Just had weight loss surgery and have been instructed to follow a high protein diet, but don’t know where to start? Put gelatin on your menu. In fact, gelatin is a high-grade protein rich in essential amino acids. Gelatin (here defined as the ingredient before making a jelly salad or dessert) is 84–90% protein. The rest of the composition consists of mineral salts and water. Most gastric surgery patients will have noted that one of their initial “meals” in the hospital was cold fresh wiggly gelatin.
What is gelatin?
According to the Gelatin Manufacturers Institute of America, GMIA, “The raw material for manufacturing gelatin is the naturally occurring protein collagen, which is commercially obtained from the meat industry.” To illustrate a bit further, gelatin is derived from the skin, connective tissue and bones of animals. Although it can be unpleasant to digest mentally, this source of protein is what makes it easily digestible. Gelatin is not a chemical or chemically modified substance. It was probably gelatin in one of your initial meals after gastric surgery. As an easily digestible protein with nearly every essential amino acid, it is an excellent nutrient to facilitate recovery and healing.
Does eating gelatin from an old pile of bones make you cringe? Not to worry – the US Food and Drug Administration is on your side! As recently as 1997, the FDA reviewed and updated the processing standards for the manufacture of gelatin. All GMIA grower members adhere to those standards.
Secure Processing:
Commercial gelatin is manufactured in modern facilities that are highly regulated to operate under strict health and safety standards.
Food grade gelatin is usually manufactured in powdered or granular form. Light yellow to light tan in colour, it is a tasteless and odorless substance. Gelatin is stable when kept in a sealed container in an environment of constant temperature and humidity.
Hair and Nail Health:
It’s long been known that gelatin supports nail and hair growth and it’s not just beauty shop gossip. Blame it on those amino acids again! Nails and hair are protein and the amino acids in gelatin provide the building blocks to make them stronger, grow more quickly, and reflect your good health with bounce and shine. Including gelatin in your diet during the first year after weight loss surgery may help reduce hair loss reported by many bariatric patients. Gelatin is on the list of approved foods for all post-surgery diet phases, so give it a chance to love you back.
Food, Pharmaceutical, Photo: Gelatin is traditionally used in three major areas: food, pharmaceutical and photographic industries. In the pharmaceutical health industry, gelatin is used to make hard and soft capsule shells for drugs, dietary/health supplements, syrups, etc. It is highly digestible and acts as a natural protective coating for medicines.
Vegan Gelatin:
Devoted vegetarians and vegans will find plant source gelatin in their health food stores. Agar is a form of veggie gelatin made from red algae. It is available as plain gelatin or in a variety of fruit flavors. Read the package for specific setting instructions because plant-based gelatin behaves differently than animal-based gelatin. Vegetarians should check vitamin and prescription drugs to be sure they are formulated with vegetarian gelatin.
Source by Kaye Bailey
