When we think about taking protein, particularly as a supplement, a powder often comes to mind first. Protein powders like whey and pea protein give you a mega-dose of protein. You can add them to shakes and smoothies or mix them in water or milk. They’re great if you’re working on bulking and building muscle, but protein pills are an alternative that works better for some people’s needs.
Protein pills usually come from collagen, amino acids, and bone broth, which we discuss below. The benefits compared to powders include convenience and portability, and pills and capsules tend to be lower in calories. If you want to lose extra weight or maintain your current weight, you might not want the added calories of powders, especially added to shakes with other high-calorie ingredients.
Below, we talk about protein pills and highlight some brands and places you can buy them.
Types of Protein Pills
Some of the most common variations of protein pills you’ll see available include:
- Bone broth capsules: Taking bone broth in capsule form packs a fair amount of protein and collagen. These capsules will also include other beneficial ingredients, like turmeric and ashwagandha. Bone broth is excellent for inflammation, joint health, and gut and digestive health.
- Peptides: Using protein-peptide capsules can help with muscle protein synthesis. In particular, raw bioactive peptides can be beneficial, and they work well as a replacement for isolate or whey protein concentrate. Benefits of peptides, aside from the fact that your body can easily absorb and use them, include improvements in muscle growth and muscle tone. They may also help with your energy levels and endurance.
- Amino acid tablets: One of the most highly-rated protein capsules among users is amino tablets. Amino tablets often combine all of the essential amino acids, including BCAAs. They are bioavailable and are a low-calorie way to build and maintain lean muscle mass.
- Multi-collagen: Capsules that combine multiple types of collagen can help with joint stiffness and promote faster exercise recovery. Multi-collagen capsules can support the health of your hair, skin, and nails.
- Marine collagen: When talking about collagen supplements, we often think about bovine collagen sourced from cows. You can also get protein and collagen from marine sources. Marine collagen is one of the most easily absorbed and used types of protein. People use marine collagen not only to up their protein intake but for pain relief, improved skin health, and gut health.
Benefits of Pills vs. Powders
Some of the benefits of taking a pill compared to a powder include:
- You’re less likely to experience some people’s uncomfortable digestive symptoms from powders like bloating and gas.
- Pills are less likely than powder to cause nausea.
- You don’t have to worry with mixing up a protein powder.
- There are few, if any, calories in pills.
- Many people don’t prefer the taste of powders or the consistency, making pills a viable option.
Where to Buy Protein Pills
There are several great places to buy protein pills. Some of our favorite brands and types of pills that contain protein include:
- Codeage Organic Bone Broth Collagen Capsules: The Codeage brand is an affordable alternative to similar brands. The Organic Bone Broth Collagen Capsules are available on Amazon and combine chicken and bovine broth. Each serving includes three grams of protein and 4000 mg of collagen from bone broth.
- BodyHealth Perfect Amino Tablets: Also available on Amazon, the BodyHealth Perfect Amino Tablets are a top-selling blend of eight amino acids. They’re vegan and pre-digested, absorbed into your bloodstream in around 20 minutes or less.
- Ancient Nutrition Multi-Collagen Capsules: The Ancient Nutrition brand is from Dr. Axe. You can buy it directly from the retail site or places like health food stores and Amazon. The Ancient Nutrition Multi-Collagen capsules include herbs that support a healthy stress response and energy levels. Thrive Market also sells Ancient Nutrition products.
- Vital Proteins Marine Collagen: Walgreens, Amazon, Thrive Market, and most major retailers carry Vital Proteins products, or you can buy them directly from the company. Their marine collagen is highly rated and is made from wild-caught, non-GMO project-verified fish. There are 12 grams of collagen in each serving.
Overall there are a lot of retailers that offer great protein pills, and they’re worth trying out if you want an alternative to powders and shakes.