The Incredible Healing Properties of Broth: Not Just an Old Wives' Tale

“Good broth will resurrect the dead.” South American proverb

When I first began changing over our family’s diet to traditional foods, the first task I wanted to accomplish was learning how to make chicken broth. I’d never in my life done such a thing, and at that point in time, it seemed quite a steep task. I can chuckle at that thought now, because I quickly found out how easy it is to make broth! In fact, I know I’ll never go back to buying those ridiculously expensive, bland-tasting plastic boxes of broth from the store. No, siree!

Why would I want to learn how to make broth? Bone broth is highly-nutritive, and it’s one of the easiest to digest foods on the planet. It is incredibly soothing to the intestines, especially if you have any sort of digestive problem (which I do - more on that later). Every traditional culture made and ate animal and/or fish stocks. Not only were they being resourceful by using every part of the animal, but they were also being smart because broth provides bountiful benefits to the body. 

Have you ever heard the term, “Jewish penicillin”? This name was given to the chicken broth made by our Jewish ancestors because of its ability to heal colds, flus, and many sicknesses. It’s not just an old wives’ tale; science validates this long-held belief. The broth you make today will do the same.

The Power of Broth

The best part about broth is that it contains numerous minerals in a form that is most easily assimilated into the body: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur, and many other trace minerals. Broth also contains amino acids that help to detoxify the body. The cartilage and tendons that are used to make broth provide chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine that help with arthritis and joint pain - both of which are pricey supplements sold in health stores today. 

Bone broth is rich in gelatin. Gelatin, probably the magic ingredient in broth, helps with a multitude of symptoms and sicknesses: ulcers, tuberculosis, diabetes, muscle diseases, jaundice, cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and the list goes on. Fish broth, especially, is an excellent source of iodine and other substances which strengthen the thyroid.

As I mentioned earlier, bone broths are excellent for the digestive system. Many of us suffer from various intestinal issues: leaky gut, IBS, Crohn’s disease, etc. Bone broth is a warming and therapeutic drink that is particularly gentle on the stomach. It strengthens the gut wall and helps to reduce inflammation.

Store-bought, canned or boxed broths, and bouillon cubes pale in comparison. Many contain MSG, other additives, and salt in a form that’s not beneficial to you. Additionally, these broths are generally lacking in the all-important ingredient gelatin. The benefits of homemade broth trump store-bought broth, but what about the cost comparison?

The Frugality of Broth

Compared to a quart-sized box of bone broth which may cost you $4.25, especially if you’re purchasing the organic version, making broth at home will cost you pennies - possibly only the electricity used to cook it. I use the bones leftover from the chicken I’ve already purchased for our family to eat. I freeze the bones and giblets until I’m ready to make broth. When I’m ready, I put it all into a big stock pot, throw in leftover vegetable scraps, eggshells from pastured hens (for added calcium), and possibly a few chicken feet (great for gelatin). Then I douse it all with a couple tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar. The vinegar helps to extract the minerals from the bones. I heat the soup for about 24 hours, and in the end, I have a rich, fragrant, golden masterpiece. If you consider the price of the vegetables and vinegar, then the broth might cost a couple dollars and that’s being generous - this makes over a gallon of broth! Bone broths are both nutritious and frugal - you can’t beat that!

Uses for Broth

Our family goes through at least a gallon of bone broth a week. I am currently following the GAPS Diet, a scientifically-designed diet to heal the intestinal tract. This diet calls for drinking copious amounts of bone broth, so we tend to make and eat lots of soups. However, even if I wasn’t following the GAPS I still would simmer a gallon each week, not only because it’s frugal and healthy, but because it’s delicious, too! In addition to soups, broth is a great base for gravy and sauces. Cooking vegetables and grains in broth adds both nutrition and rich flavor. Use it to baste meats, braise vegetables, or heck, just pour yourself a mug, add some sea salt, and enjoy. 

