Collagen: benefits, when to supplement it & collagen killers with Dr. Vanessa Craig

About Formetta and Dr. Vanessa Craig: ⁠www.formetta.com⁠

Create a healthier, happier body: ⁠www.broccoliguy.com⁠

Follow me for more helpful content:⁠

Transcript:⁠

Vanessa (00:00)
the collagen killers. So excess sugar, lack of movement as well, stress.
And then chronic inflammation is a big one. and this is destroying our collagen

Tommy (00:20)
hey and welcome to the Broccoli Guy podcast. I'm Tommy and we're all about healthier, happier bodies. And today we're going to talk about collagen, a topic that everyone is excited to learn more about. And we're going to do that with my friend, Dr. Vanessa Craig. Vanessa, welcome.

Vanessa (00:40)
Thanks for inviting me. I love the name of your podcast

Tommy (00:44)
Thank you. It's because I eat broccoli every day. Broccoli has healed me when, yeah, right? So greens are super important. And as you know, broccoli contains sulforaphane, a very powerful cancer fighting compound. So that's why I like to eat it as much as possible.

Vanessa (00:47)
Same! Yeah, I love broccoli.
Mm -hmm.
and you eat it with mustard, I hope.

Tommy (01:06)
I'm not that of a biohacker. I can't do everything perfect because adding mustard seeds to cooked broccoli helps with the sulforaphane content. I know that, but it's just an extra step that I have to take. I'm sometimes a bit too lazy, you know?

Vanessa (01:21)
right?

Tommy (01:23)
but let's talk about you. Vanessa, you founded Formetta, which is a company focused on collagen products that combine bioactive collagen peptides with ingredients targeting the visible signs of aging. So that's a little bit complicated to understand for some people. If you were to meet some strangers at a cocktail party, how would you introduce yourself?

Vanessa (01:47)
I always introduced myself as a scientist, definitely not as a business owner or business person, because that's really why Formetta was started. I mean, I created this product for myself to really fight the negative signs of aging. And because I spent a long time researching collagen as a biomedical researcher, that's my background, really became convinced of the clinical studies, but then could not find a product on the market, which was...

based on these studies, what I was seeing in the clinical research. So that's why I set out to make my own product.

Tommy (02:22)
That's great. Could you explain in simple terms what collagen is and why it's important for our health and wellness?

Vanessa (02:30)
Sure, so the reason why it's important is because the loss of collagen is really what results in a lot of the signs of aging that we see. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our body, arguably, then, one of the most important. You find it throughout the body. So a lot of the times we just associate collagen with the skin, which is fair enough, because 75 % of our skin is collagen, which is why when we lose collagen, we get the saggy skin, we get the wrinkles.

and all the things we don't want. But it makes up 30 % of our total body protein. So it's also actually in 90 % of bone organic mass. So it's even more important than calcium, you could argue, without collagen in your bones your bones would be brittle, they would fall apart. It's 70 % of our cartilage and ligaments, which is why joint health.

really you need to consider collagen and really refurbishing that collagen and 85 % of our tendons. I could go on, it's really throughout our digestive system in our organs. So when I say that after 25 our collagen starts to decrease very steadily and really drops off a cliff by you know menopause for women a bit not as steep for men but still they lose the same amount of collagen ongoing.

then yeah, really what can you do to fight against that? And so you have to look at, of course, all the things in our lifestyle and our diet, which are called the collagen killers. So what we know depletes our body of collagen. So it makes sense to also consider these. So excess sugar, lack of movement as well, stress.

And then chronic inflammation is a big one. That's something that I really focus on also in the formula for Formetta because chronic inflammation increases as we age and this is destroying our collagen at an accelerated rate. And of course, I mean, some exposure, everyone knows that UV is going to kill our collagen in the skin. So, but what we also know from the clinical research is that.

taking collagen peptides can be very useful in boosting collagen production throughout our body, but it's not necessarily easy to find bioactive collagen peptides which are targeting the collagen producing cells in our body and that's what I've spent a lot of time on developing.

Tommy (05:08)
That's super interesting. So to recap, there are several collagen killers. Some of them are sugar, inflammatory foods, such as, can you name a few?

