein yoghurt has 15 grammes. Like, that's more the kind of realms of collagen we're looking at. It's not like a beta alanine, where you've got like 2, 3 grammes. It's. It's 10 to 20 grammes. >> Charlie: Yeah. Which I think in my experience is usually what they
suggest in the back of the pack. Mine certainly says two scoops is 20 grammes. I usually just do one in my coffee. and that's. I just find two is a bit overwhelming in terms of then the flavour and the, like, the texture change. >> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, the texture's weird sometimes, isn't it? >> Charlie: Like, yeah.
>> Sian Seccombe: It's also just trying ones and seeing which ones you like best and, work for you best because you can get ones which are like, stacked with like, you've got your vitamin C, you've got hyaluronic acids, you've got other things in there. And especially if you're a kind of a woman in your 30s, you're going. Right. There's actually a list of things I'm trying to hit right now? Is there a. Is there a collagen
that might have all of these lovely things in there for me? So it's like just making your life easier. Really. >> Charlie: Love that. Yeah, we're all about trying to streamline things because, yeah, like you say, there are so many supplements that we like Instagram, like media tells us that we should be taking. And it's trying to philtre that down and think what's actually the most necessary for me? What are my goals, what am I, what's the rest of my diet looking like?
What, you know, what actually is going to make a difference and when should I be doing that and what should I be taking? Because it's not. Supplementation is such an uncontrolled, unregulated market that it's. Yes, it's quite scary what you could be taking. >> Sian Seccombe: It's. It's the wild west. Honestly, some of the stuff I see on Instagram and TikTok, like, I mean, I've. I'm doing a masters at the moment and literally we do a module about the wild west of supplements because it's
so crazy of like, the stuff people say. And I also think, like, there's quite a comparison trap you get stuck in with Instagram and stuff of like, oh, no, everyone else is taking collagen. I'm not taking collagen. I'm falling behind. I'm failing as a woman and I'm going to end up wrinkly and grey and in a corner on my own. Like, no, it's all fine. Don't worry, guys. Like, just because everyone else is doing it
doesn't mean you need to do it. And actually your diet could be way better than everyone else than the people that you're worried you're, like, not doing as well as, or like not doing the right thing as, like. Actually, to be honest, it's probably a marketing campaign. Someone's trying to sell you something and it's just about money. Whereas actually you can look at your own diet and go, you know what, let's look at my food first as a food
first approach. That's always going to be the best way to give your body what it needs is in the form that it actually came from first. So the closer something looks to real food, the happier your body's going to be with it, really. Because then there's definitely no like alcohol, sugars or weird things in there. So if you look at your diet and you go, you know what? I actually eat a really good amount of protein. You're going to be giving your body
what it needs for collagen. Could you supplement if you would like to? Absolutely. Is it going to hurt? No. Do you need to? People have not been supplementing with collagen for very many years and have all been fine. So, like, there's no one very. Like, you would probably have to have a medical issue to be deficient in protein or deficient in collagen. So it's actually just going, okay, am I supporting my body in a whole picture? The best way
possible. You're doing all right. Like, don't. It's not. If you forget to have your collagen one day, it's fine. It's not the end of the world. Like, diets don't have to be perfect. Bodies don't either. It's absolutely fine. >> Charlie: So, okay, just to kind of sum up, we're saying a lot of people just said in the question box, where do I start? And so from what I'm kind of gathering is that we start with food. We look at the diet as a whole. Am I getting these sources
of collagen in my diet? Am I going through a rehab, an injury, a recovery process? Maybe, then I want to start adding in some collagen. Or maybe I look at my diet and I think, actually I'm vegetarian, I'm vegan, or I don't eat a lot of meat or I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like I eat more meat at the weekends when I'm like, eating at home. Whereas, like the kind of pat lunches for work or just like kind of, you know, quick dinners that I'm having are, maybe
less. And especially breakfast. Like weekends I have eggs for breakfast. Weekdays I have overnight oats. So it's. Yeah, my week maybe is balanced, but during the week where I'm doing the most of my training maybe isn't so balanced. So just kind of, for me, it's, that's why I kind of thought actually this might be beneficial. >> Sian Seccombe: And that's. So that's exactly like, that's such a good way of
thinking about it. Because if you think when you're stacking your training, a lot of your training is happening, then when you're going, okay, actually this is not where I'm getting my most, like, optimal, like protein sources. And your body, like we've said earlier, it can't keep hold of those proteins, so it can't. Hang on, go, you know what? I'm going to use those in three days time when I know I'M going to
the gym. It's. No, it doesn't work like that. so it is actually going okay if I've got a massive strength session today or I'm doing a massive strength session tonight. I know my dinner tonight needs to have a really good protein source after the gym or am I going to have a protein supplement of some form or can I have a big bowl of Greek yoghurt and berries before I go to bed that's then going to give me a big protein
boost that I'm going to go to sleep. All these recovery protein synthesis is going to happen and I've hit protein. So Greek yoghurt, berries, protein and vitamin C. Lovely. >> Charlie: That's perfect. That is my daily with a little bit of dark chocolate. That's my like pre bed most nights. >> Sian Seccombe: Yeah, chocolate's antioxidants is fine. >> Charlie: Perfect. Yeah. >> Sian Seccombe: It's actually, it's a vegetable, it's a plant at this point it's fine.