Are you ready to bust out that stockpot? Why not save yourself some money, add some flavor to your family’s meals, and help them stay healthy by making it a goal to make a nutritious bone broth this week. In my next post I’ll teach you how to make lip-smacking, health-promoting chicken broth. After you make it once, you’ll be hooked. I promise!

What is your favorite type of bone broth: chicken, beef, lamb, fish? 

Do you have a favorite recipe?

This was entered into Real Food Forager's Fat Tuesday, Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday, Easy Natural Food's Sunday Night Soup Night!, and The Healthy Home Economist's Monday Mania.

Not All Eggs Are Created Equal

On average I consume over a dozen eggs in one week. Does this surprise you? I have at least two eggs for breakfast each morning, sometimes three. Eggs are a powerhouse of nutrition. 

What’s in an Egg? 
Several years ago, the myth that eggs were bad for your heart was quite common, and unfortunately, many people still believe this today. They are totally missing out on the benefits of this superfood! Of course, as we have been learning over the last several posts on traditional foods, it does matter how the food you eat is raised. I make sure to get my eggs from a quality source. Our eggs come from hens on pasture who are free to walk around, eat grass and plants, bask in the sun, and even chomp on some bugs. These hens produce much healthier eggs than hens kept inside in cramped conditions without the ability to eat grass, plants, and bugs. You can physically see this difference when you compare their yolks.

Left: Eggs from pastured hens from Sand Creek Farm in Texas

Right: Certified organic eggs fed "vegetarian feed" from Costco

The egg from the pastured hen is a bright, deep orange color, whereas the other egg is a light yellow color. Note: these photos have not been doctored. I just cracked the eggs into separate bowls and snapped a photo. I broke the yolk of one, which is why it's a bit bulbous, but it doesn't affect the color! :) There's one thing you should know about determining the nutrition in your eggs - look at the color of the yolk! The darker color is indicative of a higher concentration of carotenes and more fat-soluble vitamins. Obviously the one on the left is more nutritious for you, while the organic, yet still conventional egg is seriously lacking. 

Eggs from pastured hens are jam-packed full of healthy vitamins for you. Jan Allbritton, from the Weston A. Price Foundation, detailed it better than I could in her article, Eat Your Eggs and Have Your Chickens Too. Here's an excerpt (emphases mine):

"Egg yolks are the richest source of two superstar carotenoids—lutein and zeaxanthin. Not only are bright yellow yolks loaded with these fat-soluble antioxidant nutrients, they are more bioavailable than those found in vegetables, corn and most supplements. While these nutrients have a reputation of combating macular degeneration and cataracts and supporting overall healthy vision, they have a long list of other benefits, including protecting the skin from sun damage and even reducing one’s risk of colon and breast cancer.

"Besides providing all eight essential protein building amino acids, a large whole, fresh egg offers about six to seven grams of protein and five grams of fat (with about 1.5 grams of it saturated), which comes in handy to help in the absorption of all the egg’s fat-soluble vitamins. One egg also serves up around 200 milligrams of brain-loving cholesterol and contains the valuable vitamins A, K, E, D, B-complex and minerals iron, phosphorus, potassium and calcium. Choline, another egg-nutrient, is a fatty substance found in every living cell and is a major component of our brain. Additionally, choline helps break up cholesterol deposits by preventing fat and cholesterol from sticking to the arteries. So the bottom line is, don’t be chicken about eating eggs, especially the cholesterol-rich yolks!"

How to Find Good Eggs

With all the different types of labeling found nowadays on egg packaging, it could be intimidating trying to find nutritious eggs for your family. My best advice would be to avoid the grocery store. In my opinion, it's near to impossible to find eggs from pastured hens there. Instead, visit your local farmer's market. Talk to the farmers and ask how they raise their hens. Don't worry, most farmers are happy to share how they raise their animals, and they like to see that you are going above and beyond to find out what goes into the food you're feeding your family.