Vanessa (05:20)
Well, sugar for sure, but even alcohol. I didn't mention smoking as well. And also if you have food intolerances or allergies, I mean, that kind of is going to lead to more inflammation. It's basically, yeah, all the inflammatory foods, not having enough anti -inflammatory foods as well. So vegetables, high quality protein sources, that kind of thing.

Tommy (05:21)
Yeah. Mm -hmm.
Okay.

Vanessa (05:46)
What might be inflammatory for one person may not be inflammatory for another one. So it's also at an individual level as well. But ensuring that you have a lot of good things like extra virgin olive oil in your diet and a lot of anti -inflammatory foods will really help.

Tommy (05:51)
Hmm.
That's really interesting. You said not all foods that are inflammatory for one person are inflammatory to another person. What are some of the foods that are generally anti -inflammatory for most people?

Vanessa (06:09)
Yeah.
Generally green leafy vegetables, high quality protein. that might be vegan sources for some, but it may be meat sources for others like fatty fish being of course great because you've got high omega -3, which is very anti -inflammatory. Yeah. And then again, I mean, in terms of it being individual,

Tommy (06:26)
Mm -hmm.

Vanessa (06:40)
You can think of some people being able to tolerate dairy products and other people having awful reactions to it. So that's what I meant by it being individual as well.

Tommy (06:50)
Right. The reason why I eat broccoli and other leafy greens every day is there was a time in my life when I had a lot of work. So I fed myself off of protein bars, which were the whey protein bars. Very unhealthy, but they're marketed as healthy food. And that's how my body just became very stiff, very rigid. I couldn't train anymore. I felt sore all the time. And that's when I discovered

Vanessa (07:03)
Hmm.
Yeah.

Tommy (07:19)
greens and so I just fueled on greens for three days straight and I never felt better and I would assume those are some of the differences where some people tolerate animal proteins better and some like me don't, is that correct?

Vanessa (07:30)
exactly.
Mm -hmm. Yeah, there's a genetic profile there as well. Some people really have no problem with animal protein. Others actually are more genetically blessed to be, it's easier for them to be vegan. It's also, yeah, that level of the genes.

Tommy (07:51)
Interesting. You mentioned collagen peptides. So from my understanding is that there are several types of collagen supplements on the market, some of them being collagen peptides, but I believe there are some other forms of collagen. Could you maybe give us an overview of the different types of supplements out there?

Vanessa (07:54)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
So, I mean, unless you've been hiding under a rock, you haven't noticed the huge boom in collagen. I mean, I started collagen research 10 years ago, and at that time in Switzerland, I don't think that you really could not find collagen supplements so easily. And now it's actually hard to avoid them. You find them everywhere and they really range in quality because a lot of them just like to slap collagen on the ingredients list or on the label.

And then you find out, this isn't collagen at all. It's vegan collagen, which we can go into that a bit later, that vegan collagen actually doesn't exist. This is a marketing term. Collagen has to come from an animal. Or it could be such a low dose of collagen that it really wouldn't be having any effect. And we've seen that in research. We know what an effective dose is. And then also what...

Tommy (08:51)
Mm -hmm.

Vanessa (09:07)
you find is a lot of them with sugar in them and other co -ingredients, pro -inflammatory ingredients that have no place in an anti -aging supplement. That's something that particularly annoys me, that you want to avoid having sugar and preservatives and all these things. But then also the level of the quality level varies in terms of...

They even tested for heavy metals and toxins. This is something you would think is Obligatory, but no, they don't actually have to do that. They don't actually have to show that these peptides or The collagen that they say they have actually works. They don't actually have to prove that it's bioactive. They can just sell it and say it's collagen This is because the supplement industry is very poorly regulated. So it's people

that really, you know, they rely on people like you to be able to give them the information, be able to do their due diligence on every supplement they take because it's really you have to do your own research because they can really sell anything these days. It's not regulated.

Tommy (10:11)
Understood. Let's say someone doesn't do the research and what would you recommend for someone when that person goes online and starts shopping for collagen supplements? What would be the main info on the packaging to look out for?

Vanessa (10:15)
Mm.

