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Great Nails, Hair And Skin
Healing broths and powders with a side of French history and Jello’s origins
I used to have weak nails, but these days they are pretty strong. I also lost my hair due to chemo. My medical care providers were surprised at how quickly it grew back. I’ve always had healthy skin, at least until I had to go through chemo and radiation. I think it is healthier than it would be if I wasn’t taking this supplement, though?
What is it?
It’s gelatin.
Yes, the same stuff that mothers put into jiggly desserts. I don’t know if your Mom did this, but when I was a kid, it was something we’d have at least once a week. It was inexpensive and us kids loved it.
Unknown to my Mom, who is a vegetarian, gelatin is not. Commercially, it’s sourced from the skins of either slaughtered cows or pigs, though there are versions obtained from fish bones.
None of this sounds particularly appetizing. However, it used to be part of more agrarian economies. Poor farmers (or hunter-gatherers) did not waste any part of the animal.
In the 15th century, hooves were boiled to produce a gel. In the 17th century, Denis Papin, a French inventor, discovered how to extract gelatin from bones. If the source is a pasture-raised animal…