I'll share with you what I look for when searching out eggs for my family. First, I want eggs from pastured hens, so I'll ask the farmers about that. You want to hear them say that the hens have access to pasture 24/7 and tend to enjoy being outside except at night, that the farmers use a mobile hen house for ease of pasture rotation or rotate the hens to new pasture using a specific schedule so the grass isn't depleted, and that the hens eat grass, plants, bugs, and get plenty of sunshine. Second, most chickens, even if pastured, are given supplemental feed. So, unlike beef, you'll most likely never see hens that are 100% grass fed. I definitely ask the farmers about the additional feed they use. It is extremely important to avoid soy and any GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Unfortunately, this is much more difficult to do, but it is still doable. You might just have to talk to a few more farmers.

Be aware that these superior eggs will be more expensive than eggs bought from the store. Consider this an investment in your family's health. When others have asked how I can spend more on pastured eggs, I haven't found it difficult to respond. Rather, I consider it a waste of our money to continue buying conventional eggs. They may fill our bellies, but they provide little nutrition. Spending a bit more on eggs from pastured hens is like making a little sacrifice for a HUGE gain. Really, when you think about it, for all the nutrition eggs supply, they will provide the best bang for your buck. Plus, as we've changed our family's diet to traditional foods, we've also adjusted our food budget. But, that will be a post for another day.

I do understand, however, that there are times when it's just not possible to purchase eggs from hens on pasture; perhaps they're not available, or you're still working the budget to include them. Until you can, what other eggs could you buy? The chart below will help you choose the best for your family.

It's time to stop believing what you're used to hearing about eggs. Eggs are a wholesome, natural food that were a part of many traditional cultures for thousands of years, and will continue to be just that - a healthy food for you and your family!

How many eggs do you eat each week, and

what’s your favorite way to eat them?

Photo Credit: Smiley Egg 5 by Bizior
This was entered into The Healthy Home Economist's Monday Mania, Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday, and Real Food Forager's Fat Tuesday.

Meat: Grass-fed vs. Conventional

Would you want to eat meat coming from this CAFO?

While we were up visiting my parents for Christmas, my mom shared with me that she had happened upon an online video that detailed the conditions of conventional meat factories. I call them factories because they certainly can't be considered farms. She was so horrified by what she saw that, days later she was still grimacing and wishing she could get the images out of her head. It really is abominable what happens to our food before we eat it. I won't share a link to the video, but I will share the truth about the meats we are putting daily into our bodies.

The Reality of CAFO Meat

Have you ever heard of a CAFO? A CAFO is a concentrated animal feeding operation. The conventional meat you buy at your local grocery store most likely comes from or was finished at a CAFO. These factory farms produce food at a high volume in order to maximize profits. Unfortunately, there is no grass or vegetation in the areas where these animals are confined. Which means they cannot eat their natural diet: grass. Instead they are subjected to eating corn, soy, and sometimes even gum and candy (source). Yep, candy. This industrial diet makes the cows very sick. Additionally, because the animals are packed into these small spaces and standing in their own manure, they are pumped full of antibiotics to keep them "healthy." And don't forget those hormones, which make them grow faster and bigger than is natural. The combination of close confinement and an unnatural diet produces nutritively poor and even harmful meat - which we, then, eat. The nutrition the animal gets, is the nutrition we get when we eat their meat, plus any antibiotics and hormones to which they have been exposed. Might make you think twice the next time you reach for those steaks at your local grocery store, eh? 

CAFO meat is virtually devoid of omega-3 fatty acids, and even though the animals receive vitamin E supplementation, the meat they produce contains much less vitamin E than meat from pastured animals. And pathogenic bacteria? CAFO meat is crawling with it at 6 million cells of E. coli per gram of meat. Most of this is due to the diet we feed those animals. The corn and soy create a very acidic environment, perfect for the proliferation of bacteria. It has been shown, however, that switching a cow from a CAFO diet to hay can reduce the presence of pathogenic bacteria by 70%! A change like this, however, is considered impractical by CAFO operators.

