Gelatin Exposed The Truth Every Vegetarian and Vegan Needs to Know

Gelatin has become a staple in many of our diets, but do you what it really is? According to PETA, gelatin is protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones with water. In essence, it’s made primarily from the stuff meat industries have left over pork skins, horns, and cattle bones! Technically not even a food source, it’s used as a thickening agent in a number of products and gives food a soft, squishy consistency. I know it’s gross and I hate to rain down on your gummy bear parade, but you and your kids really shouldn’t be eating this stuff. I don’t even know why it’s legally permissible to be considered a “food” product.

Big Problems for Vegetarians and Vegans:
Gelatin is not vegetarian and is certainly not vegan. Sadly, millions of vegetarians and vegans could actually be using animal commodities unknowingly as the list of products that contain gelatin seems to grow everyday. Be certain to only buy certified vegan, animal-safe body products and make sure to read your food labels!

Gelatin is in What!
It’s tricky to find out which foods have certain products in them and gelatin is no exception. This life-saving list of products containing gelatin is adapted from Veggie Boards and Mathrubhumi.

Foods Containing Gelatin:
•*Marsh mellows
*Pop-tarts w/ frosting
*Mini Wheats
*Other frosted cereal
*Jell-O
*Skittles, Star-bursts Jr, mints, Trident gum, M&M’s, Snicker bars
*•Peeps
*•Gummy worms/bears
•*Yogurts
•*Frozen vegetables (in a bag)
*•Icing/frosting
*•Cream cheese
*Sour cream
*•Coffee, milk substitutes
*•Lozenges
*Hostess cupcakes- Hostess brand
Gelatin is also used in fat reduced foods to simulate the feel of fat and to create volume without adding calories.

Non-Food Items Containing Gelatin:
Shells of pharmaceutical capsules.
Thickening agent in many pharmaceuticals
Implantable medical devices, such as in some bone void fillers.
Various ointments.

Vegetarian and Vegan-Friendly Alternatives:
Vegetarians and Vegans don’t fret! There are some fantastic vegetable-based alternatives to replace gelatin so you don’t have to give up every tasty treat out there. Alternatives to gelatin include non-animal gel sources such as agar-agar, carrageenan, pectin, konjak, and guar gum.

Cooking With Agar:
For those of you who make most of your food try using agar – it is made from seaweed and comes in powder or flake form available at any good health food store. Like gelatin, agar is full of protein and contains the rich array of minerals one would expect from seaweed.

To use agar substitute one tablespoon powdered gelatin for every tablespoon of powdered agar. When cooking with agar consider the following:

Soak agar your liquid recipe for about 15 minutes then bring it to a boil. Afterwards, place the heat on simmer and stir until the mixture is completely dissolved.  The agar-liquid mixture gels as it cools.
Acidic foods weaken agar’s gelling power, so if you’re firming an acidic liquid use more agar.
The enzymes of certain fruits will break down agar. So, like your typical gelatin recipes, you may want to use canned fruits instead because they are pre-cooked.

So why aren’t we eating more of it?
Traditional diets are typically much higher in gelatin than our modern diets, because these cultures wisely practiced nose-to-tail eating and consumed parts of the animal that are high in gelatin, such as skin, tendons, and other gelatinous cuts of meat.

We’ve lost the practice of whole-animal eating, and vegetarians typically don’t eat many (or any!) animal products. This means that we’re eating a lot less gelatin than our ancestors, if any at all. The following five reasons will explain why nearly everyone – even vegetarians – should be eating gelatin on a regular basis!

Whether you eat meat or not, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting some gelatin in your diet. Here’s why!
1. Gelatin balances out your meat intake.:
Muscle meats and eggs are high in methionine, an amino acid that raises homocysteine levels in the blood and increases our need for homocysteine-neutralizing nutrients like vitamins B6, B12, folate, and choline.

We don’t want high homocysteine in our blood because homocysteine is a significant risk factor for serious diseases like heart disease, stroke, mental illness, and fractures.