>> Charlie: Just coffee and chocolate. Don't take it away from me. Tell me it's an essential part of my diet. >> Sian Seccombe: Yeah. And also like as a runner probably is like the worst diet you can have is one that doesn't have enough energy. So anyone who tells me I can't eat chocolate or coffee, I absolutely see it. I'm not involved in this.
>> Charlie: I feel like that is the perfect way to finish the especially given that it's like January, people are feeling like they kind of need to be doing all the things or cutting everything out. The most important message. And M again this is not really collagen related but I love that that the worst diet is one that doesn't have enough energy. So yeah, make sure you are fueling your runs.
>> Sian Seccombe: Exactly. And if you're hitting your energy in all likelihood you are having enough protein and enough amino acids to give your body what it needs to go through all the collagen synthesis process and look after your tendons and muscles. So it is actually going. If you then decide come January 1st, you know what, I'm going to start training for London marathon. I'm going to restrict my food. Oh, you are on a one way path to injury
and burnout. Like that is not. Oh, let's not do that. It's not fun. It's not fun for anyone. Like actually making sure your diet, you're looking at your diet going, what's the most nutritious thing? Like actually going, you know what, we're going to add things to our diet, not take things away. So
okay, I know I want to think about my collagen. I'm going to add in and make sure I'm having enough protein and vitamin C. Those type of ways of looking at your diet, like that shift almost of like the mindset of doesn't have to come from supplement. Like it is actually coming from food as well. And just looking at your diet and going, you know, actually it's not a magic wand having a collagen supplement. We can do this through food. I might well be okay already.
And it is okay to go. Actually I'm going to, I'm going to pass on the collagen supplement right now. Like I might add it in later in my training in my marathon block because actually that's when I'm starting to feel like I'm really feeling the effects of training. I'm not recovering properly. That's when you go, okay, I'm going to start looking at like a, energy availability and then B, potentially protein intake and protein kind of completeness again. Yeah. Could collagen help
around your gym sessions? Maybe. Happy days. >> Charlie: Great. And thank you so much. I'm going to leave a link to some of the, collagen supplements that we, we would recommend in terms of if that is something you want to try that don't have the artificial sweeteners that or the sugar alcohols that, are available on XMiles. This podcast is sponsored by xmiles. If you do want to try it, there's be a little discount code in the show
notes. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of the Cook Eat Run podcast with X Miles. Hope you found it as interesting as I did and please let me know if there are any other topics you want covered. I'd love to be able to share more kind of useful information, especially for women runners and over 30, which I'm definitely in that category. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen
to the show and leave a rating and review. It really helps. And yeah, send me a DM on what m topics you want us to cover this year. Thank you so much for listening to Cook Run, the podcast hosted by me, Charlie Watson, sponsored by X Miles. They are your one stop nutrition shop. Come and find me on social media thereunner. beans and tell me what you're loving on the podcast. Send me all of your questions
and suggestions for future episodes. All the links you need to connect with me are in the show notes. Lastly, please rate the Cook Run podcast. It really means a lot to see your ratings and reviews. Obviously the five star ones go down very well, but please let me know what you think. It really does make a massive difference as it helps more people discover us and join our amazing running community.
See you back here for another episode soon. In the meantime, happy running and don't forget to fuel yourself. Bye.