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I know what you’re thinking.
What’s with the disgusting photo Sarah? Isn’t this post supposed to be about the benefits of gelatin?
Before you click away in haste, hear me out.
I agree. That is one nasty photo.
I decided to use it to help make a crucial dietary point, believe it or not.
The World Is a Toxic Place Even In Places Where It Should be Pristine
The point is that our world has become a toxic soup and the situation is getting worse by the day. I say this not to depress you (I am not depressed about it .. I am deeply concerned but not depressed), but to wake you up to reality if you think you are avoiding toxins in your everyday life.
Dioxin, the chemical by-product of numerous industrial processes that is toxic to the human body, is stored in body tissues and considered a persistent environmental pollutant, has been found at the North Pole. Think your seafood from Northern Waters is clean?
There is a large vortex of garbage roughly twice the size of Texas swirling out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that keeps growing with each passing year.
The grouper in the Gulf of Mexico are so deformed from the BP oil spill I’m told by fishermen friends that I have decided not to eat it anymore even though I just love grouper sandwiches.
Hike off many country roads in small towns or large – doesn’t seem to matter – and you will find garbage and illegally dumped chemicals everywhere that are no doubt seeping into the ground water.
I don’t want to even talk about Fukushima – it just breaks my heart too much having traveled extensively in that beautiful country and having some very dear friends who live not far from Reactor #4. I won’t even eat Pacific tuna anymore.
Get the idea?
How do we deal with the toxic soup we are forced to live in everyday?  You can certainly reduce your exposure by eating organic foods, clean grassfed meats and dairy and avoiding pesticides and other chemicals in and around your home, but there are still numerous other sources that you probably don’t even know about that are assaulting your system on a daily basis.
Now for the Good News
A very simple thing in your diet like lots of gelatin via homemade bone broths goes a long way toward helping your body deal with whatever toxins you are exposed to.
Bone broths help with detoxification?
Yes they do.  Bone broth is not just a boon to the entire digestive process. It is a huge help to the liver too!
Never heard of bone broth also commonly known as stock? Click here to see my numerous video lessons on the subject.
Natural Gelatin In Bone Broths Helps the Detoxification Process
The natural gelatin present in bone broths helps detoxify the body because it is loaded with the amino acid glycine which assists the liver with its housecleaning duties. Â The simplest of all the amino acids, glycine can be produced by the body and is therefore not considered essential, but the ease of the body in manufacturing the glycine that is needed to keep the detoxification process running effectively is probably highly contingent upon whether a person is in radiantly good health!
Since the ability of the liver to do its job sufficiently is limited by the amount of glycine that is available, it makes sense to provide the body with all the glycine it could possibly need!
Glycine in Gelatin Helps Normalize Liver Function
Gelatin not only helps the liver do its job effectively. It also helps the liver function normally if it is having problems.
Dr. Reuben Ottenberg in 1935 suggested in the Journal of the American Medical Association that patients with jaundice or other liver problems be administered 5-10 grams of gelatin per day as food or via a powdered gelatin supplement to supply additional glycine to the diet in order to encourage normalized hepatic function.
Consuming Lots of Gelatin is Must in Such a Toxic World
Given the toxicity of our world today and the high level of chemicals in our air, water, and food, a large amount of glycine in the diet is one very crucial and important way to assist the body with the nearly constant detoxification that is required to maintain health.
The best way to get lots of natural gelatin into your diet is to make bone broths and incorporate them into your diet on a frequent basis with sauces and soups.
If you don’t consume bone broths either alone or as part of soups and sauces nearly everyday, however, you may wish to consider a natural gelatin supplement.
Powdered gelatin can be added to smoothies which is a great option in hot weather when the thought of a steaming hot bowl of soup is not very appealing.  While protein powders are not healthy due to the high processing involved to make them, powdered gelatin is a wonderful alternative and it adds protein to a smoothie as well as plenty of glycine for detoxification.
Powdered gelatin can also be added to bone broth that hasn’t gelled very much to ensure that when the bone broth is used in soups and sauces, adequate gelatin is being consumed with each serving.
Be aware that powdered gelatin contains trace amounts of MSG, so if you are super sensitive you may need to avoid it. I myself am very sensitive to MSG and have not experienced any problems with powdered gelatin provided it is a quality source.
Where to Source Gelatin and Bone BrothÂ
Be aware that not all gelatin is created equal! There are quality sources of gelatin and those that are not as desirable. If you are going to go to the trouble of sourcing gelatin, make sure that the quality is sufficient to truly help you with your detoxification goals.
Please refer to my shopping guide for vendors of the highest grade of 100% pure gelatin and collagen peptides available that are tested for BSE/mad cow disease. They are also tested to be free of glyphosate residue. This is the same brand I have in my own pantry and have used for years.
