Joint and Gut Health
In this first section, I’d like to introduce you to an interesting compound I’ve been talking a lot about over the last couple of months. It is called collagen hydrolysate (also called hydrolysed collagen). This product is basically dehydrated gelatine and gained a popularity with the paleo crowd in the form of bone broth (this is where bones are boiled for many hours to extract the gelatine from the marrow and sinew of the bones). To be honest I was highly skeptical of this having an obvious benefit for many years. The reason being is very few things in nutrition work as you’d expect. A good example of this is cholesterol – it’s now a well-proven fact that eating cholesterol in the diet doesn’t increase cholesterol in the blood.
My mind was changed by an interesting study (although unpleasant for the rats involved) where the collagen hydrolysate was radiated and then fed to rats. This allowed the researchers to see exactly where the collagen was being deposited in the body of the rat. About 40% was broken down and used in the gut lining – aiding in the healing of the gut lining, which is great for many gut issues. The rest was distributed to the skin, joints, and organs. Increasing skin elasticity, decreasing joint pain and healing organs. Currently, the human studies have concentrated on joint pain and skin elasticity and several have shown strong positive outcomes. It not only aids in repairing joints and possibly slowing down cartridge degradation, it also makes your skin look younger!
The second part of this newsletter is about my macronutrient smoothie. I came upon the recipe I’ve been using after listening to one of my gurus, Rhonda Patrick talking about her smoothie on a podcast a year ago. While I didn’t start using it straight away, I stored its use in my memory bank. Earlier this year after needing an MRI I discovered I have calcium crystals in my knee. This is often caused by a magnesium deficiency. Unfortunately, the timing also coincided with me needing antibiotics for the first time in over 20 years. It was then that I remembered the benefits of the smoothie recipe. It contains the full recommended daily intake (RDA) of magnesium – which over time will help reabsorb the calcium deposits in my knee.
The ingredients also provide the full RDA of fibre, which will help rebalance the bacteria in my digestive tract after taking the antibiotics. The fibre in the smoothie helps recolonisation of the gut flora as it delivers a bunch of insoluble fibre that acts as a prebiotic (Prebiotics are food for gut bacteria).
While doing some research for this newsletter I discovered two videos by Rhonda Patrick on why each ingredient is chosen. (I use the recipe in video two and I have added it below). There is a cornucopia of information in these videos including studies on how the ingredients can help with cancer prevention, stage 2 detoxification, decreasing the chances of macular degeneration, the RDA’s covered with the nutrients and the genius idea of adding the collagen to the smoothie! I’d been adding it to my coffee – which made it taste terrible – as I have black coffee! If you’d like to geek out on the information please watch the videos embedded below.
The following recipe makes 2 smoothies – I have one the day I make it and I store the other in the fridge for the next day.
Kale (8 leaves)
Silverbeet leaves (2)
Spinach (2 cups)
Celery (2)
Parsley (8 pieces)
Carrot (1 large)
Tomato (1)
Apple (1)
Lemon (1)
Frozen organic blueberries (1-2 cups)
Avocado (1)
Hydrolyzed collagen powder (1/4 cup)
Water (2 cups of water)
The vegetables make this a very green smoothie – think Kermit the Frog in a blender!
So give the smoothie a go, the health benefits are broader than I’ve covered in this newsletter. If you are experiencing health concerns or need treatment advice feel free to book a naturopathic appointment with me. As always, you can book online 24/7 or on our Facebook page.
Have an awesome week and enjoy the videos.
Yours, Anthony
Video One
Video Two