Remember jello from when you were a kid? Or, perhaps you remember jello shots from your college days? Sooo, those aren’t the exact ways of consumption I had in mind here. The basis of jello (when you take away all that sugar and red dye #5) is a superfood called gelatin. It’s an easily digestible protein that comes from the joints of cows or pigs. If you believe that it’s only right to use an animal from snout to tail, then this is a food for you. The most important thing here is to purchase gelatin from happy and healthy grass-fed cows.
Here are some health benefits of consuming gelatin:
- Promotes joint health, especially for arthritic pain
- Reduces joint popping and cracking
- Makes you beautiful! Good for healthy skin, hair, nails
- Improves digestive health (especially good for constipation)
- Helps to build muscle
- Anti-inflammatory
- Helpful with weight loss
- Anti-aging properties for the skin
How I like to enjoy gelatin in my morning tea:
I brew my tea in my mug. In a separate glass, I put about a half cup cold water * and add 1 tablespoon of gelatin (you may want to start with 1 tsp) and stir to dissolve. Then I pour the gelatin water into my tea. I like to add a teaspoon of high quality grass-fed butter and sometimes a little coconut or almond milk. Then I put the whole mixture into the blender. It becomes creamy, frothy, thick, and delicious. Sometimes I have to rewarm it after all that.
You can add gelatin to soup stocks and smoothies, too.
If you’d like to read more, here are two great articles:
Why even vegetarians need gelatin by Chris Kresser
How and why it’s good for bones and joints
*Gelatin dissolves in cold water and becomes clumpy in hot water.
