Eat bone broth now!

We know that protein is good for us, most of us who are trying to be healthy aim to eat protein with a slow release starch and vegetables. But what kind of protein do we choose? Lean animal protein, fish and pulses, maybe some dairy if you can tolerate it. This post focuses on meat so vegetarians click away.

When eating meat protein we eat mostly the muscle tissue, that is the leg, wing, breast or thigh muscle of the animal. Though high in many important nutrients including zinc maybe we are missing something. Humans bodily protein  make up is actually 25-35 % collagen and the amino-acid make up of collagen and muscle protein is completely different. For example in collagen the top amino-acid is glycine followed by proline and alanine and the rarer hydroyproline. In muscle meat Glutamine is most abundant followed by alanine, Valine and glycine.

Many of us have heard of collagen in terms of aging and the lack of this protein in the skin and its deleterious affects. However this is just the tip of the iceberg. So far, 28 types of collagen have been identified and described. The five most common types are:

• Collagen I: skin, tendon, vascular ligature, organs, bone (main component of the organic part of bone)

• Collagen II: cartilage (main component of cartilage)

• Collagen III: reticulate (main component of reticular), commonly found alongside type I.

• Collagen IV: forms basal lamina, the epithelium-secreted layer of the basement membrane.

• Collagen V: cell surfaces, hair and placenta

I am lucky, my local butchers makes bone broth, but before that I sourced grass fed bones that I would make broth from scratch from once a week. There are other way to buy hyrolysed collagen and add this tasteless powders to food and drinks. If you decide to do this Great lakes is a good brand. 

So what are the reasons for taking bone broth?

So why when collagen is so important do we still mainly consume the wrong ratio of amino-acids to make it? Our ancestors will have eaten fish skin, knawed on bone ends, eaten ligaments, we however do not. So this is where the bone broth comes in. Boiling up grass fed bones is a great way of extracting soluble collagen. This can then be consumed in soups added to sauces to boost up our collagen precursors. 

Reason 1: Bone broth makes you feel like you have oiled your joints.

Bone broth is is high in glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). You may have heard of them in glucosamine, the famous supplement for joint health. 

I personally find that my nagging knee pain vanished after a week of taking the bone broth daily. As these proteins are involved in ligaments and blood vessels these too will be boosted by eating bone broth. 

Reason 2: Bone Broth Heals Your Gut!

The intestinal lining is supposed to be permeable in order for nutrients to pass through. However, this lining can become too permeable due to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, stress, long-term contraceptive use, as well as bacterial and fungal overgrowths. This puts a strain on the liver, the endocrine system and increases likelihood of autoimmune flareups due to an overly active immune system.

What does bone broth have to do with any of this? Well, the gelatin in bone broth helps heal the holes in the gut lining, so a great adjunct for treating leaky gut.

Reason 3: Bone gives you great hair skin and nails.

We all know collagen helps the skin look young and plumped up but it is also great for nails and hair. After a lifetime of nails that split I found that after regularly eating bone broth was using a heavy duty nail clipper to cut the nails on my hands! 

So how to make this super-food

This broth is not only good for collagen levels so will help with connective tissue formation but it also is high in trace minerals including potassium, manganese, copper, iodine,chromium, vitamin K.

These bones I bought and froze till I was ready to use

Ingredients: 

• 3- 6 lb of bones. Grass fed beef is great
• Stock vegetables- 2 sticks of celery, 2 carrots, 1 onion. (organic)
• Nutrient rich vegetables. Turnip greens, beet greens, swiss chard, collard greens, parsley. (organic) One large handful per pound of bones.- or to taste.
• dried sea week. 1 tablespoon for pound of bones.

