February 16, 2010
Secret Substance That Can Improve Joint Pain
Today we get to hear from Tracie Hittman, my nutritionist. I have now been taking gelatin consistently for a couple weeks. It is still early to tell if I feel different, but I love the fact that it is so high in anti-inflammatory proteins! If you like this article be sure to check out some of Tracie’s past articles.
Signs That You Have Low Thyroid
Gelatin - A Powerful Healing Tool
America as a nation seems to be under extra stress right now. Increased stress hormones can lead to inflammation. These stress hormones are called adrenaline and cortisol. In order to have low inflammation and good health we need to keep these hormones under wrap! Lowering inflammation is also extremely important because most disease states are related to inflammation inside of the body. Inflammation is a process by which the body’s white blood cells and chemicals protect us from injury, infection and foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses. It often causes pain, redness, heat, and swelling in the affected area. Inflammation can be short term, like a sprained ankle, or chronic, like arthritis. Some signs or symptoms of inflammation in the body are:
- Redness
- Swollen joint that is warm to touch
- Joint pain
- Joint stiffness
- Loss of joint function
- Fever
- Chills
- Fatigue/loss of energy
- Headaches
- Loss of appetite
- Muscle stiffness
- Obesity
- Any health condition that ends in “itis” (colitis, arthritis, bursitis)
Besides stress, the foods that you choose to consume can also increase inflammation. One of the biggest issues with the American diet is that we do not eat the whole animal and primarily consume muscle meat. In common terms, the muscle meats are the breast, fillets, chops, steaks, roasts, stew meat and ground meats.
This practice of only eating muscle meat creates an imbalance in our amino acid intake. We are missing gelatin, which used to be found in traditional bone broths, and is known to be very high in anti-inflammatory amino acids such as glycine and proline. Making bone broths (click here to find out how to make own on gelatin bone broth) or adding gelatin to your diet can reduce inflammation and even help joint recovery after workouts.
There are 2 Different Types
There are 2 different types of gelatin: hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed. Hydrolyzed gelatin will dissolve instantly in any liquid, where non-hydrolyzed gelatin needs hot water added to dissolve completely. If you want to have a quick pre-work out snack, you can add hydrolyzed gelatin to some pure fruit juice. Non-hydrolyzed gelatin can be used to make healthy gelatin similar to Jell-o. Knox gelatin does not contain the same nutritional value as the brands recommended.
Make Your Own Healthy Gelatin
Click here for a recipe on how to make your own Healthy Gelatin Recipe.
How Much Should I Take?
Another benefit of gelatin is that it contains 6 grams of protein per tablespoon. This is a great way to increase your daily protein intake, as well as to add anti-inflammatory amino acids to your diet. I recommend starting off with base intake of 2 T per day mixed in any liquid (broth, small amount of pure fruit juice) or soft food (yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.).
Have fun experimenting with the many ways that you can add gelatin into your diet to reduce inflammation.
Resources
To purchase Joint Care Gelatin (hydrolyzed gelatin) from Gelatin Innovations call 1-847-678-4708 and tell Shelia that Tracie Hittman sent you or purchase it locally from Core Athletic. You can purchase Great Lakes Gelatin (non-hydrolyzed) from Core Athletic, Woodman’s grocery stores or direct by calling 847-223-8141.
If you would like more information on Tracie Hittman Nutrition, LLC please visit: www.itsyourplate.com.
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