The best way to know is to see if they have research backing up Look on their website. It's often not on the box. So you have to go to the website see okay They're saying that it's clinically proven Show me the papers show me actually the studies they're using because a lot of companies will say They can say clinically proven they can throw around all these terms, but you actually need to see the evidence

So that's important to really dig deep. And they also don't have to show, like I said, that they have tested for heavy metals and toxins. So ask the company if they're not already stating on the website, do you test for heavy metals and toxins? So it's really, you have to be quite proactive. I would also look at the dose. 10 grams is really, you don't want to go lower than that. You're not going to have the whole body benefits per day, yes, ideally.

Tommy (11:17)
Mm -hmm. Is that per day? Mm -hmm.

Vanessa (11:24)
and then look at the co -ingredients as well. I argue collagen peptides alone is not enough because we can go into a bit more of the science about what these peptides are doing, but they're activating, if you have bioactive, that they've proven to be bioactive, and you see this in the research that they're showing for their specific collagen they're selling, they're simply activating the metabolism in those collagen producing cells, which gets,

Tommy (11:51)
mmh you.

Vanessa (11:52)
which decreases as we age. So they're waking up these cells, but then you also need all the building blocks and all the ingredients, the enzymes and the minerals to actually make the collagen. So you want to have that in the formula as well. So that's what we have in our formula for Formetta. It's truly designed to help the cell not only be activated, to be stimulated, but then it has all the ingredients the cell needs to make the collagen. So...

Tommy (12:04)
Mm -hmm.

Vanessa (12:21)
For example, it's quite well known that vitamin C is very important, but again, you want a very highly absorbable natural form of vitamin C. But then there's a lot of other compounds we know which the cells need to make collagen apart from just amino acids. And then what I think is very important is that you've made the collagen, but what happens is that we're continually degrading our collagen. As we sit here, that this is just a process you can't,

Tommy (12:30)
Mm -hmm.

Vanessa (12:51)
defeat unless you're really helping the body fight against it. And that's what we also have in our formula. We have anti -inflammatory compounds that not only reduce chronic inflammation in the body, which is going to help you in aging overall, but you're also specifically inhibiting enzymes, which are there to break down collagen. We know how to actually inhibit these enzymes and which compounds can do this naturally. Things like CoQ10, grapeseed extract, aspergiantin, these are all in the formula. So I would really look for an advanced formula like Formetta where you're really targeting these three different mechanisms of action. Yeah, that's really, I think the way to do it if you're looking for one, yeah.

Tommy (13:43)
Great, so let's say someone starts taking collagen supplements, what benefits can that person start to experience?

Vanessa (13:53)
Yeah, so people are quite surprised that it goes beyond the skin benefits. A lot of people think of collagen just for women who want, you know, better hair and nails and less wrinkles. But I really implore everyone to take collagen because this is really I feel I know longevity is such a buzzword, but it's really one of the best ways to increase your health span because you're going to not only benefit your skin.

and have these beauty benefits, but you're really going to nurture your joints, which is so important for the quality of life, as you know, keeping active and mobile. And unlike any other supplement, we've shown with our collagen peptides that we can really improve joint health, reduce joint pain. And this has been shown in bone health as well. So for example,

with bone health, a lot of people think okay calcium supplementation, vitamin D, these are very important but they haven't actually been proven to increase bone mineral density whereas our collagen peptides have been proven to increase bone mineral density which is very hard to do. Usually the supplementation of calcium and vitamin D is just good at is halting the progression of osteoporosis but yeah.

because we usually have peak bone mass by 30 and then it starts dropping off. But the fact that we can actually increase bone mineral density with collagen is so important for longevity, quality of life. So we've got skin, we've got joints, we've got bones, and I should say also a reduction of cellulite we've proven, hair and nails. But theoretically, there's also an improvement of gut health. We haven't...

shown this clinically yet, but theoretically this is why a lot of people take bone broth when you think about it. This is why the old chicken soup, bone broth movement, because it's so good for your gut health as well. Your gut lining is made out of collagen, so it makes sense. It's very important for gut repair. And also we've shown that there's an improvement in glucose metabolism and also weight management too, because you're going to be very satiated by taking dose of peptides and amino acids with glycine and also with muscle performance as well. So very good for athletes, very good for keeping active. I think that's about it.

Tommy (16:23)
And if someone says, I already take whey protein, what would you say to them?

