Outbound Reviewed: BUBS Naturals Collagen Protein

Collagen is a hot topic in the wellness industry right now and has been for some time. Numerous brands line natural food grocery store shelves all claiming collagen will help with joint pain, hair and nail strength, improve skin elasticity, heal gut issues, prevent bone loss, and promote brain and heart health. While I always associated protein supplements with CrossFit and other workouts focused heavily on “pumping iron”, I’ve been surprised at how popular they’ve become in the yoga/pilates/barre realm of the fitness industry over the past year or so. I now have a significant network of people who swear by their daily collagen ingestion. While many scientific tests on the long-term collagen benefits are still in progress and definitive scientific research is minimal, two points are commonly agreed upon: it doesn’t hurt to try it out, and buy high quality products.

I’ve been testing BUBS Collagen Protein and their MCT Oil Powder for about 6 weeks. Most collagen studies I read up on lasted a minimum of 4-6 months, so I’m aware that the best may still be yet to come for my experience with BUBS. My wrinkles are currently as prominent as they were before I started taking BUBS daily (shucks…) but I have noticed some other changes!

As other BUBS reviews claim, the taste is pretty clean! I’ve tried competitive collagen products before and their taste is strong and funky. While you’d obviously taste a bit of the flavor if you put BUBS in water (I tried it) or mild teas (tried those too), it’s not aggressive nor bad, and I found the taste to completely go away when put in coffee.

My hair and nails are stronger and grow faster than ever before. I was blessed with brittle nails, and as a former gymnast and current climber, I never thought long(ish), strong nails would ever be in my future...until now!

Collagen is a great recovery tool. As an arguably overly-athletic person, I’m very demanding of my body and pretty hard on it. As I get older and my smile lines become more prominent, I have started to notice the the effects of years of activity on my body, mostly in newly developed knee sensitivity and an increased need for recovery time. After about 3 weeks of using BUBS daily I started feeling a spring in my step again and I could handle the rigors of back-to-back training runs far better than I used to. I’m now 6 weeks in and my knee pain isn’t completely gone, but it has definitely lessened. Yay!

BUBS claims to promote health and healing from the inside out. A healthy gut is a big part of this as it helps boost your immune system. I’m more “regular” than I was before without making any other changes to my diet, so something is working right.

While the long-term benefits of taking BUBS collagen are still unknown to me and my body, I will say that I immediately felt the boost of energy from their MCT Oil Powder (Medium-Chain Triglyceride) which is extracted from sustainably sourced coconuts. Caprylic acid is naturally found in MCT and converts into ketones for an instant boost of mental and physical energy. I’ve taken it before 6AM climbing sessions and morning trail runs, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how great it makes me feel. Focused, energetic and strong, I love it as a pre-challenging activity assistant.

BUBS is super easy to add to your daily routine. I love throwing in their travel packs into my duffel when I go on trips. And bonus - if you want inspiration for how to creatively incorporate collagen powder into your diet, BUBS has some recipes to try out in the Field Notes section of their website.

Started in memory of a Navy Seal and work hard, play hard guru Glen “BUB” Doherty, BUBS is committed to continuing to make clean products and build a culture around saving lives and having an impact on our adventures. Ten percent of every sale of items they produce goes to charity, they only use sustainably sourced coconuts for their coconut oil, and they only use sustainably sourced, grass-fed, pasture-raised peptides. More information on their mission and the charities they work with can be found on their website.

So, so far so good! I love supporting a company with similar life values as mine and one devoted to making a difference in people's lives through their products and their charity work. I'm looking forward to continually feeling the positive effects BUBS has on my body. (There's still time for my wrinkles to lessen, too!!)

Photos courtesy of Chris Engelsman, Kristi Teplitz, and BUBS.