Why Beauty Supplements Need Fat: Collagen, D3, K2 and the Absorption Question
There's a detail most beauty supplement routines get wrong, and it has nothing to do with which ingredients you're taking. It's when you take them.
Several of the nutrients involved in skin and bone health are fat-soluble. Taken on an empty stomach, with a glass of water, at six in the morning before a black coffee, a meaningful portion of what you've paid for passes through without being absorbed. Taken alongside a meal with some fat in it, the picture changes considerably.
That principle is the reason our Nourish + Glow Bundle is built the way it is. Here's what's in it and how the three products relate to each other.
What's in the bundle
Three products, one bottle of each:
- Marine Collagen + Hyaluronic Acid Complex
- Super Strength Vitamin D3 & K2Vital® with MCT Oil Powder
- Cold-Pressed Pumpkin Seed Oil
Bought separately that's £39.97. As a bundle it's £17.99.
Marine collagen: what it is, and what we can honestly say about it
Collagen is the most abundant structural protein in the body. The marine version in our complex is hydrolysed — broken down into shorter chains called peptides, which is why it's absorbed rather than simply digested as a whole protein would be. It's Type I collagen, the type found in skin, bone and connective tissue, and it's unusually rich in three amino acids: glycine, proline and hydroxyproline.
We'll be straight with you about the evidence position. Collagen supplementation is an active area of research and there are published trials, but no health claim for collagen has been authorised for use in Great Britain. That means we're not permitted to tell you what it will do for your skin, and any brand that does is going beyond what the regulations allow. What we can tell you is exactly what's in the capsule, in what form, and at what dose — which is on the product page and the label.
The same applies to the hyaluronic acid alongside it. It's a low-molecular-weight form, chosen for absorption, and it's a compound the body produces naturally as part of connective tissue.
Vitamin D3 and K2: the part with the evidence behind it
This is where the bundle stands on firmer ground, because both vitamins carry authorised claims.
Vitamin D contributes to normal absorption and utilisation of calcium and phosphorus, to normal blood calcium levels, to the maintenance of normal bones, teeth and muscle function, and to the normal function of the immune system.
Vitamin K contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and to normal blood clotting.
The two are usually taken together because they work on the same system from different angles, and because vitamin D intake tends to be the limiting factor in the UK. Between October and March the sun in this country isn't strong enough for the skin to make vitamin D at all, which is why government advice is that everyone should consider supplementing over the winter.
Our formula uses K2Vital®, a patented and stabilised form of vitamin K2 as MK-7, rather than an unspecified K2 ingredient.
Where the MCT oil powder and pumpkin seed oil come in
Back to the absorption point, because this is the thread running through the whole bundle.
Vitamins D and K are both fat-soluble. They need dietary fat present to be taken up properly. That's why our D3 & K2 capsules include MCT oil powder in the formula — medium chain triglycerides, which provide a lipid carrier inside the capsule itself rather than relying entirely on what you happen to have eaten.
Cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil is the third piece. It's a whole-food oil, pressed rather than solvent-extracted, and it's a source of unsaturated fatty acids and plant sterols. Taken as part of the same routine it adds to the fat present at the point of absorption.
The practical upshot: take all three with a meal containing some fat. Breakfast with eggs, lunch with olive oil, whatever fits your day. Not with water on an empty stomach.
Give it a proper run
Nothing in this bundle works on a fortnight's trial. Skin cells turn over on a cycle measured in weeks, hair grows roughly a centimetre a month, and bone remodels over considerably longer than that. If you're going to assess whether a routine suits you, give it eight to twelve weeks of consistent daily use, then judge.
Food supplements aren't a substitute for a varied and balanced diet. If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, taking prescribed medication — anticoagulants in particular, given the vitamin K — or under medical supervision, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before starting. Not intended for under-18s. Our marine collagen is derived from fish, so it isn't suitable if you have a fish allergy or follow a vegan or vegetarian diet.
The bottom line
A supplement routine is only as good as the proportion of it your body actually absorbs. This bundle groups three products that are taken the same way, at the same time, for the same reason — with food, with fat, consistently.
Every product in it is made in the UK to GMP standards, with no synthetic binders, bulk fillers or flow agents.
Shop the Nourish + Glow Bundle — £17.99 →