Vanessa (16:31)
That's great. I have a very collagen centric but also protein centric view of longevity, but they are different. So you need both. So what we need to understand what the difference is between peptides and what the difference is between amino acids. We need these amino acids of course to feed our muscle and feed the collagen building process, but amino acids do not stimulate collagen synthesis.

Tommy (16:57)
Thank you.

Vanessa (16:57)
These are peptides. I mean, peptides are essentially very powerful because they are signaling molecules. We know, you know, for a Zempic, this is a peptide. I mean, we know peptides can be very, very important in signaling pathways. And that's essentially why we need collagen peptides, not just amino acids. And that's why, unfortunately, whey protein is not going to stimulate your collagen production like collagen peptides.

That's why vegan collagen cannot work in the same way because this is usually just some amino acids. And I'm glad you asked that because it's very important for people to understand that distinction.

Tommy (17:34)
That's very helpful to know. And you also mentioned vegan collagen doesn't work. Can you go more into that and also explain what are your supplements made of and what about marine collagen supplements?

Vanessa (17:52)
So yeah, you can make collagen peptides from all different animals. Of course, the the main ones are usually bovine marine

Also pig and chicken. You don't tend to have any other sources. I mean, unless it's shark cartillage I seen that, but that's not very common. There's no difference really in terms of you can't, there's no one has proven that Marine collagen is better. I know that I've seen some marketing where they've tried to do that, but that's not the case.

Tommy (18:04)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.

Vanessa (18:27)
The reason why I went for our peptides, which are from a bovine source, is because they were the safest and the most effective that I could find across the world. I mean, I really searched for the most effective peptides possible, and that's where I landed on them. In terms of their halal and kosher, I understand though it doesn't fit into a vegan diet. We have a lot of vegans who are flexible and they will still take.

this collagen, but yeah, I understand it can be an ethical dilemma for some, but as a scientist, I've really tried my best to make the most effective product and you know, I can't please, I can't tick every box. So the most effective it is, the most ethical, I can't tick that box, but we do have, the cows are high welfare certified. Not only do we test for toxins and heavy metals and they're grass fed.

They are the cleanest and safest possible, but they also are high welfare certified.

Tommy (19:31)
So bovine means from cows that in your case are grass fat and they are

Vanessa (19:32)
yeah.
I will, fam, yeah.

Tommy (19:41)
welfare and basically they're happy cows, right?

Vanessa (19:44)
treated very well. Yeah. We have the certificate to prove it. Yeah.

Tommy (19:50)
That's great. And how would you recommend someone to take their collagen? Is it on an empty stomach? Is it in the morning? What would you recommend?

Vanessa (20:01)
You're always going to absorb protein the best as the first meal of the day. That's why it's often highly recommended that you have a high protein first meal. So collagen is protein, so therefore it would be best to have it in the morning. We also have electrolytes in our formula, which are great for a pre or post workout. I tend to be quite flexible and just say, look, just try and have it during your day with, without food.

Don't stress too much, but if you really want to optimize then yes, you're going to reap the benefits a little bit more if you're having it as your first or part of your first meal as well. Yeah, you get the nice hydrating benefits, but it doesn't disturb your sleep. Collagen can actually be very good for sleep as well because the high glycine content being very calming on the nervous system as well. So yeah, there's really no barriers.

to fitting it into your routine.

Tommy (20:58)
I like to start my day with alkaline foods such as, you know, lemon, lemon juice, or even alkaline water, but definitely not coffee or any dairy products, nothing that's acid. How does a supplement like your bovine collagen fit into the area of being alkaline or acidic?

Vanessa (21:04)
Oop.

good point. I haven't really looked into the acid alkalinity of our collagen. I can't imagine that it's definitely not inflammatory so I could imagine that it wouldn't be acid forming but that said I can't confirm that.

Tommy (21:37)
Okay, sure. And yeah, super interested to know. And you also mentioned something about bone density. So taking collagen supplements can support your bone density. And I assume, especially people who are prone to osteoporosis, or even have that already should take collagen supplements. Is that correct?

Vanessa (21:38)
We haven't studied
Mm.
Yeah.

