8 BENEFITS OF GELATIN FOR HEALTH - NUTRITION - 2025

The health benefits of gelatin are numerous: it improves the condition of the skin, helps maintain weight, reduces stretch marks, improves arthritis and others that I will explain below.

Gelatin is a semi-solid mixture at room temperature known in its more scientific name as a colloid. In its most basic form, it is colorless, translucent, brittle and tasteless.

It also works as a complex protein composed of different amino acids. Due to this particularity, its general properties can be transformed or altered, involving factors such as its level of polymerization, the nature of the monomers or the sequence in its protein chain.

Its composition can be dismembered in the following percentages:

• 85% - 90% of its formation is made up of protein from collagen.
• 1% - 2% are different mineral salts.
• The rest of the percentage is equivalent to the water contained by the gelatin.

As we have been explaining, gelatin is made up of different amino acids. Despite this, it should be noted that there is a great difference compared to most nutritional foods of the same nature, since it lacks valine, tyrosine and tryptophan.

Although it sounds a bit strange, gelatin comes from a wide variety of material from the animal kingdom, that is, we can extract it from skin, boiled or ground bones, hooves, tendons, viscera, organs, etc…

List of benefits and properties of gelatin

Recent studies have shown that gelatin contains a multitude of benefits for our health. Without going much further, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that it is an edible that has the same healthy importance that characterizes bread.

1- Improves the quality of our skin

Thanks to the large amount of natural amino acids it contains, our skin will look much younger. Gelatin promotes the creation of new cells and produces collagen and aspartic acid, the latter being a determining factor when it comes to regenerating and revitalizing the cells of our body.

In addition to the aforementioned, ingesting this product can prevent the risk of suffering from problems related to our skin, such as acne. And all this thanks to the amounts of inositol and niacin it has.

2- It helps us maintain our weight

This is due to its low sugar content, which prevents us from gaining weight quickly. If we do not take into account the sugar and flavoring contents it contains, for each liter of gelatin, we will absorb only 17 calories.

3- Improves the condition of the hair

Due to folic acid, the roots of the scalp will gain resistance against the fall together with a growth that will appear faster and healthier.

You can also try using the gelatin powder directly on your hair, which is a great alternative. How to do this? Simply using half a teaspoon of gelatin powder to the shampoo that you commonly use at home.

Its effect is similar with nails, helping them to increase their growth.

4- Intervenes in the digestive process

If you are prone to problems such as gastritis, hyperacidity, colitis or colic, gelatin is neither more nor less than one of your closest and direct allies.

Likewise, it works against the appearance of heavy digestive processes, which leads to our digestions being optimized and carried out in a healthier way.

Gelatin is part of the foods known as "soft diet", being ideal both for the little ones and for people belonging to the third age.

5- Improves arthritis

Gelatin makes the joints (especially cartilage and ligaments) increase their lubrication and can work in a more fluid way as well as reducing inflammation and different joint pains.

The ideal amount to be able to enjoy this benefit would be around 10 grams of gelatin per day.

6- It favors the growth of muscles

Regarding this benefit, we have to say that gelatin contains arginine, a type of amino acid that makes our muscles grow much faster and become stronger.

7- Reduce stress levels

Again, the amino acids present in gelatin come back to work to create an anti-stress and anti-depressant effect.

8- Reduction of stretch marks

Thanks to the collagen that it shows in its composition, the reduction of stretch marks will be one of the effects reflected with the current consumption of gelatin.

History of gelatin

Since time immemorial, in prehistory animal remains were boiled in order to paint the walls, and use the gelatinous result as paint.

Likewise, already entered the Ancient Age, specifically in the Roman civilization, it is known that its citizens used it as glue.

Of course, it would not be until the 15th century when reliable data of different recipes related to gelatin as we know it today are found. Without going any further, Christians should not eat any type of meat on Fridays and that is why jellies were created with different meats and vegetables as a substitute for that day of the week.

Just in the twilight of the Middle Ages, gelatin began to be developed in the production of sweets, desserts and other foods related to confectionery.

Some three century later, this product, so well known in the world, would begin to be the object of desire within the most elitist families of the different European societies. It is precisely in the 18th century, when an incredible demand would begin that led to its massive production.

To make matters worse, names like those of chef Antoine Carême (one of the chefs who gave the most reputation to this curious product) or businessman Peter Cooper (he would invent a new way of eating gelatin by making it flavored), gave the necessary impetus to that has now reached the whole world.

Recipes

Here are some fun and easy recipes so you can practice and make them at home:

Multicolored jelly shot

• Ingredients: 720 ml of water, 6 sachets of gelatin, 1 box of strawberry gelatin (optional flavor), 1 box of lemon gelatin (optional flavor), 1 box of blueberry gelatin (optional flavor) and 700 ml flavored vodka
• Preparation: Pour 240 ml of water into a small saucepan sprinkling two flavors of gelatin to taste to soak for a minute or two. Next, we heat the result over low heat while we are stirring until we reach the solution. Later, we remove the heat and add a small box of flavored gelatin to taste (as long as they are contrasting colors). To finish, we stir in a small cup of about 240 milliliters of vodka, pouring it into a mold and finally freezing it in the refrigerator, Stir in a 240 ml cup of vodka. Pour the mixture into the mold and refrigerate until completely.

Orange peel filled with jelly

• Ingredients: Orange peels and gelatin powders.
• Preparation: Get some juice peels cut in such a way that they are as if they were a "bowl" that you collect after making a good orange juice. Clean them carefully and pour the different colored gelatin over each half. Now, we freeze them in the fridge until the gelatin solidifies and after that we cut them into different segments to serve and feel an incredible and powerful explosion of flavor in your mouth. It should be noted that this can be done in the same way with different fruit peels.

Jelly with gummy worms

• Ingredients: Worm jelly beans, kiwi jelly, strawberry jelly and lemon jelly.
• Realization: In a glass that is striking and transparent we will make the gelatin in such a way that it is divided into a total of two, three, and even three layers. First of all, we add a first gelatin with a volume of about three fingers of the flavor that we like the most, and without it becoming solid, we will add gummy worms inside. When we have done this step, and the gelatin is consistent, we can carry out the same process two more times to get a fun glass of gelatin with worms. Also, if we want to vary, we can try to change the flavors and even the different gummies that we will add.

Some curiosities about gelatin

• Although its use has been extended throughout the course of history, the name "gelatin" would not be adopted until 1700
• Their jobs are various, among which we find in addition to the already known in gastronomy, other uses for the coating of medicines, the manufacture of photographic paper or uses in astronomy.
• It lasts for about seven days without having to be in any type of refrigerator or conservator.