Your guide to Collagen and Gelatine

Now that we have added our brand new grass-fed gelatine powder to our range of primal products, you may be wondering what the difference is between collagen and gelatine, which to choose, or if you can use them together, so let’s clear up some of the confusion and discover which is suited to your needs. Collagen is the most abundant (and important) protein in the human body, making up structures like our gut lining, joints, bones and skin. Collagen is scarce in our modern-day diets, because we no longer consume all parts of an animal and the parts that we typically throw away tend to be the most collagen-rich. Cooking the collagen found in animal bones, hides and connective tissues turns it into gelatine, and this process is the way we can get all the benefits of collagen in our diet. For years, collagen and gelatine were a prominent feature in human diets, our primal ancestors would hunt and then use all parts of an animal, boiling the bones to make gelatine rich bone broth. The gelatine they consumed helped to bring their diets into balance, which is something our modern-day diets, rich in muscle meats are sorely lacking. If we further process this gelatine with an enzymatic process, it then becomes hydrolysed collagen which breaks the proteins in gelatine into smaller pieces, and gives it different chemical properties, but with the same amino acid profile. Some people may find hydrolysed collagen easier to digest- and this hydrolysation process is why the collagen will dissolve in both cold and hot fluids whereas gelatin will cause liquid to gel, making it a great thickener. In terms of health benefits, hydrolyzed collagen and gelatin offer similar benefits for gut support, beauty, joint and bone health. They have very similar amino acids profiles, protein content and nutritional benefits. Both our pure collagen and gelatine are virtually odourless and tasteless, meaning they are extremely easy to use. Due to the enzymatic process that breaks the gelatin proteins into smaller peptides, the hydrolysed collagen peptides will dissolve smoothly into hot and cold liquids and will not gel. Our pure collagen powder cannot be used in recipes that call for gelatine, but it is very versatile, and easy to add into your daily diet. Gelatine powder will gel in cold liquids, it is ideal for things like soups, stews and smoothies as a thickener, and in recipes as a binder. You can create healthy mousses, jelly and gummy sweets too. Gelatine powder is slightly slower digesting and has a soothing, coating effect which can be beneficial for any kind of gut issues, or gut healing protocols. The source of our pure collagen and gelatine is exactly the same - derived from grass-fed, pasture-raised cows in South America, raised without the use of hormones, antibiotics or GMOS, this is as clean as collagen and gelatine comes. Animals raised on their natural diet in their natural environment will make higher quality collagen which makes higher quality gelatine, and contain higher amounts of anti-inflammatory amino acids like glycine which are responsible for many of its health benefits. They will also be free from pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. The key difference between our collagen peptides and gelatine is in how they can be used. Both gelatine and hydrolysed collagen provide the same valuable amino acids and nutrition profiles, with slightly different chemical properties down to the way they are processed. Both are highly anti-inflammatory and support healthy joints, bones, guts, hair, nails, skin. The deciding factor comes down to your personal preferences, and how you want to use the products, and ultimately you can use both alongside one another, or interchangeably to get all that essential primal nutrition in. Find our full range of products here.