I would highly recommend it. For me, it's of top interest to be taking it because I avoid dairy products because I'm lactose intolerant. So I'm very mindful and I don't want brittle bones later in life. I mean, osteoporosis is insanely common. People don't realize how common this is. I mean, one in three women will have osteoporosis.

and one in five men and Once you have these bone fractures caused by osteoporosis your risk of death increases dramatically and It's not something we think about enough is protecting our bones and really how that can reduce the risk of fractions So I think people need to

Tommy (22:33)
Hmm.

Vanessa (22:44)
have that message that bones need more than calcium. I think we're so brainwashed into thinking that's all bones need. Although I think people are realizing now vitamin D, magnesium, all these things are also very important, but I'm really trying to put the awareness out there that collagen is extremely beneficial for bone health. And we have the clinical data to back it up. We've got a 2018 clinical trial where we showed significant increases in bone density.

Tommy (23:01)
Hmm. Yeah.

Vanessa (23:11)
And this is done in postmenopausal women with low bone density. So not an easy group to target and really showed improvements. And then a four year follow up showing even higher improvements. So yeah, highly recommend collagen peptides.

Tommy (23:28)
Yeah, and what a lot of people also don't know is when they take calcium supplements, they also need to supplement with vitamin D and K2 in order to get the calcium to the right spots in the body, which is into the bones. Otherwise, it could just be swimming around in your bloodstream or whatever and not being utilized as you want it to.

Vanessa (23:40)
Exactly.
Yeah.

Exactly, yeah. So good that you brought that up because it's really not supplementing with calcium and a lot of other supplements is not as harmless as we think. A lot of people can really do damage with calcium supplements as well if they're not done properly because as you said, if you have too much calcium in your bloodstream, this can lead to calcification and actual real health risk. So yeah, it's a really good point.

Tommy (24:12)
the reason why more women have osteoporosis than men is because of the hormonal difference, of course. So would you recommend collagen to women of all ages? Or would you say, okay, if you're under 30, you don't need it at or a lot more when you're above 50 or above 60. What would you say?

Vanessa (24:36)
such a good point, Tommy, because I find you could really argue that, I mean, as I said, collagen starts to decrease already after 25. So I think before that, maybe don't worry. But then we've also got studies in young athletes showing how beneficial it is for injuries and joint pains. So it really depends on your lifestyle as well, because we see a lot of benefits for very young people as well. I think.

starting earlier is only going to be more beneficial, but that said it's never too late to start because we have studies in people over 70 where we have great benefits for joint and bone health and skin health as well. So yeah, it's just start. It's just start when you can. I think definitely in your 30s it's a good time to start. I think you're probably too concerned in your 20s.

your 30s you're probably more motivated because you're getting those aches and pains, you're getting those signs of aging and you're wanting to fight against it more. So you're probably more motivated to really take it daily and do it properly.

Tommy (25:42)
I think I told you this last time, I took a protein, a collagen protein bar for a while, maybe it was one or two years, and had noticed that every time when I was consuming it regularly for more than two days straight, I would feel very heavy when walking up the stairs or doing sports. It was super strange and I think it has something to do with what I have experienced.

Vanessa (26:02)
strange. Yeah.

Tommy (26:08)
when I was eating protein bars all day long. So clearly I don't really tolerate animal protein that well. But do you think there could have been another reason?

Vanessa (26:11)
Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I think for 100 % there could be another reason. Like I said, not everyone's collagen is as clean as ours and also those protein bars have a lot of stuff in them, a lot of things in them. So to really do the experiment better, I would really try Formetter, for example, a very clean source, to really rule out what else is in that bar. Because...

The reason our studies have been so successful is we also have not had anyone drop out because of any side effects. Anyone who has digestion discomfort from formetta, it's most likely due to, because we also have magnesium, only 25 % of the RDI, but it's unlikely. I couldn't imagine why you would be getting stomach discomfort from our formula. But other collagen or collagen bars,

Tommy (27:08)
Mm.

Vanessa (27:11)
I don't know, I mean, protein bars don't sit well with me either. So I highly relate to that. But to single out which ingredient is, it's very difficult because if you look on the back of them, there's usually so many ingredients.

Tommy (27:25)
Yeah, and what if someone is vegan and isn't a flexitarian and is not open to just a little bit of animal protein at all? Is there any alternative?

