The chances are that you've got a pretty exciting menu planned out for this holiday season, but science suggests that adding one new superfood ingredient to your regular meals could have a huge impact on the comfort you feel in your joints.

As we get older, our chances of suffering from common ailments like joint pain, aching back muscles, and more increases. That's why more people find themselves turning towards knee compression garments as a way of supporting their active lifestyles as they begin to age. However, as debilitating as it may seem - there may actually be more ways to get rid of joint pain than you'd expect - and the answer could be in the form of a particularly old-fashioned recipe.

Gelatin - that stuff that makes jello so fun and wobbly - has been proven to help reduce the pain and inflammation typically associated with osteoarthritis - the most common form of arthritis. In fact, some scientific studies have begun to explore the uses of gelatin for treating osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis too, while others research its effect in strengthening bones, fingernails, and banishing stress-related injuries.

Is Gelatin the Newest Superfood?

When seeking out solutions that help to get rid of joint pain for good, gelatin was unlikely to be the first option on your list. However, a recent story that was reported during a meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians in Dallas discovered that adding a gelatin supplement to the diet of people with mild osteoarthritis in the knee could provide relief to those with joint pain.

Osteoarthritis involves the presence of swelling and inflammation around the joints - a condition that can be managed with knee compression garments, but not cured. This common form of arthritis generally occurs as a result of aging, and comes as a result of the thousands of natural shocks that weight-bearing joints in your body experience every day. The study of 175 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee assigned placebos or gelatin supplements randomly to patients, and those who received the gelatin supplement were found to have significant improvements in pain, mobility, and stiffness.

If that wasn't enough to establish gelatin as our most recent choice for "superfood of the year", this substance can also provide improvements in mental health, skin, digestive function, and more. So why don't we eat more of it already? Traditional diets were more likely to contain gelatin than the diets we're used to today, because previous generations were more likely to eat the parts of an animal that were naturally high in the substance - such as gelatinous cuts of meat, tendons, and skin. We've abandoned the practice of whole-animal eating, which means that we get a lot less gelatin than our ancestors.

A Recipe to Get Rid of Joint Pain

While there are quite a few joint pain recipes out there that can help you to supplement your knee compression garments with good quality nutrition, this particular solution to get rid of joint pain has become increasingly popular over the recent months. If you have an issue with pain in your back, legs, neck, or joints, then this could be the recipe you need.

Ingredients:

• 150g of edible gelatin (enough for a month of treatment)
• Water
• Juice, yogurt, or milk for flavoring

On an evening before bed, pour five grams of gelatin (or two flat teaspoons), into a quarter cup of cold water taken directly from your refrigerator. Mix the combination thoroughly and allow it to stand outside of the fridge as you go to sleep. The gelatin should transform intojelly overnight. In the morning, consume the mixture without any food, adding your choice of milk, water, or juice to help flavor the substance.

It may seem simplistic, but those that have tried the recipe claims that it begins to eliminate joint and back pain within seven days. All you need to do is continue your morning routine for a month to re-lubricate the joints, and restart your efforts again in six months' time. Not only will you benefit from better maneuverability, but you'll also find that the normal functioning of many organs improve, because healthier joints promotes a healthier body.

A Primitive Way to Get Rid of Joint Pain

So why does gelatin work so well?

Doctors believe that gelatin helps to strengthen joints and bones because it's rich in collagen - one of the crucial materials used to make up cartilage and bone. Because of the helpful dose of collagen your body gets, the condition of small cells and internal fibers is improved. What's more, gelatin includes two fantastic amino acids: hidrosiprolin and proline. Both of these substances have a positive impact on our ability to recover connective tissue - a process that is particularly important in those with damaged joints.

The truth is that bodybuilders have been using gelatin for decades as a way to get rid of joint pain and improve their range of motion. However, it has only recently become popular as a universal solution to a very common problem. Now, research is appearing that shows athletes who take gelatin and collagen supplements experience less pain in their joints - contributing to better competitive performance and more.

The Benefits of Gelatin

Regardless of whether you exercise a lot, or not, eating gelatin can help to keep your joints pain-free and healthy. What's more, if you have an inflammatory disease in your joints like osteoporosis or arthritis, then adequate gelatin consumption may help you to build stronger bones and manage pain in your joints.

Just some of the fantastic benefits of this superfood include:

• The ability to strengthen muscle and joints (including heart muscle)
• Increased mental and cognitive function
• Improved metabolism
• Healthier skin conditions
• Elasticity and strength within ligaments and tendons
• Prevented progression of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis
• Improved growth of nails and hair.

With so many potential advantages to benefit from, it makes sense to give gelatin a try - after all, what have you got to lose?