How to supercharge YOUR body’s natural detoxification system!

 BY CATHERINE

The nutritional benefits of gelatin are astounding, but I will try to make this [fairly] brief.

Gelatin is the protein extracted from connective tissue of an animal’s bones, skin & cartilage. You can easily make your own gelatin at home (in the form of bone broth/soup) by throwing chicken parts, bones, wings, feet, head, etc. into a crock pot with water and 2-4Tb of vinegar left to stew for 12-48 hours. The vinegar pulls the nutrient rich gelatin out of the tissues (along with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, & sulfur). Which is why Grandma’s chicken soup has been attributed to helping a person heal (old school chicken soup was always made with gelatin rich bone broth). Traditionally, cultures around the whole have a focus on consuming the “whole” animal, muscle meats, organs and other tissues, creating a delicate balance of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) in the body.

So why gelatin? Gelatin has a unique and very non-inflammatory amino acidprofile, primarily consisting of  glycine, glutamic acid, proline & alanine. These particular amino acids are lacking in the  Standard American Diet,  due to our heavy consumption of muscle meats and exclusion of the other 50% of the animal. Over time, this greater consumption  can produce more inflammation when not balanced by non-inflammatory proteins like gelatin. Although gelatin is primarily made up of non-essential amino acids (meaning your body CAN make them), many over-stressed livers are not able to manufacture all the non-essential amino acids in the amounts demanded by the body. The liver needs an  abundance of these proteins to keep the liver functioning optimally. Gelatin helps fuel the liver to help your body “take out the trash” in our toxic world!

Benefits:

• Gelatin is rich in glycine,  an amino acid needed to support neutralization of toxins in the liver. In today’s über toxic world, often the body cannot make enough glycine to keep up with our detoxification needs (a toxin is anything from chemicals, food additives, alcohol, recreational drugs, RX drugs, BC pill, etc. You name it, the liver needs nutrients to deal with it, and find a way to get it out of the body).
• “It happens that gelatin is a protein which contains no tryptophan, and only small amounts of cysteine, methionine, and histidine. Using gelatin as a major dietary protein is an easy way to restrict the amino acids that are associated with many of the problems of aging.” (PhD Ray Peat, Gelatin, Stress & Longevity).
• Regular consumption of gelatin is very therapeutic for digestive disordersincluding food allergies, celiac disease, crohns, colitis, IBS, and lack of stomach acid.
• “Connective tissue is regenerated very slowly, so this is a remedy that requires some patience. However amazing results have been reported–healing of joints that had been completely stiff and frozen and the gradual disappearance of arthritis. Best of all is the improvement in skin quality, with wrinkles smoothing out and even disappearing completely” (WAPF, Why Broth is Beautiful, 2003).
• When consumed with dairy, gelatin can improve dairy digestion for those lactose intolerant individuals.

How to get it in your diet:

1. Make bone broth to use in soups, stews, when cooking vegetables, rice and more! A great way to add nutrients to any dish! (I strongly recommend freezing bone broth in ice-cube trays for easy, frequent use).
2. Order some gelatin to make your own Jello, desserts, marshmallows, and gummy bears. There is also another form of gelatin that does not “gel” that is great for use in  shakes, added to any beverages, or liquids for an easy non-inflammatory protein boost.

And a favorite protein shake/gelatin recipe (combine in blender):

• 1 cup raw goat/cow milk
• 1 tb gelatin collagen hydrolystate (6 grams of protein per tablespoon)
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1 pastured raw egg yolk (or whole egg if you can tolerate)
• 1-2tb maple syrup, simple syrup, or honey(ripe tropical fruit could be substituted here as well for increased digestibility)
• vanilla extract to taste

References/read more at:
Peat, Ray. Gelatin, stress, longevity. 2009. Retrieved March, 8, 20013 fromhttp://raypeat.com/articles/articles/gelatin.shtml
Townsend Newsletter. Traditional Bone Broth in Modern Health and Disease. 2005. Retrieved March, 8, 20013 fromhttp://www.townsendletter.com/FebMarch2005/broth0205.htm
Weed, Susun. Healthy Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way. 2002 Retrieved May 20, 2012 from http://www.menopause-metamorphosis.com/An_Article-healthy.htm
Weston A Price Foundation. Why broth is beautiful. Retrieved March, 8, 20013http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/why-broth-is-beautiful

Build YOUR nutritional wealth!