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4.5
A couple months ago, I started taking gelatin daily for back and hip pain, and I’ve noticed enough improvement that I’ve decided to continue taking it. It's not a cure, but it helps me put in a full day’s work in front of the computer. I'm also getting a full night’s sleep instead of waking up in pain, despite being an incurable stomach sleeper.I started with what was available at the grocery (Knox). Since it worked for me, I decided to start taking gelatin as a part of my daily routine. That makes it more important to know what I’m ingesting. Zint claims to be made from pasture-fed cattle, so I do feel better about taking it every day.It dissolves completely in hot liquids using the method below, and it has very little taste or odor that I can discern. There’s the slightest tinge of something if you really *try* to taste it, but I find it very faint and quite tolerable.Here’s how I dissolve it: Put a teaspoon of the powder in a custard cup, small bowl or coffee cup. Add just enough room temperature water to stir easily. LET IT SIT (this is important) for a minute or two to form a thick slurry or gel, depending how much water you added. (It can do this while your coffee or tea is brewing.) Spoon the slurry or gel into your hot beverage (or pour the beverage on top of it) and STIR until it’s completely dissolved. It will melt gradually, like an ice cube, as you stir. I do add sweetener to my coffee and tea, so if there is any faint flavor, it's not noticeable. Sometimes I gel up a larger batch of it, store it in the fridge, and spoon out a chunk at a time for my hot beverages. Bonus: it cools the beverage to drinking temperature as it dissolves.I think there is a very slight change in the texture of hot drinks with added gelatin and I actually like it, especially in tea. It adds a bit of body that I find more enjoyable than plain tea--similar to what a little bit of cream does for coffee. I like tea more now than I did before I started adding the gelatin. If you suspect you have super sensitive taste buds, I suggest you do as I did and try a small package of the store-bought kind first before buying the Zint brand.The only thing I don’t like about the Zint gelatin is that it comes in one of those fiddly zip-close bags. If you don’t “zip” it just right, the bag doesn’t close fully. I wish they sold it in a jar or canister, but I guess I can keep my eye out for a suitable container and transfer the product to it. That’s a matter of personal preference, though—some people might prefer the bag.If you’re looking for something to dissolve in cold beverages, Zint also sells collagen hydrolysate, which should have the same benefits for your skin and joints as regular gelatin. Zint was out of stock when I ordered, so I got the Great Lakes brand. I’m taking two tablespoons of that daily now (the recommended serving size is larger), in addition to my one teaspoon a day of the Zint gelatin, for the convenience of being able to just stir and drink. Collagen hydrolysate is considerably more expensive, so if cost is a factor, stick with the plain gelatin.This is the only gelatin I have tried so I can't compare to other brands like Great Lakes, etc.The reason for four stars instead of 5 is because it was not dissolvable in water. I may have put too much in the water (1 tablespoon as it says for the serving size in a small glass of water) but it gelled up and my water was room temperature/cold. I bought this because I thought it would dissolve and be easy to drink for myself and my boyfriend daily.But alas I had to do something different so I decided to make jello! It is fool-proof and SO easy to make jello with this gelatin.Here is my recipe:2 cups of room temp juice mixed with 8 tablespoons of gelatin (Yes, this is quite a lot but I wanted it packed with gelatin so I can eat less jello each day). While mixing the gelatin I heat up 2 more cups of the same juice and then pour the hot (but not boiling) juice into the juice/gelatin mixture until all of the gelatin is completely dissolved. Store in the fridge until firm and then cut into 16 pieces. I eat one piece a day on an empty stomach for HGH production and have my bf eat 1 piece after a meal for stomach/gut issues and for more collagen.I do notice a somewhat different taste to the gelatin but it might be because I load it up with so much gelatin. Others have mentioned a somewhat beefy taste and while I can't pinpoint if it's "beefy" exactly it's definitely a different taste to the jello but it doesn't bother me nor my boyfriend.Benefits I take gelatin for:skinhairnailsirritated stomach lining (ulcer-like symptoms)increased collagen for wrinkles and sagging skinHGHIt hasn't been long enough to say much about all of these. I also take glutamine for my stomach which has helped heal me tremendously fast. My skin has improved in the last week and a half that I have been taking it. I get more compliments on my skin when I take collagen supplements (gelatin is similar). I was taking collagen tablets before but needed to take 6 a day which was hard and expensive. Hair and nails- can't tell a difference yet. Boyfriend's jawline seems to be firming up. He is 26, white with poor aging genes but he is fit and in shape. His jawline seems less defined because of sagging skin (not fat) so I have him wash his neck with an AHA cleanser (Aqua Glycolic) and apply a retinoid lotion to his neck.All in all, this stuff is great and I will be purchasing again!Mixing instructions need tweeted but a decent productno taste and that is good, but I cannot get it to dissolve, left with sludge at the bottom of the glass, any ideas ??Good product, mixes well in hot drinks, a bit grainy in cold liquid but does eventually dissolve. Would definitely buy again.I love the fact that it is hormone free and made from grass fed cattle, great stuff.Doesn't work as well as making good old fashioned bone broth.High quality.
