“High-quality collagen peptides in powders are temperature stable,” says mbg’s director of scientific affairs and in-house nutritionist, Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN. For example, we made sure that the collagen in our beauty & gut collagen+ powder has this kind of sturdiness. “What this means is that the collagen powder is quite versatile in its ability to be incorporated into your favorite cold, tepid, warm, or hot beverage, smoothie, or food.”
However, collagen is not completely indestructible: “Really high, prolonged temps can be a denaturation culprit,” says Ferira. Specifically, collagen can withstand temperatures up to approximately 200 degrees Celsius (or 392 degrees Fahrenheit). Anything hotter than that for a long period of time can potentially damage the integrity of the protein.
But here’s the thing: Hot liquids (like your morning coffee) usually hover around 100 degrees Celsius (or 212 degrees Fahrenheit) at boiling point—that’s not even close to the limit, so there’s no need to worry about breaking down the collagen with your piping cup of coffee.
By the way, Ferira adds, the peptide bonds that keep the amino acids together in collagen peptides eventually get broken down by your body, anyway. “If the molecular structure of collagen does happen to get shaken up a bit (e.g., higher baking temperature or adding it to coffee, which is a slightly acidic pH), that ultimately doesn’t matter since you actually have to break down the protein into peptides and amino acids to absorb them in your gut,” she says. “In essence, your collagen (whether in your daily coffee or something else entirely) is delivering the building blocks, so the “construction” of this collagen “architecture” can reconvene where it’s needed in your body.” Be it your skin, gut, eyes, bones, joints, et al.
That’s not to say you should go ahead and superheat or beat up your collagen peptides (“Love your collagen; be nice to it,” Ferira adds), but the structure is pretty strong—definitely strong enough to withstand a warm beverage.
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