Those eating lots of animal protein need adequate glycine to balance out the methionine from meat, and you’ll get that from gelatin.

2. Gelatin heals your gut:
Gelatin can also improve gut integrity and digestive strength by enhancing gastric acid secretion and restoring a healthy mucosal lining in the stomach; low stomach acid and an impaired gut barrier are two common digestive problems in our modern society. Gelatin also absorbs water and helps keep fluid in the digestive tract, promoting good intestinal transit and healthy bowel movements.

Gelatin-rich soups and broths are also one of the key components of the GAPS diet, which has been designed to heal the gut and promote healthy digestion. And healthy intestinal cells prevent leaky gut, which is often at the root of many food intolerances, allergies, inflammatory conditions, and autoimmune diseases.

3. Gelatin makes your skin healthy and beautiful:
Gelatin is a known promotor of skin health. Gelatin provides glycine and proline, two amino acids that are used in the production of collagen. Collagen is one of the primary structural elements of skin, so providing the building blocks for this important protein can ensure that your body is able to create enough of it.

A diet rich in gelatin may also protect against the aging effects of sunlight, preventing wrinkles in the future. So if you eat gelatin, you’ll feel less guilty about getting regular, unprotected sun exposure to boost your vitamin D, because your skin will be more resilient to damage! (Yay!)

4. Gelatin protects your joints:
Body builders have been using gelatin for decades to help improve joint health and reduce inflammation. And research shows that athletes who took a hydrolyzed collagen supplement experienced less pain in their joints, which could help improve performance for athletes and competitive fitness buffs. If you exercise a lot, eating gelatin can help keep your joints healthy and pain-free.

Also, if you have inflammatory joint or bone diseases like arthritis or osteoporosis, getting adequate gelatin can potentially help you manage inflammation and pain in your joints, and build stronger bones.

5. Gelatin helps you sleep:
Glycine from gelatin has been found to help with sleep. One study found that 3 grams of glycine given to subjects before bedtime produced measurable improvements in sleep quality. Many of my clients swear by gelatin as an effective sleep aid without bothersome side effects, in contrast to medications and even natural sleep aids like melatonin, which can sometimes cause grogginess.

Glycine is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which can decrease anxiety and promote mental calmness. This is because glycine antagonizes norepinephrine, a stress hormone which causes feelings of anxiety and panic. Gelatin can thus help keep you calm and sleeping through the night.

How to Eat More Gelatin:
The traditional way to get gelatin is from skin, gelatinous meats, and bone broths. Those who eat a Paleo or ancestral diet can easily include these foods, but vegetarians will find it difficult to get gelatin from a largely plant-based diet. Gelatin is only found in animal foods that come from the body of the animal itself.

For vegetarians (and even omnivores!) I recommend getting a high-quality gelatin powder to add to food or to create yummy, healthy gelatinous desserts. Gelatin is somewhat more environmentally-friendly than lean meat because it uses parts of the animal that might not be used otherwise. And it’s much easier to digest than normal muscle meat, making it a good gateway food for vegetarians branching out into a more ancestral diet.

My favorite brand of gelatin is Great Lakes, which comes from grass-fed animals. It’s available in both hydrolyzed and whole form; each type has its own health benefits.

Hydrolyzed means the protein is broken into individual amino acids, making them easier to absorb. Use this type to improve skin and joint health or get better sleep. Hydrolyzed gelatin can be mixed into any type of liquid, including cold liquids, so it can be added to cold smoothies or juices easily. It also is great as a real food protein powder.

Whole protein gelatin is better for improving gut health. It helps carry fluid through the intestines, and can even coat the lining of the digestive tract as a soothing and protective layer. This is the type used to make gummies or jello snacks, and must be mixed into warm liquids.

One population who may need to be careful about consuming gelatin or gelatin powders are those with histamine intolerance; some people report a histamine reaction to these foods and thus gelatin may not be appropriate for those with severe intolerances.