Whether it'south made from pork, beefiness, or even fish, gelatin is essentially collagen. Collagen is a bit like Female parent Nature'southward glue, a protein that ensures our pare, bones, ligaments and tendons remain stuck together.

Can you purchase omega-three fish oil capsules without gelatin?

When you recollect of gelatin does a certain brightly coloured, jiggly dessert immediately spring to mind? If so, it's probably the last thing you'd associate with a supplement you have for your wellness, such every bit omega-three fish oil.

The same ingredient that gives jelly its distinctive wobble is also used to make many of today's drug and vitamin capsules. Gelatin is a substance derived from the collagen of animals and its gel-forming properties brand it particularly useful every bit a casing for nutrient supplements, including fish oil.

Only considering it's usually derived from the peel or bone of cattle, information technology could be a problem for those who don't eat certain types of meat for religious or upstanding reasons. That's why, if you lot care about the provenance of the nutrient you're eating, information technology'southward worth digging a fiddling deeper to find out exactly what your supplement is made of. Otherwise you could find yourself consuming a production you lot're non entirely happy with.

We make all of our omega-three capsules without pork gelatin. We do this because it feels wrong to put fish oil inside what's essentially a meat casing. So what do we use to make our capsules instead? And is eating gelatin good or bad for you lot? Read on to discover out.

What is gelatin?

It's not that mysterious and you could even go far yourself. First you take the basic, pare, and tendons of an animal and eddy them in water until they dissolve. Get out to cool, and you'll end up with a substance that looks similar a gel. That's gelatin, and yous tin can perhaps see why people were less than impressed to learn they were eating it in a sweetness.

The meat-free move against pork gelatin began gaining traction back in August 2016, when Belgian filmmaker Alina Kneepkens uploaded a video of a adult female eating a gummy sweetness to Facebook. The ninety-second clip starts with the sugariness on the adult female's lips, and then we're taken back in time, from the sweet factory to images of the expressionless animals, correct back to the cute sus scrofa in a farm from where it all originated. The video has been seen millions of times, leaving many of its viewers vowing never to eat gummy sweets again, according to their comments.

But while it all sounds a scrap gruesome, we've been using gelatin in diverse ways for some xl,000 years, whether that was to preserve, thicken or stabilise food. The process dates dorsum to the Upper Paleolithic period when our hunter-gatherer ancestors boiled down the pare and basic of their animals to create poly peptide-rich broths. Since then it'due south been used in a multifariousness of ways, with the Egyptians even using information technology as glue 5,000 years ago.

Odourless, flavourless and articulate, you tin can purchase gelatin from the supermarket in leaf or powdered grade. It'due south brittle when dry simply viscid when moist, which makes it particularly useful in soft sweets. Merely gelatin'southward also capable of forming potent, flexible films that are tasteless, transparent and easily digested, making it perfect when it comes to the manufacture of our supplements.

What sort of gelatin is in fish oil?

Currently, the vast majority of gelatin in the supplement marketplace comes from pigs and cows that have been raised for slaughter. That's purely because of the sheer abundance of such animals in the industrialised food chain. Most gelatin comes from the unwanted by-products of livestock, such as skin, tendons, ligaments, connective tissue and bones, mainly considering they're cheap and plentiful.

But while the procedure of making gelatin from unwanted creature past-products may not be new to united states of america, you may feel slightly unsettled past the thought of eating pork and beef aslope a health supplement such as fish oil. Fifty-fifty if you're not vegetarian, you may be pescatarian, or have upstanding concerns when it comes to animal well-being.

But it is possible to purchase fish oil capsules without gelatin from cattle, such equally the products we make at Bare Biological science. We utilize only fish gelatin in our capsules, meaning our supplements are suitable for all not-meat-eaters.

Why we utilise fish gelatin

Also being more acceptable for a multitude of religious, cultural or ethical reasons, pork or beef gelatin can be very tough and therefore harder to intermission down. We find fish gelatin is much easier on digestion.

What is fish gelatin?

The well-nigh common raw material for fish gelatin is fish skin, but some is also made from fish scales. Fish bones are seldom used every bit they don't contain very much collagen.

What blazon of fish are used in Bare Biology'southward capsules?

In our fish gelatin, we use basa without scales from Vietnam and tilapia with scales from Republic of honduras, Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia. And then why don't we utilize the unwanted by-products of the same fish that goes into our fish oil?

That's because the best sources of fish oil are from cold-water fish, merely the skin of these fish can't be used to make gelatin. Tilapia and basa are both warm water fish, giving them a very different type of collagen when compared to fish swimming in cold water. Gelatin from warm water fish closely resembles the gelatin from cows and pigs, with skillful gelling and film-forming backdrop. Gelatin from cold water living fish does not gel properly, pregnant it can't be used for capsules.

So is gelatin practiced or bad for yous?

Whether information technology's made from pork, beef or fifty-fifty fish, gelatin is essentially collagen. Collagen is a bit similar Female parent Nature's mucilage, a protein that ensures our skin, basic, ligaments and tendons remain stuck together.

So although it may look nothing like a health nutrient, gelatin'southward chemical structure is and so similar to our own collagen that eating it is idea to be able to give own supplies a heave. In fact, that's the reason why bone goop has become so incredibly popular in recent years.

Of grade, y'all won't be getting enough gelatin per fish oil capsule to see much of a difference in your own collagen levels, but at least you can be certain than gelatin is not in whatever way bad for you.

And, by taking fish oil capsules made from fish gelatin, such equally the supplements made by Bare Biology , you can be sure that you lot won't be getting a side lodge of pork or beefiness along with your omega-3.

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Disclaimer

Any information provided by Bare Biology, or representatives of, is for educational purposes and should not replace medical advice. We cannot diagnose or treat any
medical status. Always consult a md or other medical practitioner before implementing any changes. If you are on prescriptive medication you lot should check with your GP before commencing any supplement plan every bit these may be contraindicated with some medications.