You can also buy organic bone broth if you prefer actual food to a supplement. Â I would recommend only buying bone broth packaged in glass jars due to the toxicity issues from packaging in plastic or plastic lined aseptic cartons.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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More Information
5 Reasons Your Stock Won’t Gel
Source:Â Gelatin in Nutrition and Medicine, N. R. Gotthoffer
YES, a thousand times, YES! I had to order my Great Lakes gelatin online, but once I got it, I jumped in with both feet. I started taking about 2-3 tablespoons a day. In less than a week, my skin totally changed, no more breakouts, it’s not oily anymore, and it feels like the rest of my skin. But the best thing is that it completely eradicated my PMDD! I used to have an extremely low stress tolerance, and I hated it. It was a thousand times worse the week or so before my monthly. I had been praying for an answer, and the gelatin is it!! I have farm raised beef soup bones in my freezer for broth and I intend to consume gelatin on a regular basis. It’s been nothing short of a miracle cure for me! 🙂 All glory to God!
I’m so glad you wrote about it helping with your monthly stress levels! I am currently struggling with this yet again and would love something to help balance me out! Are you still taking it and is it still helping?
I hope someone can help me with some concerns I have about Great Lakes gelatin.
I’ve read about the benefits of gelatin and ‘everyone’ seems to recommend Great Lakes gelatin. I found some GL gelatin locally, but it was porcine gelatin, not the beef variety that is typically recommended. So I went to the Great Lakes site to try to find out about the difference between the porcine and beef gelatin.
The pigs are (apparently) not pasture-raised or naturally fed. This is what I read on the Great Lakes site:
…”What are the hogs fed?
Those hogs raised in farm areas get their daily normal feed (raw corn, pellets, selected waste foods from restaurants, and grocery stores). Cloistered hogs are fed raw corn, selected grain pellets, and a variety of natural foods from various food markets when available.”
That sounds more like conventional and factory raised pigs to me. The beef is from South America and (apparently) grass-fed, but it’s concerning when the pigs can get “waste foods from restaurants and grocery stores” along with pellets and corn (I’m sure it’s not organic, so -> gmo).
Here’s what GL says about the cows:
…”How are the cattle raised?
Our cattle are grass fed and slaughtered in Argentina and Brazil which is controlled by their respective Department of Agriculture. These countries have the same type of rigourous tests and inspections as the United States. Beef hides are the only product used to manufacture gelatin in these countries.”
I’d like to try gelatin (I want to try to make gummy treats for one thing), but I feel a little hesitant after reading that info about the GL porcine gelatin!
Anyone have any information or thoughts?
Hey fellow Foodsters,
I have a question… I am in the Gulf area (Sarasota, Fl) and just made grouper bone broth. I’ve been doing research tonight and found it to be pretty high in mercury. Did I just breath in a chemical cloud in my house for the past day? Since it is liquid, am I injecting mercury straight to my blood/organs, BRAIN? ARHHHH! Totally obsessed, I’ll relax though. Should I still consume it?
Thank you, I love you all in advance for taking your time helping out a fellow Fish Eating Monster!
Hi, Sarah.
Very informative article (like always). I have a question for you though. I accidentally bought some porcine gelatin (Great Lakes brand) a while back and wondered if I can use it as a substitute for the bovine gelatin. Other than the obvious difference, can you tell me why a person would use one or the other?
Many thanks,
Christi
hello
thank you for this info. I have been on a search to find good gelatin for my family. I live in canada and great lakes will not ship beef gelatin here. Do you think the pork is worthwhile? do you know of any reputable makers of beef gelatin in canada? your help is much appreciated!!!
kelsey
The photo of the refuse pile is not pretty, but upon looking more closely, I see that this may be a hopeful sight after all. The pile is made up of old appliances, like washers and dryers. This looks like one big appliance scrap metal recycling pile!!
So grateful to have encountered the concept of using gelatin in lieu of homemade bone broth when I am traveling and unable to bring nor make broth. I have been on the GAPS diet for six months and I don’t want nor need to forego my vacation while on this diet!
What if you have the herpes virus? Gelatin is very high in arginine. Does this also include chicken broth that you make yourself by boiling chicken? Also, is the skin what’s making the gelatin? And if you eat it right away without freezing it or putting it in the fridge will that prevent gelatin from being produced. I know chicken broth is good for you but main question is is it still good for you when you have hsv because I know the actual chicken is?
Jon, I just started eating bone soup as part of the intro to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I’m drinking it 3 times a day for 3 days. I’ll let you know if I get an outbreak because I have the virus.
The nasty picture on this page became a reality to us after hurricane Sandy destroyed our home on the Barrier Island in NJ…that is exactly how the front yard of home looked after the ocean water flooded our house with over 3 feet of water” ocean water” and the smell was unbelievable…although we love the beach the ocean is truly afloat with many toxins…I’m new to your blog and agree with your thoughts on bone broth, it’s my favorite drink…I even take all the bones from a rotisserie chicken freeze them until I have 3 or 4 to cook down ad make fresh stock…I then freeze the stock and use it frequently…I always have bone broth in my freezer …thanks for the info …I look forward to using your site often…