Eat Gelatin with Your Meals for Better Health

Jello and homemade chicken stock are two foods that many of us relegate to visits to Grandma or the hospital. But the gelatinous ingredient found in jellos and broths has key health-giving properties that help improve our digestion and relieve allergies in addition to strengthening hair and nails.

Gelatin by itself has few healthy properties. It is high in proteins that can't be effectively digested (Wikipedia). Because it has been proven that people can't survive on gelatin alone, many have been under the misconception that it is not to be bothered with (The Weston A. Price Foundation). This could be further from the truth.

Gelatin: More Than Just Jiggly Powder

According to the Gelatin Manufacturers Association of America (GMIA), gelatin is primarily comprised of protein but also contains water and mineral salts. Gelatin is also a common texture-providing food additive in low-fat meals and other processed foods. Powdered gelatin also frequently contains MSG (The Weston A. Price Foundation). The powdered gelatin you purchase at the store is highly quality controlled, with all materials used to make the edible traceable according to international food safety standards (GMIA).

Half of the 18 amino acids in gelatin are essential, meaning they cannot be produced by the human body but must be consumed for survival. Glycine, an amino acid found in gelatin, must be present in order for the liver to efficiently remove toxins from our systems (Eat Fat, Lose Fat). Lysine, another amino acid easily accessible through gelatin, helps our bodies to absorb calcium and develop muscle protein (GoBIO!, Wikipedia).

Gelatin's Love Affair with Water Aids Digestion

It has the unique property of attracting liquid molecules to it (Nourishing Traditions). This is what gives jello its shape when gelatin powder is dissolved in water. It is this attraction that makes the digestion of cooked foods easier with gelatin than without. According to nutrition experts Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig, foods eaten raw such as salad greens are easy to digest because the molecules contain a lot of water. Cooking forces water out of foods, which can make them denser and harder to digest. When cooked foods and gelatin are consumed together, during digestion the gelatin helps reintroduce water back into the foods, easing digestion and soothing the stomach.

Kaayla T. Daniel, a PhD in Nutritional Science, corroborates the link between gelatin and digestion. In her article "Why Broth is Beautiful", Daniel discusses the research of Dr. Gotthoffer during the 1940's. Gotthoffer found that cooked foods eaten with gelatin were much more easily digested than "quickly cooked steak and chops". However, the correlation may be extended from cooked foods to high-protein foods: Gotthoffer also found that babies more easily digested milk fortified with gelatin than milk without, and infants without gelatin had much higher rates of allergies and intestinal issues.

Alleviating Allergies and Intestinal Woes with Gelatin

As seen above, gelatin can help children digest milk better. Additionally, according to nutrition expert Lisa LaBarr, gelatin in a child's diet often helps heal the stomach and intestines, and decrease food allergies (expert village).

If you've ever wondered why chicken soup is so good at curing colds, Enig and Fallon point to gelatin for the cause. Gelatin may also alleviate asthma, fatigue, diabetes, Crohn's disease, and colitis (Nourishing Traditions, Eat Fat, Lose Fat).

Putting Gelatin Back in Our Diets

It is important to remember that gelatin is pointless to consume on its own. Gelatin is best eaten in the company of other foods, whether in those foods or around them (i.e. chicken soup, or a wobbly dessert immediately after dinnertime.) The GMIA reports that beef alone has a biological value to humans of 92, but that the value rises to 99 in the presence of gelatin.

Fallon, Enig, Daniel and LaBarr all point to homemade broths as the best source of gelatin. Store-bought broths are also good, but be wary of low-fat broths that do not develop a solid layer on top when chilled. It's likely that these broths have had a lot of gelatin processed out of them. If broth is unavailable to you, anyone with enough skill to boil water can make jello. Making jellied treats out of powdered gelatin is fast and easy.

Sources:

Dr. Mary Enig, Eat Fat Lose Fat. Plume: 2006.

Kaayla T. Daniel, "Why Broth is Beautiful--"Essential" Roles for Proline, Glycine and Gelatin." The Weston A. Price Foundation.

Lisa LaBarr, "Video: Using Gelatin to Fight Food Allergies." expert village.

"Lysine." Wikipedia.

"Gelatin." Wikipedia.

"Gelatin: Health Aspects." GMIA.

"Organic Gelatin? Yes!" GoBio! Organic Blog.

Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions. New Trends Publishing, Inc.: 1999.