What is Collagen Powder?

(and how to use it)

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I’ve been a big fan of gelatin since our family went on the GAPS diet and it helped my son be able to tolerate dairy again.

I’ve also seen huge benefits with my skin, hair and nails since I started incorporating more gelatin and collagen in to my diet.

What is Collagen Powder?

• In short, collagen is an insoluble protein that accounts for 1/3 of the protein in our bodies and 70% of the protein in our skin.

• It is a complex protein, made up of many different amino acids, but most commonly proline, glycine and hydroxyproline.

• The important thing to know is that these amino acids are not present in muscle meats and many of us do not get enough of these with our modern diets.

Why is collagen Awesome?

• Collagen (and gelatin) are naturally found in high quality broth and in cuts of meat that contain skin or bone.

• The particular amino acids in collagen are said to be especially beneficial in the body for:

- Supporting hair, skin and nails- For joint health- To encourage skin elasticity and

reduce the signs of aging- Improving digestion- As a protein source

Ways We Consume Collagen and Gelatin

• My absolute favorite source of gelatin and collagen is homemade bone broth (or a high quality grass-fed bone broth like this one), but it isn’t always possible to have access to homemade broth.

• Gelatin powder and collagen powder are great options that we use often instead of broth.

Gelatin Powder Uses

We use gelatin for making a lot of different gut-healthy recipes like: • Homemade gummy vitamins • Simple fruit snacks • Probiotic marshmallows  • Coconut milk panna cotta recipe

Gelatin is great because of its ability to “gel” in recipes. It works really well in jellos, marshmallows

and other recipes for this reason.

This is the grass-fed gelatin that we use.

The one downside to gelatin powder… it is hard to mix into drinks because of its ability to gel, so we

use collagen in these ways instead…

Collagen Powder Uses

• Collagen has many of the same properties as gelatin and is the form actually found in the body. So what is the difference?

• The short answer is that they aren’t interchangeable, but they both do have their advantages.

• Some people, especially those with severe digestive issues won’t handle pure gelatin protein well until they address their digestive problems.

• Bone broth is a great option in this case, but another good option is Collagen Peptides, which is essentially a cold-water soluble and more easily digestible form of gelatin.

<- gelatin collagen ->

• Collagen powder won’t gel like regular gelatin, but it dissolves easily in cold drinks (like smoothies) and hot drinks (like my favorite coffee recipe).

How Much Protein?

• Gelatin and collagen hydrolysate are also sources of protein, with 6-7 grams per tablespoon.

• I’ve found that everyone in our family seems to digest the collagen hydrolysate form more easily.

• I also still use regular grass fed gelatin in anything we need to “gel” and both of these options are good for an easy source of extra protein.

What We do

• We consume some form of gelatin or collagen almost daily (these are the ones we use), and also drink bone broth regularly.

• I worked up slowly to consuming that much gelatin, but have found that my skin is smoother and heals much more quickly since I started this routine.

• Also, along with my autoimmune diet, I’ve noticed great results in managing my autoimmune disease.

For more about the Benefits of collagen and

gelatin, Click here.

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