The Skinny About Bone Broth

‘‘Good broth will resurrect the dead’’   Bone Broth Culture There are entire books dedicated to bone broth, like ‘Bone Broth Power: Reverse Grey Hair and Bring Back Morning Wood’ (2015) by Greg Cleland, and diet trends and regimens are flourishing, like ‘The Bone Broth Diet’ (2015) by Amanda Hollingsworth. Her opening statement goes right to the core of the matter: ‘Simply by consuming a bowl of bone broth once a day, you will be able to improve your health drastically.’ I started drinking bone broth after reading ‘The Wahls Protocol” by Dr. Terry Wahls. A week later I happened to attended a lecture by Donna Gates, author of Body Ecology and I totally bought into the broth routine. After drinking it for a few weeks it started easing my already regular bowel movements, while reducing the meat cravings I have been experiencing since my radiation-chemo treatment has ended. I now use my broth almost daily as stock for cooking a variety of meals. I prepare soups and puddings, adding usually coconut milk or mushroom soup, adding a variety of vegetables and meat. I also started drinking 1 cup twice a day as suggested in the morning, and at night before going to sleep. I was not surprised to find out that one of the major food trends reported by Google for 2015 is bone broth. One of our ancestor’s staple foods has made a come back to the nutrition forefront thanks to the Paleo diet.  It looks like good broth resurrected itself as the quintessential nutritious and healing food. People are rightly returning to kitchen economic basics. Leaving behind the neurotoxic, GMS leaden canned products they are opting instead for the home preparation of more healthy and satisfying soups and broths.

Brothels? Bone broth has now started to appear in coffee shops-like establishments. It is sold in coffee cups through tiny street windows.  Recently Brodo, by chef Marco Canora opened in New York City to great reviews.  In Portland, Oregon, Cultured Cavemen already boasts four different locations. Bone broth proponents named them brothels. (1)   Bone broth is an archetypal heritage food, making its come back in the same way we have seen it happen with fermented foods like yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi. It originated from our ancestors ‘waste not’ approach: they used all parts of the animal, from bones, ligaments and skin, to tendons, feet and marrow.  Indeed it is an optimal food, really nutritious and healing. Bone Power The Weston A. Price Foundation, dedicated to nutrition education, suggests that bone broth improves overall protein digestion and assimilation, when consumed as part of a rich and varied traditional diet. It helps the body build collagen and cartilage, needed for the health of skin, joints, and bones. In fact, bone broth will supply the body with: Naturally bonded glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, methylsulfonylmethane (a.k.a. MSM, another sulfur-containing compound), and hyaluronic acid All of these are joint-strengthening, bone-building substances Over the counter supplements supply them only in fractioned structures that get diluted and eliminated almost immediately by the blood stream through the kidneys. This seems not to happen when they are ingested in bone broth, which supplies them within the whole water-dissolved cartilage molecule. Preliminary studies, concluded that chondroitin sulfate improves moderate to severe psoriasis The same study suggested it might prove “a useful therapeutic agent” in a host of other autoimmune diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome, artherosclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus(2) Hyaluronic acid is present in all body cells, but is prevalent in the skin. It is used medically to help patients recover faster from surgery; it gets injected in joints to relieve pain and promote healing, and under the skin to soften the appearance of wrinkles(3) I successfully used hyaluronic acid during and after radiation therapy, to relieve the skin and accelerate healing of burns Amino Acids Profile In addition bone broth supplies the body with the so-called conditional amino acids. They are classified as the nonessential amino acids that become essential under certain conditions: our body does not sufficiently produce them when faced with illness or stress. They are: Arginine Necessary for immune system function and wound healing Needed for the production and release of growth hormone Helps regenerate damaged liver cells Needed for the production of sperm Glycine Prevents breakdown of protein tissue like muscle Used to make bile salts and glutathione It is essential to detoxify the body from chemicals   Acts as antioxidant Is a neurotransmitter that improves sleep and improves memory and performance Constitutes a basic nitrogen pool for manufacture of other amino acids Used in the synthesis of hemoglobin, creatine, porphyrin, and the nucleotides DNA and RNA Plays a vital role in recovery from wound healing, jaundice, acute and chronic illness and malnutrition(4) Proline Helps regenerate cartilage and heal joints Reduces cellulite and makes skin more supple Helps repair leaky gut Glutamine Protects gut lining Metabolic fuel for cells in small intestine Improves metabolism and muscle building(5) Read More KEEP READING References Sally Fallon Morell, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation, first proposed it in her article ‘Broth is Beautiful’ (2000) (www.westonaprice.org) I. Möller, M. Pérez, J. Monfort, P. Benito, J. Cuevas, C. Perna, G. Doménech, M. Herrero, E. Montell, J. Vergés. Effectiveness of chondroitin sulphate in patients with concomitant knee osteoarthritis and psoriasis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (2010) (http://www.oarsijournal.com/article/S1063-4584%2810%2900090-7/abstract) Sally Fallon Morell and Kaayla T. Daniel, Nourishing Broth: An Old-Fashioned Remedy for the Modern World. (2014) Grand Central Publishing. Kaayla T. Daniel, “Why Broth is Beautiful: Essential Roles for Proline, Glycine and Gelatin,” (2012) Weston A. Price Foundation. (http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/why-broth-is-beautiful) Dr Axe, Food Is Medicine (2013) (http://draxe.com/the-healing-power-of-bone-broth-for-digestion-arthritis-and-cellulite/)

This content is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. Statements made here have not been evaluated by the FDA.  This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet.