I read a great excerpt from Sally Fallon Morell’s book, Nourishing Broth: An Old-fashioned Remedy for the Modern World, printed in the Bottom Line Personal newsletter, 11/15/16. In it, Ms. Morell discusses how an old-world remedy can and does help many of todays health issues such as arthritis and joint pain, digestive problems, injuries and wounds, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. It peaked my interest because I am battling ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn’s myself, and I’m reluctant to take the immunosuppressant medications due to their side-effects. So what is the old-world remedy? Bone broth!
Back before pharmaceutical and food processing companies took over the United States in the mid 20th Century, (I’m paraphrasing here) “all soups and stews were made with bone broth-bones and other animal parts slowly simmered in a stockpot, producing a nutrient-rich concoction. Today, “processed broth is usually nothing more than a cube or a powder spiked with MSG to mimic the taste of broth. The loss of bone broth is a big loss.”
Bone broth delivers super-healthy ingredients, whether from lamb, pig, chicken, or cow. Ingredients like :
Collagen: Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. Collagen literally holds your body together in joints, ligaments, muscles, skin, and membranes around your organs.
Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate: These two nutrients help to ease arthritis pain. Glucosamine is found in cartilage, chondroitin is a molecule that helps hydrate cells. It also contains sulfur, a mineral that feeds cartilage and balances blood sugar.
Glycine: Is an amino acid that supports healthy blood cells, generates cellular energy, aids fat digestion, speeds wound healing, and helps the body get rid of toxins such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and pesticides. Glycine also regulates dopamine levels, thereby easing anxiety, depression, and improving sleep and memory. There may also be a benefit to helping Parkinson’s disease.
Bone broth can help and prevent and heal many health issues, including:
Arthritis and joint pain. In a review of seven studies of osteoarthritis and melted collagen (collagen hydrate), researchers at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago found that ingesting the compound helped create new cartilage, lessening pain and improving daily functioning.
Digestive problems: Back in the 19th century, Florence Nightingale prescribed broth and gelatin for the masses, touting their healing effects on the gut (gastroenteritis). Unfortunately, this nutritional therapy went out of style in favor of pharmaceuticals. Ironically, a new drug, Tasectan, is being used as a digestive drug to help protect the gut lining. Guess what it’s made of-Gelatin. Hmnnnn.
Injuries and wounds: Bone broth’s components are crucial for healing broken bones, muscle injuries, burns, and wounds. The use of cartilage (a main component of bone broth) for wound healing was championed by Dr. John F. Prudden, whose published papers include “The Clinical Acceleration of Healing with a Cartilage Preparation,” in the May 3, 1965 issue of JAMA. In his research, Dr. Prudden showed that cow cartilage could speed wound healing that was less likely to be injured, and produce smoother, flatter, and more natural-looking scars.
One can either make or buy bone broth. You can look up the directions on the internet. If you’d rather buy it, good sources, according to Ms. Morell, are Bare Bones Broth Company, OssoGood, Stock Options, and the Brotherly. Drink one cup a day for maintenance, two cups a day to improve symptoms.
Stay well, John R Blilie, MS