There are other problems which arise from CAFOs besides the quality of meat. The high volume of animals naturally creates a high volume of waste. The CAFO operators then have to figure out how to get rid of this waste, and so they build a liquid manure handling system. Mmm... doesn't that sound delicious! These systems are man-made lagoons which can leach the manure into our groundwater. Oftentimes, the manure is sprayed onto crops (even better), but too much so, and the manure runs off into waterways. Additionally, those who are employed at these feedlot operations are subjected to incredibly unsanitary conditions. These workers suffer from a range of respiratory problems like asthma and chronic bronchitis. Various studies found these workers to have higher rates of depression, anger, fatigue, headaches, diarrhea, and the list goes on. These side affects were not limited to only the workers, but also to those in the neighborhoods near the feedlots. (source)

Remember all those warnings about eating a diet high in red meat? These studies concluded that red meat could cause heart disease, cancer, obesity, allergies, insulin resistance, and even depression. In fact, they were correct! BUT...did you ever think to consider where they are getting the red meat for these studies? From CAFOs. A diet high in red meat coming from cows on pasture, eating a grass diet, getting plenty of exercise, and grazing happily under the sun will not lead to chronic disease, and here's why:

Benefits of Grass-Fed Meat

Remember this post on Dr. Weston A. Price? His studies showed that in traditional cultures the animal held an important place. Meat was a large portion of the diet in many of these cultures. The whole animal was used: the bones for stock, the lard, suet, or tallow for cooking or preserving foods, and the organ meats were prized above all, set aside for children, pregnant women, and those trying to conceive. These meats, of course, came from animals on pasture, who fed on lush grasses, consumed the occasional insect, and grazed under the sun with plenty of room to roam. 

These conditions create optimal levels of vitamins and minerals in the animal. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a nutrient found in abundance in pastured meats. It protects us against cancer, reduces body fat, unclogs clogged arteries, and delays the onset of diabetes (source). Grass-fed animals produce meat that contains a much better balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than conventional meat. We learned about the side effects of an unbalanced omega ratio in our last post. Meat from CAFOs has a ratio around 21:1, whereas grass fed meat is usually 3:1, and can be closer to 1:1! Remember the vitamin E supplementation that occurs in CAFO meats? Well, grass-fed cows produce meats that contain 3 to 4 times the amount of vitamin E without the need for supplementation (source). 

So, what are you waiting for? Make the switch over to grass-fed meats today. Follow the guide below to buying the best meats for your family.

Check out my resource page for ideas on where to find local and non-local grass-fed meats.

Good Fats: Do They Even Exist?

Confused about fats? Most of us have grown up being told to skip the butter, or even worse, to use margarine instead. We were often made to feel guilty if we reached for the extra pat of butter for our veggies. We were taught to limit our red meat intake because it's filled with evil saturated fats that will cause heart disease. Unfortunately, this is some of the worse advice we could have been given. Today, many of us have continued a low-fat diet. Even our doctors encourage us in this direction.

As the world became saturated-fat-phobic, many products popped up on store shelves offering us alternatives - mostly in the form of polyunsaturated fats. If you take a peak down a few aisles of your grocery store, you'll notice two oils used in most everything: corn and soybean. If you open a magazine, you'll notice ample use of vegetable oils in its recipes. But, science and history will show us that saturated fats are the ideal fat. Let's take a look at some facts.

Stability and Rancidity

On the molecular level (bear with me here) a fat is saturated when each carbon bond in the chain is taken by a hydrogen atom. This creates an incredibly stable fat. It means that these fats will not go rancid, and can remain stable at room temperature. They can also be heated to high temperatures without being damaged, making them ideal for cooking. 

