Meiji Amino Collagen Powder

Oprah featured the Meiji Amino Collagen Powder as "The Japanese Women's Secret to Youth and Beauty" in one of their shows and it is an instant hit for those beauty-conscious women all over the world trying to find an effective supplement to fight against aging and restore their youthful skin.

I have a sister who lives in Japan, so I talked to her to ask if she could find me a can of collagen powder. Little did I know, she drinks regularly those instant collagen drinks from Shiseido! Those are pricey but all the women she knows swear by the drink. She also told me how collagen is a HUGE thing in Japan, and how everything advertises collagen now. HUGE market, I tell you. They have collagen lipstick and lipglosses, collagen ingredients in mascara, pure collagen+vit e soaps, fruit juices with collagen and anti-aging, and even lemon flavored collagen candy!


WHEW!

It was easy peasy for her to get me the Meiji powder as it is available in convenience stores, even. I just asked her for a can, instead of hoarding a lot. I'm not too sure if I'll like it. So there are sellers from ebay and multiply who have this, but they jack the price up sooo much! I saw one selling this for around P1,500 and another for P2,000. My sister told me that she bought it around the price range for P400-500! Better find a relative who's in Japan and let them buy for you guys!

Amino collagen promises a "beautiful, smooth and toned skin", helping it become "supple, radiant and moist" with regular use. One review from Lioness in Japan who's a collagen drinker herself found that she had a youthful look to her after taking the powder regularly.

In her website she tells of another experience with Amino collagen:

"She witnessed a Japanese gal pal’s transformation a year after she left for Taipei and returned for a visit in Japan — apparently her middle-aged friend’s skin changed dramatically from a papery, dry state to becoming more supple and smooth. All the friends in their group jumped into the habit immediately. My student took it for four months and I thought she looked much better. Let me clarify that her fine lines were still there but the texture of her skin looked more plump and youthful." Taken from Lioness in Japan

Very nice piece of information, right?

Lets open the can shall we...






The Meiji can has a plastic scoop inside, and it helps regulate your collagen intake. The first thing I noticed about the powder is that its not finely milled. It seems a little coarse compared to most milk powders. But the powder is very light! The second thing I noticed is the smell...

THE SMELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok so this isn't the nastiest thing in the world, but its not the most fragrant-smelling either. I researched a little about collagen and found out that Meiji Amino Powder comes from fish-derived collagen. No wonder it smells a little funky. Whenever I open the can, I kind of hold my breath a little.

I prepared a normal Milo drink which I take everyday (yes, everyday! It gives me a little energy boost in the morning.) and added a scoop of collagen powder which consists of 5,000mg of collagen, which is the recommended daily intake. You can take Amino Collagen in any drink you drink regularly/everyday, be it a fruit juice, tea, morning soup, chocolate or milk drink.

I heard somewhere that Amino collagen powder is best taken at night before you go to sleep. And it is most absorbed by the body in an empty stomach, or else you drink it 2-3 hours after a full/heavy meal, or 1-2 hours after a light meal.

But what can I do, this package from Japan arrived around 9:00am and I was too excited to wait until bedtime! :)

What can I say about my initial taste?
.
.
.
.
.
As you might have guessed....
.
.
.
.

It tastes NASTY.

LOL!

For what is advertised as a "FLAVORLESS" powder, it sure distorts the smell and taste of Milo! At the first big sip I nearly choked and the second sip I made a face, until the last drop I was mildly disgusted. I finished it all because I couldn't very well throw this "Canned Fountain of Youth" away now, could I?

There are people who only mix the collagen with water, and I can't fathom how they could stand the taste and smell!

"This is healthy", I kept on telling myself. "You're 23 and the amount of collagen in the body plunges downwards after 20!"

....Or maybe I should get a bigger mug of Milo, because the ratio should be 1 scoopfull in a 150ml drink. I think I barely reached 100ml in that little teacup. Maybe that's why the collagen taste is so pronounced? I'll try better next time.



If you're in a diet, you can still incorporate the Meiji Amino Collagen in your daily intake as it is Sugar-and-sweetener free, and only contains 27 calories and 0.08 grams of fat! Those are virtually nothing for the price of 5,000mg of beauty-enhancing collagen :)

Thanks for reading!