A New Alternative For Gelatin Fans
Happy 2013, everybody! Now that I've finished the Fat Fast book (soon to be available in Kindle and iPad formats)and the holidays are past, I can get back to work.
As I write this, it's been about an hour since That Nice Boy I Married and I finished a good , intense Slow Burn workout. As advised by my friend and weight lifting guru, Fred Hahn, we eat protein within an hour of our workout. Fred says that during that hour the muscles are primed to slurp up amino acids to repair and grow.
So we just had some grass-fed round steak I threw in the slow cooker earlier today, and now, to round out my amino acid profile, I am drinking my gelatin.
Yes, drinking it. I have a big glass of iced tea in front of me, heavily laced with gelatin. However, this is special gelatin. How? It dissolves in any liquid, hot or cold, and it doesn't gel -- your beverage stays liquid, even on ice.
This very cool product was sent to me by the nice people at Great Lakes Gelatin company. They ran across this blog, and discovering that I was a big fan of gelatin, they wrote and asked if I would like to try their Collagen Hydrolysate -- gelatin that has been broken down further so that it does not gel. Still contains the same amino acids. I thought "Why the heck not?" and happily accepted.
I am pleased to report -- should have reported sooner -- that the stuff is just as advertised. It dissolves beautifully in any liquid, hot or cold, and does not change the texture or flavor at all. You'd never know it was there.
As I have written, I have previously taken unflavored gelatin by putting a spoonful of the powder on my tongue and washing it down with water. However, I have been a big ol' health food freak for 35 years, swallowing any vitamin pill that came in reach. I have extraordinary powers of swallowing. Several people have written to say they find swallowing powdered gelatin difficult, or just plain unpleasant.
Great Lakes Gelatin Collagen Hydrolysate is a great solution. It will let anyone easily consume therapeutic doses of gelatin. I have not finished my free 1-pound canister yet, but will happily pay price for another when it's gone.
Great Lakes Gelatin Collagen Hydrolysate is pricier than simple gelatin purchased in bulk. A five pound box of plain gelatin runs just upward of $40; that's a considerable difference. However, if you want to dissolve it, you must use a hot liquid -- coffee, tea, or soup. Otherwise, you're stuck with my washing-down-the-powder method. The collagen hydrolysate is a whole lot more convenient.
I occasionally get asked if I'm still taking gelatin, and if I still think it's important. Yes and yes. I stopped taking it for a while when I got caught up in writing 500 Paleo Recipes. Then I got a cosmic dope slap and started again. Once again, I felt noticeably, dramatically better overnight.
If you've been wanting to try taking gelatin but have trouble getting it down, this is the product for you.
