What Is Gelatin?
Gelatin is a protein generated from collagen, a protein present in animal bones, cartilage, and skin that is necessary for joint health. Gelatin is a popular ingredient in broths, soups, sauces, sweets, and some medications, and is best known for its use in desserts.
Gelatin is made by extracting collagen from animal tissues. The texture of this flavorless, translucent substance is jelly-like. Collagen and gelatin are both made up of comparable proteins, therefore they may have similar health benefits.
While early humans consumed collagen-rich connective tissues, tendons, and other animal parts, most modern diets are low in collagen and gelatin. Gelatin is commonly used as a supplement due to its high protein and amino acid content.
Gelatin is made up of protein and has a protein content of 98–99 percent. It is, however, an incomplete protein since it lacks all of the required amino acids, especially an important amino acid known as tryptophan. This isn’t a problem, though, because gelatin isn’t likely to be your only source of protein. Tryptophan can also be obtained from other protein-rich foods.
The most prevalent amino acids in mammalian gelatin are:
- 27% glycine
- 16% proline
- 14% valine
- 14% hydroxyproline
- 11% glutamic acid
The composition of amino acids varies based on the type of animal tissue used and the technique of processing. Gelatin is the richest nutritional source of the amino acid glycine, which is especially beneficial to your health. According to studies, even if your body can produce it, it usually isn’t enough to meet your demands. This means it’s critical to consume enough calories in your diet.
The remaining 1–2% nutrient content varies, but it mostly consists of water and trace amounts of vitamins and minerals such as salt, calcium, phosphorus, and folate, however, gelatin is not an excellent supplier of vitamins and minerals; rather, its particular amino acid profile is responsible for its health benefits.
Health Benefits of Gelatin
Gelatin is a protein that aids in the health of the skin, joints, hair, nails, and intestines. It also contains necessary amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins and can be beneficial to one’s health. Gelatin has a number of potential health benefits; here are some of them:
Nutrition
Gelatin is high in proteins and antioxidants, which help protect cells in the body and support the digestive system, bones, skin, joints, and other bodily systems. It’s also a great source of:
Hydrated Skin
Are you concerned about wrinkles, sun damage, stretch marks, and other aging signs? Here’s some exciting news: gelatin can help you look better. Collagen is a fundamental building element for skin, and is one of the factors that contribute to our youthful, healthy appearance. Gelatin is necessary for the renewal of skin cells, and can also help block UV radiation damage, thus protecting you from free radical damage, wrinkles, and possibly even cancer.
Improves Joint and Bone Health
Gelatin, in addition to enhancing skin suppleness, can help strengthen connective tissues. Collagen and gelatin have become popular for their ability to alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a common condition among the elderly, and is the major cause of joint discomfort. As people get older, they experience increasing stiffness, pains, and decreased movement, which worsens as collagen breaks down and erodes. Gelatin and collagen help to slow down chronic inflammatory responses, reduce discomfort, and prevent conditions like degenerative joint disease from progressing.
Keeps you Full
Taking gelatin supplements (up to 20 grams) helps boosts satiety and reduces hunger hormones. While there is no proof that it helps obese adults lose weight, it appears to be capable of enhancing satiety hormones like leptin and decreasing appetite hormones like ghrelin.
Healthy for Intestines
Gelatin’s proteins can aid in the stability of the intestinal wall, as well as the formation of the protective mucus lining in your intestines. Gelatin helped protect the gut lining from injury in early trials on rats, but further study is needed to completely prove this benefit in humans. Another amino acid included in gelatin is glutamic acid, which can help protect the intestinal wall from injury and prevent a leaky gut.
Maintains Heart Health
One of the most important functions of gelatin in the body is to neutralize toxic substances that we get from consuming meat. Meat from chicken, beef, turkey, and other animals, as well as eggs, are high in a kind of amino acid called methionine.
While methionine has certain useful functions in the body, too much of it increases your risk of heart disease and other diseases by raising your blood homocysteine levels. The more methionine we take, the more nutrients we need to assist us to reduce the harmful consequences of homocysteine. Homocysteine levels in the blood are related to increased inflammation and disorders such as arteriosclerosis, other types of cardiovascular disease, stroke, weaker bones, and cognitive impairments.
Improves Sleep Quality
Some research shows that taking three grams of gelatin before night sleep can help individuals who have difficulty falling asleep, sleeping, or sleeping well. Researchers have also looked into the effects of gelatin on subjective sleep quality and discovered that it improves daytime sleepiness, daytime cognitive functions, sleep quality, and sleep efficacy, as well as reduces the time it takes to fall asleep and improving slow-wave sleep without causing any changes to the normal/healthy sleep structure.
Glycine also appears to aid sleep in a different way than standard sleep medications or hypnotic drugs, resulting in reduced tiredness and side effects the next day.
Improves Mood and Cognitive Abilities
The amino acid, glycine, is classified as an “inhibitory neurotransmitter,” which means it works in a similar way as anti-anxiety and antidepressant medicines, but without the drawbacks and side effects. Since specific amino acids can suppress “stress hormones” like norepinephrine and increase “happy hormones” like GABA, people utilize glycine and other forms of amino acid therapy to naturally boost mental clarity and serenity.
Side Effects of Gelatin
Even for individuals with digestive issues, gelatin is usually easily tolerated. Start with a small amount every day, such as one serving or half-serving, and gradually increase your consumption to ensure that you can tolerate it. Keep in mind that an animal’s overall health has an impact on the quality of the collagen and gelatin it stores. Because properly reared animals store more nutrients in their bodies, have more beneficial fatty acid profiles (more omega-3s and fewer omega-6s), and are less polluted, it’s important to consume high-quality animal products such as meat, skin, eggs, and collagen. Try buying gelatin and collagen from grass-fed or pasture-raised animals because they are healthier and don’t use artificial hormones or antibiotics. Furthermore, whenever possible, search for organic gelatin to verify that the animals did not eat GMO cereals or chemically sprayed crops. You should also be cautious about where you buy your gelatin products, especially beef gelatin, because spongiform encephalopathy, popularly known as mad cow disease, can be transmitted.
Now that you Know…
Gelatin is high in protein and has a distinct amino acid profile that confers numerous health benefits. It has been shown to help reduce joint and bone pain, improve brain function, and lessen the indications of skin aging. Gelatin is simple to incorporate into your diet because it is colorless and flavorless. You can make gelatin yourself, using a simple recipe or buy it ready-to-use to add to your daily foods and beverages.