In polyunsaturated fats, two or more of the carbon bonds are not occupied by a hydrogen atom and therefore, have two or more pairs of double or triple bonds, making them unstable. Because of their instability, these fats go rancid quickly. In fact, these oils are rancid before you even buy them, or the product that contains them. They are heated during processing and generally bleached and deodorized to make them palatable. The addition of these processes make polyunsaturated fats even more dangerous to your health. So, even though these oils don't look like they have anything wrong with them, steer clear, and avoid using and eating any products that contain them.

Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio

Problems with polyunsaturated fats continue to exacerbate when we take a look at the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. We are healthiest when we achieve an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 2:1, or even 1:1, definitely no more than 4:1. Corn oil, a common polyunsaturated fat, has an omega ratio of 45:1, and cottonseed oil's ratio is 260:1! It is plain and simple that polyunsaturated fats do not help us achieve the omega balance. (source)

Currently, the average American is thought to have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 17:1. This is most likely because it’s much easier to eat polyunsaturated fats considering they’re in most conventionally processed foods. Unfortunately, the chief concern with a lopsided omega-6 to 3 ratio is that omega-6 fatty acids are known to interfere with the body’s production of prostaglandins. This can increase your chance of experiencing blood clots, sterility, poor immunity, indigestion, and cancer. Thankfully, a lopsided ratio can easily be remedied by avoiding polyunsaturated fats and eating more saturated fats, like beef tallow which has a ratio of 2.4:1, or butter from pastured cows which has a 1.4:1 ratio. (source)

The health benefits of omega-3s are finally being accepted by the general public, and you’ll see egg and fish oil companies touting the omega-3s in their products. What they don’t tell us is that omega-3s are best absorbed by our bodies when accompanied by a saturated fat, like butter oil (source). So, if you’re taking your fish oil, but staying strictly away from the butter, you may be flushing your money down the drain.

Fats You Should Eat

Natural, unrefined animal fats and unrefined oils have so many benefits for the body. They are excellent sources of vitamins A, D, E, and K. Saturated fats also have anti-microbial properties, meaning they protect you from viruses and pathogenic bacteria in your gut. Our bodies are mostly made up of saturated and monounsaturated fats. In fact, these fatty acids comprise 50% of the cell membranes, which give them necessary stiffness so they can do their job. These fats help us to absorb calcium and also protect the liver from toxins (source). 

There are also healthy monounsaturated fats like extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, nuts, and avocados. While these oils can become rancid under certain conditions, they are much more stable than polyunsaturated fats. Although they are more stable, these oils should not be used for cooking except at low temperatures. They are best used for uncooked meals, such as salads. Finding good sources for these oils, if you're going to use them, is a must. 

Our ancestors had it right when they made sure to eat a diet of 50% natural, unrefined fats, even sometimes 80% fats. By now, it is certain that the saturated fat scare is, at best, quite unnecessary and at worst, very damaging to our health. Make the switch TODAY to traditional fats. Nourish your body and you will flourish. 

Since there are so many options at the grocery store, farmer’s markets, and online here is an easy list to help you decide which fats are best to eat.

What traditional fat do you enjoy the most?

This was entered into Real Food Forager's Fat Tuesday.

Meet Dr. Weston A. Price

With all this talk about traditional food, I should mention the doctor who has probably been the greatest contributor to getting traditional foods back on the American table. 

Dr. Weston A. Price

Dr. Weston A. Price, a native of Canada, practiced dentistry in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  He also founded the Research Institute of the American Dental Association (now known as the Research Section) and served as chair of the institute for fourteen years. 

Historically an agrarian society, America quickly shifted over to industrialization and food processing while Dr. Price was working with his patients. Around this time, he began seeing more and more patients with tooth decay, deformed palate arches, narrower jaws, and other dental issues. Additionally, he noticed that those plagued with dental problems also tended to be weaker and more susceptible to other diseases.  The connection between a decrease in the health of his patients and the dramatic change in the American diet couldn't be ignored, and Dr. Price became determined to find exactly why chronic disease had come so swiftly upon Western culture. 

