Nature’s Building Blocks: Vitality’s Best multinutrient collagen products offer numerous health benefits

By Kamala Kirk

Prior to moving to Arizona, Jennifer Keely would fly in from Chicago every year to attend the Waste Management Phoenix Open for her birthday. While staying at a hotel in 2020, a commercial came on that caught her attention — and ultimately changed her life.

“At the time I was living in Chicago, and we would come out to Arizona to get some sunshine,” Keely says. “I was watching this ad featuring doctors from Beverly Hills who claimed they could restore youth and address the effects of aging with a pill they had formulated with collagen and other ingredients. I was really intrigued by the growing collagen trend and started looking into it.”

Keely, who has a science background, created a spreadsheet of the top 100 collagen products on the market and compared their ingredients. During her research she discovered that the pill the doctors were marketing was filled with preservatives and fillers, and didn’t have nearly enough of the necessary ingredients to be effective.

Around that same time, her 19-year-old daughter began to show interest in how to prevent aging, so Keely decided to try her hand at creating her own collagen product. She received a great response from her friends and family.

“I had just sold my previous company, and my life was in transition at the time,” Keely says. “So, I started researching collagen products and created the first version of my formulation. People were coming up to me and asking what I was doing and if I was getting Botox. I worked with a team of scientists and found good-quality suppliers. I knew our product had to be well rounded and more than a single-ingredient supplement because our bodies are complex. They need multiple facets of vitamins, enzymes and proteins to work. I wanted to offer the best of the best, and we formulated our product to make it as strong as possible.”

Just before COVID-19 hit, Keely launched Vitality’s Best (her wellness brand under her company Live Young Be Young). Her signature product is the Collagen 18 Daily Multi-Nutritive, a dietary supplement power that features an innovative blend of hydrolyzed multicollagen in addition to vitamins C, D, K and chelated zinc; methylsulfonylmethane (MSM); six digestive enzymes; hyaluronic acid and saw palmetto.

“We have the world’s first multinutrient collagen, which means we’re more than just collagen,” Keely says. “Our hydrolyzed collagen blend is better digested and absorbed by the body. If you consume collagen but it doesn’t have vitamin C or zinc, then it doesn’t synthesize in the body and will flush right out of your system.”

Keely says collagen plays an important role in the human body and the amount we have of it decreases as we get older.

“As we age, our natural production of collagen slows down,” Keely says. “It’s the glue that holds our skin, muscles and joints together. As the production of collagen in your body decreases, you start to get more wrinkles, your joints ache and your vascular system changes. Ingesting the right kind of collagen can help replace some those things, and as a result, you’ll experience a wide array of health and beauty benefits including better skin, fuller hair, stronger nails, joint health, muscular recovery and a stronger vascular system.”

When creating the formulation, Keely opted for a powder supplement for convenience and maximum absorption.

“Pills don’t deliver enough of the ingredients you need on a daily basis,” Keely says. “We left the powder form completely unflavored so it can be personalized according to how each person wants to consume it. It can be mixed into coffee, yogurt, smoothies, soup, apple sauce — any soft foods or beverages. We share all kinds of creative recipes on our website as well.”

To get the most out of collagen and its benefits, Keely recommends consuming it on a daily basis — the longer the better.

“Collagen is the gift that keeps on giving. The longer you take it, the more you benefit from it,” Keely says. “The first thing people tend to notice with the first three weeks is that their skin plumps up and starts to look softer, smoother and fuller. Going into their second month, they’ll notice their hair is stronger, their nails grow faster, and joint aches start to go away. It also offers digestive support and helps hormones, so some people lose weight as a result. It also helps to slow down the aging process.”

Keely says collagen isn’t just for older people — kids and teens can also reap its benefits, which is why she created Teen 18, a multicollagen powder formulated with 18 nutritives for ages 4 to 18.

“Today’s kids and teens have a more active lifestyle than we’ve seen before. They’re playing sports, pursuing academics and engage in more screen time,” Keely says. “This supplement offers balanced nutrition, immune support, provides energy, includes vitamin A for eye support, and aids with muscle recovery. Collagen is safe for kids as young as 4 years old, and any excess is simply excreted from the body. When a person turns 18, we recommend they switch over to our other formulation.”

Keely and her team are experimenting with creating products including collagen bars, Rice Krispies treats and other snacks. She’s also doing research on seniors and their health needs for a potential formulation in the future, and they have multiple media appearances in the pipeline as well.

Vitality’s Best products are sold on its website, but Keely is looking forward to expanding to numerous local markets and independent health food stores.

“My entire life I’ve been into wellness, and this is my passion,” Keely says. “I officially moved to Phoenix in February of last year because I wanted to be able to get to know the people in this community and be available to them. This feeds my soul; I love helping others grow and live their best lives.”