3 Crucial Reasons You Need More Gelatin in Your Diet

I know what you’re thinking.

What’s with the disgusting photo Sarah?  Isn’t this post supposed to be about the benefits of gelatin?

Before you click away in haste, hear me out.

I agree.  That is one nasty photo.

I decided to use it to help make a crucial dietary point, believe it or not.

The World Is a Toxic Place Even In Places Where It Should be Pristine

The point is that our world has become a toxic soup and the situation is getting worse by the day.  I say this not to depress you (I am not depressed about it .. I am deeply concerned but not depressed), but to wake you up to reality if you think you are avoiding toxins in your everyday life.

Dioxin, the chemical by-product of numerous industrial processes that is toxic to the human body, is stored in body tissues and considered a persistent environmental pollutant, has been found at the North Pole.  Think your seafood from Northern Waters is clean?

There is a large vortex of garbage roughly twice the size of Texas swirling out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that keeps growing with each passing year.

The grouper in the Gulf of Mexico are so deformed from the BP oil spill I’m told by fishermen friends that I have decided not to eat it anymore even though I just love grouper sandwiches.

Hike off many country roads in small towns or large – doesn’t seem to matter – and you will find garbage and illegally dumped chemicals everywhere that are no doubt seeping into the ground water.

I don’t want to even talk about Fukushima – it just breaks my heart too much having traveled extensively in that beautiful country and having some very dear friends who live not far from Reactor #4. I won’t even eat Pacific tuna anymore.

Get the idea?

How do we deal with the toxic soup we are forced to live in everyday?   You can certainly reduce your exposure by eating organic foods, clean grassfed meats and dairy and avoiding pesticides and other chemicals in and around your home, but there are still numerous other sources that you probably don’t even know about that are assaulting your system on a daily basis.

Now for the Good News

A very simple thing in your diet like lots of gelatin via homemade bone broths goes a long way toward helping your body deal with whatever toxins you are exposed to.

Bone broths help with detoxification?

Yes they do.  Bone broth is not just a boon to the entire digestive process.  It is a huge help to the liver too!

Never heard of bone broth also commonly known as stock?  Click here to see my numerous video lessons on the subject.

Natural Gelatin In Bone Broths Helps the Detoxification Process

The natural gelatin present in bone broths helps detoxify the body because it is loaded with the amino acid glycine which assists the liver with its housecleaning duties.  The simplest of all the amino acids, glycine can be produced by the body and is therefore not considered essential, but the ease of the body in manufacturing the glycine that is needed to keep the detoxification process running effectively is probably highly contingent upon whether a person is in radiantly good health!

Since the ability of the liver to do its job sufficiently is limited by the amount of glycine that is available, it makes sense to provide the body with all the glycine it could possibly need!

Glycine in Gelatin Helps Normalize Liver Function

Gelatin not only helps the liver do its job effectively.  It also helps the liver function normally if it is having problems.

Dr. Reuben Ottenberg in 1935 suggested in the Journal of the American Medical Association that patients with jaundice or other liver problems be administered 5-10 grams of gelatin per day as food or via a powdered gelatin supplement to supply additional glycine to the diet in order to encourage normalized hepatic function.

Consuming Lots of Gelatin is Must in Such a Toxic World

Given the toxicity of our world today and the high level of chemicals in our air, water, and food, a large amount of glycine in the diet is one very crucial and important way to assist the body with the nearly constant detoxification that is required to maintain health.

The best way to get lots of natural gelatin into your diet is to make bone broths and incorporate them into your diet on a frequent basis with sauces and soups.

If you don’t consume bone broths either alone or as part of soups and sauces nearly everyday, however, you may wish to consider a natural gelatin supplement.

Powdered gelatin can be added to smoothies which is a great option in hot weather when the thought of a steaming hot bowl of soup is not very appealing.   While protein powders are not healthy due to the high processing involved to make them, powdered gelatin is a wonderful alternative and it adds protein to a smoothie as well as plenty of glycine for detoxification.

Powdered gelatin can also be added to bone broth that hasn’t gelled very much to ensure that when the bone broth is used in soups and sauces, adequate gelatin is being consumed with each serving.

Be aware that powdered gelatin contains trace amounts of MSG, so if you are super sensitive you may need to avoid it.  I myself am very sensitive to MSG and have not experienced any problems with powdered gelatin provided it is a quality source.

Where to Source Gelatin and Bone Broth 

Be aware that not all gelatin is created equal!  There are quality sources of gelatin and those that are not as desirable.  If you are going to go to the trouble of sourcing gelatin, make sure that the quality is sufficient to truly help you with your detoxification goals.

Please refer to my shopping guide for vendors of the highest grade of 100% pure gelatin and collagen peptides available that are tested for BSE/mad cow disease. They are also tested to be free of glyphosate residue. This is the same brand I have in my own pantry and have used for years.

You can also buy organic bone broth if you prefer actual food to a supplement.  I would recommend only buying bone broth packaged in glass jars due to the toxicity issues from packaging in plastic or plastic lined aseptic cartons.

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

 

More Information

5 Reasons Your Stock Won’t Gel

Source:  Gelatin in Nutrition and Medicine, N. R. Gotthoffer