Collagen Thread:

You will mainly find collagen in tough cuts of meat that use a lot of movement for the animal. This collagen is very healing for the intestinal lining.

These cuts of meat have the highest amount of collagen:

- Beef tendon
- Oxtail
- Chicken feet & chicken wings
- Cow/pig/sheep/goat feet, necks, knee joints, ears, and cheeks.

These are all high movement areas of the animal, take note.

Heres a tip: https://twitter.com/MattCKeto/status/1383839667095674888?s=20

Center of the animal = Tender cut (use for searing)

Extremities = Tough (with lots of collagen)

How to cook it:

Cook these meats "low and slow" either in an oven or in a slow-cooker below the boiling point (212°F/100°C)

Collagen breakdown happens at around 155°F/55°C.

Cook your meat underwater & between those two temperatures to extract the collagen and get deliciously tender meat

When collagen breaks down and is cooked, it is then referred to as gelatin.

Gelatin = Cooked collagen.

When your finished broth/stock cools you should be able to bounce a spoon off of it. https://twitter.com/MattCKeto/status/1346407324571865088?s=20

Gelatin from cooked collagen is rich in glycine, proline, & hydroxyproline. Gelatin is absolutely essential to gut health, joint integrity, and glowing skin.

Consume it at every meal if you have problems in these areas, or 6 cups per day.

What about bones?

Bones are high in histamines. If you have a histamine intolerance, do not include bones in your stock until that issue has resolved.

Otherwise, you can impart more flavor, gelatin, & other nutrients into your stock by slow cooking with bones.

How long does healing take?

How long does a gut take to heal? Let's get realistic:

- A sprained ankle can take 3 months to heal
- A torn ACL takes 6-9 months to heal.

Your gut will have similar time requirements!!

Of course, this depends on how much healing needs to be done and your diet adherence.