Research and Studies

In the early 1930s, Dr. Price left his practice and traveled with his wife to isolated parts of the globe to study indigenous groups of people yet untouched by Western civilization. He wanted to study the healthiest people in the world to determine what kept them free from disease. The groups that Dr. Price included in his research were Australian aborigines, New Zealand Maori, Melanesian and Polynesian South Sea Islanders, isolated Swiss villages, the Maasai and other African tribes, Gaelic groups in the outer Hebrides, the Inuit population, Native Americans, and South American tribes. Dr. Weston A. Price found that those tribes who remained faithful to their native, unprocessed, traditional foods were of better, more excellent health than those of the same ethnic background who had incorporated processed and industrialized foods into their diet.

When Dr. Price returned from traveling across the globe, he collected his findings and edited them into a book titled, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Included in the book are some of the 18,000 photos he took along the way! If you read the book you'll find that many of the populations did not eat similar things. Some groups tended to eat lots of plants, other groups mainly ate meat and fat; some consumed milk regularly, and others never drank it. Although there appear to be great differences at first glance, deeper investigation shows there to be incredible similarities.

Findings and Conclusions

In all the populations he studied, Dr. Price found that those people who stuck to a natural, unprocessed, traditional diet tended to be physically hardy, strong, and .

resilient.  These native peoples were virtually free from chronic diseases that were beginning to plague the American people. This included obesity, heart disease, fertility problems, cognitive disabilities, and other diseases. 

Dr. Price also noticed similar food practices amongst the people. Each native group used all parts of the animal: prizing the organ meats, saving the bones for broth, and certainly not throwing away the fat. Those that included dairy in their diet drank it raw or cultured. Grains, if used, were soaked and fermented before being consumed.  Many vegetables, fruits, and other foods were fermented before being eaten, which turned the foods into natural probiotics. Most cultures made drastic effort to obtain seafood, especially fish roe (eggs). Lastly, natural sugars like honey, and those found in fruit were eaten sparingly and in season. Of course, food items like white sugar and high fructose corn syrup were nonexistent. 

These traditional diets are much more nutrient dense than the foods we eat today. Dr. Price found that these native peoples consumed many times more vitamins and minerals than was typical in the standard American diet. He noticed in particular, within all populations he studied, that they consumed, on average, TEN times more fat soluble vitamins than Americans who ate a modern, refined diet. Of course, they were getting these vitamins from butter, fish eggs, organ meats, shellfish, eggs, and animal fats - foods which are largely shunned by the American people. In fact, fat consumption comprised 40% to 80% of their daily caloric intake. Much of this fat was saturated, coming from the animals they raised.

Besides noticing their wholesome diets and excellent physical health, Dr. Price also examined their teeth and found less than 1% of tooth decay in all the people he visited. He discovered wide palates and straight, white teeth - and this was without any local orthodontist helping out! What was most astonishing was that these people didn't practice any sort of dental hygiene. 

These people lived primarily on moose and caribou meat.

Dr. Price concluded that industrialized foods which had quickly made their way into the Western diet were the exact foods causing increases in poor dental health and degenerative disease. What foods would this include? Unfortunately, they are those we often find at our local grocery store: sugar, white flour, jelly, cookies, pasteurized milk, canned vegetables, refined grains, margarine, and vegetable oils.

The work of Dr. Weston A. Price has contributed greatly to a better understanding of health today. Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions (mentioned in the previous post on traditional foods) founded the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit nutritional advocacy group, to honor his work and spread the truth about nutrition and disease. 

The focus at Nourish to Flourish is on traditional foods. These nutrient-dense, natural, unprocessed and unrefined diets were the key to health of these native peoples and our ancestors, and remain the key to our health today.

You can also read Dr. Price’s book online, or download it as a PDF for free on your computer. 

Photo Credits:Wikipedia and  Project Gutenberg of Australia