Vanessa (27:36)
Yeah.

There is no alternative to collagen peptides. It's not like Omega -3 where you can get it from algae You can have what they call collagen activators collagen boosters and what these are Like I said the building blocks of collagen so you can Give that to your body. You can give the building blocks. But like I said, you're not actually gonna be able to stimulate collagen metabolism, you know actually increase the metabolism of collagen and activate the cells because the receptors on the collagen producing cells are specific for the peptides that we have in our formula. The amino acids do not activate them. So that's the issue. So yes, you could take them, but you're just not going to have a strong effect at all compared to taking collagen peptides. So it's...

Yeah, you're at risk of being more collagen deficient, which is which is not great

Tommy (28:35)
What are some of the signs that tell you that it's maybe time to try out some collagen as a supplement? Could it be joint pain? Could it be other reasons? Do you have any experience with that?

Vanessa (28:46)
Yeah.

For sure, any aches or pains in your body. Also, if you've had a bone mineral density scan and you're in osteopenia, which is the precursor to osteoporosis, a great time to start. I would argue it's best to start before you even have any warning signs as a preventative. And then with your skin, if you feel like the elasticity is reducing, if you're getting the first signs of wrinkles, fine lines, that's also a great start. If your nails are brittle or you feel like they're not growing as fast or strong, or maybe your hair isn't, because actually looking at the beauty signs is a really good indication,

Tommy (29:30)
Let's talk about Formetta, which is your company. How did you become so fascinated with collagen out of all the areas of science that you could have gone into? And how did you start Formetta and with what mission?

Vanessa (29:47)
So yeah, I mean, like I said, I've been researching collagen for about 10 years now. And when I started, it was really, I wasn't, I was really trying to find all the things under the nutrition umbrella that are really scientifically proven to work and how we, you know, what could we really harness from nutrition that can really slow down the effects of aging. And I really just found the collagen research so compelling.

and knew that I was completely lacking collagen in my own diet and knew that I had a lot of premature aging in order to get under control. So it was a very personal motivation as well. But like I said, it took me many years to really perfect these three mechanisms of action of not only having the best peptides on the planet that can really activate the collagen producing cells, but also to have all the building blocks, all the minerals and enzymes the cells need to make this very complex molecule, but then also protect it. So people really didn't think about the downstream area of chronic inflammation and how important that is to get under control. So my PhD was actually in chronic inflammation. So I'm very aware of how important reducing chronic inflammation is to reduce.

the risk of chronic disease, which is the biggest killer in our society and so preventable. Like I was saying with osteoporosis, so common yet so preventable. And think of how many people would be better off if they could have a better quality of life. We are living longer, but the quality of life is actually reducing dramatically because of chronic

Tommy (31:31)
What do you think is the maximum effective, not the minimum effective dose, we talked about that, you mentioned the minimum effective dose is about 10 grams per day. Is there a maximum effective dose?

Vanessa (31:46)
That's a good point. I mean, the safety profile of collagen, I think goes up to well over 50 grams. I think you just have some digestive discomfort by consuming so much protein in one sitting, unless it's taken over throughout the day. But no, it's generally very safe. I mean, our formula though, has very potent antioxidants. So I wouldn't recommend taking ours more than twice a day because otherwise you'd go really a bit too high.

with all the antioxidants, which as you know, you can, you know, even good things you can't have too much of.

Tommy (32:22)
And where do you see the future of college and research heading? And are there any exciting developments on the horizon that gets you out of bed every morning?

Vanessa (32:33)
For sure, for sure. Research just never stops. So that's super exciting, especially in the longevity field. There's a lot of exciting research going on and hopefully more clinical studies proving its benefits would be great and encouraging people to really take high quality collagen. In terms of Formetta we're really trying to develop new natural flavors to encourage everyone to be taking it because some people, we have citrus and grape at the moment and you know a lot of people want other flavors. This is a naturally flavored no sugar and it has very potent amounts of astaxanthin coming from algae, grape seed extract and a potent dose of MSM. So if you know those compounds you know that they taste awful. So we do have a real struggle with

Actually, I never thought I'd be focused on flavor development as much as I am I'd always thought I'd be focused more on the biochemistry and the molecular biology but This I realize is very important because I really want this to be something everyone can take and for flavor to be an issue For someone not taking it is for me just a no -go. So that is for sure something where We'll be coming out with more flavors this year

and yeah maybe more products next year as well so let's

Tommy (33:58)
And you mentioned clients. So what else do you do besides Formetta?

