And then I moved from London back to New York, and the weather became a whole lot less broth-friendly, especially in the summer, where the soupy humidity felt distressingly similar to the liquid in my cup. My batches of broth became once-a-month affairs, and then even less frequent. It’s hard to say whether my health suffered—my anxiety is the main reason I’m interested in gut healing, and it’s tangled up in so many different factors. I felt less vibrant and healthy, just not quite enough to go through the effort of making more broth. Many of the collagen devotees I know would have some variation on this for breakfast, claiming the healthy fat and protein (collagen has a whopping 18 grams per serving) keeps them full through lunch. For me? I stuck with having at least a little breakfast. The drink was creamy, thick, and delicious, but I still had a green smoothie at 10 a.m. I tried it in my bars, in drinks, in hot chocolate as an afternoon pick-me-up, before settling into an easy routine of adding a heaping scoop of collagen powder to my morning smoothie. Beyond that, there’s maybe a slightly thicker texture, but the smoothie is unchanged. As an editor at a wellness website, I have tried a lot of different trends, and very few stick. Collagen has, and I think it’s for two reasons: 1) I found a way to incorporate it into my existing routine, and 2) it ticks a lot of boxes. It serves the function of a protein powder, flavor enhancer, gut-healer, and skin-booster all in one. And if the only downside is having to cut my nails a bit more often? I can live with that.
