Is Gelatin Harmful?

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Video: Is Gelatin Harmful?

Video: Is Gelatin Harmful?
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Is Gelatin Harmful?
Is Gelatin Harmful?
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Gelatin is a translucent crumbly solid that is colorless or slightly yellow in color, almost tasteless and odorless, which is created by prolonged boiling of animal skin, connective tissue or bone. It has many applications in the food, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries.

Gelatin is also known as E441. It is probably best known as a gelling agent in cooking, with different types and degrees of gelatin used in a wide range of food and non-food products.

Typical examples of foods that contain gelatin are gelatin desserts or milks, small sweets, such as jelly candies and pastries, such as jelly bears, which children really like.

Gelatin can be used as a stabilizer and thickener in foods such as ice cream, jams, yogurt, cream, cheese, margarine, it is used as well as in low-fat foods to simulate the sensation of fat without adding of calories.

The shells of pharmaceutical capsules are usually made of gelatin to make their contents easier to swallow. Hypromellose is the vegetarian counterpart to gelatin, but is more expensive to produce. Animal glues are essentially unrefined gelatin.

Cream with gelatin
Cream with gelatin

It is used to hold silver halide crystals in the emulsion of almost all photographic films and photographic documents. Despite some efforts, no suitable substitutes have been found with the stability and low cost of gelatin.

It is used as a coating or separating agent for other substances, such as beta-carotene, soluble in water, thus giving a yellow color to soft drinks containing beta-carotene.

Gelatin is closely related to adhesives and is used as a binder in sandpaper. Cosmetic products may contain a non-gelled version of gelatin called "hydrolyzed collagen".

Doubts about the safety of gelatin

Due to bovine spongiform encephalopathies (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, and its association with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), there has been little concern about the use of animal-derived gelatin.

However, a study published in 2004 showed that the production process of gelatin destroys most of the prions that may be present in the raw material.

However, after more detailed studies on the safety of gelatin and mad cow disease, they have prompted the US Food and Drug Administration to issue warnings and strict guidelines for gelatin extraction and processing and to reduce the potential risk of spongiform encephalopathy. cattle from 1997.

Pacha
Pacha

One of the main side effects that can occur with the use of gelatin supplements is an allergy to gelatin. Although not common, it can occur in allergy-prone individuals.

Gelatin allergy can also cause urticaria, dizziness and, in rare cases, anaphylaxis. Another side effect of gelatin supplements is the reaction of toxins, which are sometimes found in gelatin. Because many animals are given antibiotics and eat foods that contain pesticides, these toxins can appear in gelatin. Possible symptoms include dizziness, nausea and digestive problems.

A possible side effect of excessive consumption of gelatin is the amount of protein in it, which can cause the liver and kidneys to work harder. There is an indication that too much protein without enough carbohydrates has entered the body, and this can create stress on the liver, and for this very reason, gelatin is occasionally used as a protein supplement.

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