Vanessa (34:05)
Yeah, so I lead a nutrition and longevity program at Rivr Medical Campus in Zurich. And there we really look at personalized health, where we build a detailed picture of our clients' health and really try and understand them as an individual to really help them achieve whatever health goal it is. It's very diverse, of course, under the umbrella of longevity and optimized health.

We look at huge numbers of blood biomarkers paired with DNA analysis and also epigenetic analysis to really help them measure their health ongoing. And of course I implore them all to take collagen, but then with all other supplements, we really do that on an individual level.

Tommy (34:53)
Would you walk me through the process if I came to your clinic and said, hey, here I am, where would we start and what kind of processes would you take me through?

Vanessa (34:59)
I'm going to go ahead and close the video.

So we start with a very detailed questionnaire, which you do in advance. And then the first consultation is really going through that with you to really understand your health history and understand what you want to achieve. And then we understand what tests we need to do, which biomarkers we want to look at. And the biomarkers can range from amino acids to fatty acids to...

I love the Omega -3 index, for example, which is a really good longevity marker, and a lot of inflammation markers, hormones, so it's very detailed. And then if you're open to it, we look at your DNA to really understand what may be behind a lot of the blood biomarker results, and also what diet you're really suited for at a genetic level.

It can take a lot of guesswork out of it. And also with the blood tests, we can look at food intolerances and allergies, depending on what issues you're having. So the second consultation is really going through all these results with you and really developing a plan for you. And yeah, I have to be so vague because it's so individual. We just don't, no one is on the same.

Half as another client, it's very individual, which is how I think we have to look at health. We are so different in terms of our health than we've been led to believe. We're all trying to eat the same thing and do the same exercises and I mean, as you know, it just, it doesn't work out.

Tommy (36:26)
Mm -hmm.
And what other things do you do for yourself? For instance, do you take curcuma, turmeric or do you ...

Vanessa (36:47)
I don't actually. I mean, I definitely have recommended it to people who need to lower their inflammation, but my inflammation levels are very low, so I don't have to add on too many other supplements. Formetta is very good at reducing my inflammation, so I'm lucky I can rely a lot on that and having Omega -3 as well, which through my genetics I know I actually really do need to take.

Tommy (36:55)
Mm -hmm.

Vanessa (37:13)
I'm very into eating very well, getting as much from food as possible. If anyone knows me, like I love really nutrient dense foods, like I'm obsessed with really high quality cacao, really high quality extra virgin olive oil. I love really high quality proteins, which I'm...

living in a place surrounded by farms where I can get great eggs, great meat as well, but a lot of cruciferous vegetables as well. So food is for sure a huge focus, but that said, for me movement and sleep, I really, really focus on these as well. So prioritizing sleep, I think is huge. And this I know because I've had two children, I've been sleep deprived and I've seen the result. It's not pretty.

Tommy (37:54)
Absolutely.

Vanessa (38:00)
for. It's not great for aging. So yeah, this I really like to prioritize as

Tommy (38:07)
Thanks so much, Vanessa. It's been very insightful. Where can people find you?

Vanessa (38:07)
Yeah.
Thanks, Tommy. They can find me on Instagram and Formetta on Instagram as well, or on our Formetta .com website, or you can visit Rivr as well where I do my consultations. Yeah, that's about it.

Tommy (38:28)
Did you ship worldwide?

Vanessa (38:29)
yeah, we have one international shipping partner at the moment. Our website will have a new website very soon to launch, I'm hoping in a few weeks, and then we'll be updating with international shipping finally. It's taken a while, but we're getting there.

Tommy (38:45)
Sounds great. So we'll link in the show notes below and people will be able to find you easily. Thanks to everyone who's been watching and listening. If you have any questions or comments, write them below and see you next time. Thank you, Vanessa. Have a good

Vanessa (39:02)
Thanks, Tommy.