I added some rosemary to this batch

Methods: 

1. Roast the bones for 10-15 mins or until browned in a 400 f oven.
2. Then cover with water and add sea salt.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 hours. If you have a pressure cooker you can speed this process up considerably. Make sure the bones remained submerged, you will need to top the water up. The bones are ready when the collagen is breaking down and actually bones are soft. This stage can be longer than 4 hours, for example if you have a crock pot you can leave overnight.
4. Once the bones are ready. Remove from broth. 
5. Chill the broth in the fridge until the fat has come to the surface and hardened.
6. Remove fat and discard. If a small amount remains that is fine as it will help with the extraction of the fat soluble vitamins from the greens (ie vitamin K)
7. Add the vegetables and seaweed. Boil until well cooked. Strain the vegetables out and reserve.
8. If you wish to freeze and use as stock/ broth this can be done now, in ice cube trays or portion sized tubs.
9. If you want to make into a soup add the vegetables back in and blend, or leave chunky. If you are planning to eat this soup as a complete meal add barley or root vegetables (see below).

Alternatives:

Add barley for a complete meal. Barley is great for the kidney meridian

Add root vegetables if aiming to make a soup, this will provide further vitamins and starch.

Add miso to the broth and drink out of a mug

Use broth as a stock for many recipes.

Healthy meals in 30 minutes

We are all busy me included. Many people often ask me, including my clients, how I cook every night. I rarely spend more than 30 minuted preparing a meal,  I am going to start to post my 30 minute meals which may inspire you to try cooking more!

Roasted cauliflower and new potatoes with wild salmon. 

 Variations: 

You can switch the cauliflower for broccoli or broccoli Rabe
Switch the salmon for quick cooking grass fed meat, thin steak or chicken breast that has been smashed thin.

Benefits

• Low GI
• High in nutrients
• Alkaline forming
• Candida free
• Grain free
• Dairy free

Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cauliflower chopped into florets
• 1 cup of chopped new potatoes leave the skin on
• 2 tablespoons of olive
• 1 stick of rosemary
• 1 tablespoon of slithered almonds (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• Sea salt
• 2 steaks of wild salmon
• Salad of your choice 
• 1/2 Lemon

Methods

• Preheat oven to 400 f
• Cut up the potatoes and the cauliflower into bite size bits put in a bowl
• Add oil garlic, almonds and rosemary and salt to taste and toss together.
• Line baking tray with foil
• spread the cauliflower potato mixture on the tray and put in the over
• Set the timer for 15 minutes and make a cup of tea!
• After 15 min give the vegies a little shake to make sure they get evenly brown sometimes I skip this if I am busy in which case set the timer for 30 minutes.
• 15 minutes before you want to eat get a skillet / frying pan out and put on a medium heat. Prepare a quick salad.  I like tomatoes, cucumber and baby spinach (as my kid like this and it is nutritious!) If you want to save time use a pre-washed salad mix. Dress with olive oil and lemon.
• By now you should have 10 minutes before timer goes off. In the hot pan add a little olive oil and place salmon skin side down. Let it cook for 5 minutes until skin is crispy. Season with salt and pepper now if you wish. Flip and cook on other side for 5 minutes (NOTE: all salmon is not the same thickness so this may vary a little also depending on how you like it cooked.) Switch off heat and leave salmon in pan while you serve.
• The timer on the vegies will have now gone off. Serve them and the salad so that 1/2 your plate is salad and 1/4 is roasted vegetables. Then serve the salmon and squeeze a bit of lemon over it.

Natural treatments of headaches

Style.com are running the answers to a series of health questions they asked me. I am sure they will be greatly edited down! Here is a sneak peek of the full answer to the first question.

I have been suffering with headaches recently. Can any teas of herbs help?

Headaches can have many different causes and these are treated in a myriad of ways. I will run through the common types and how to alleviate each  type.

Stress/ tension  headache:

Symptoms: A dull aching headache or sensation of tightness across the forehead and/or on the sides or nape of the neck associated with scalp, neck,or shoulder muscle tenderness. Advice: As the name suggests these headaches are worse during periods of stress and can go on for days at an end. Luckily they can be treated naturally. I recommend taking a nervine herb like American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). This is a  relaxant herb and has been shown in trials to have an anxiolytic effect, this is possibly why it is useful at relieving tension headaches.  Acupuncture is also effective at for treating these kinds of headaches. Dietary nutritional supplements also can help. I suggest taking 300mg of magnesium, a  25 mg b-complex and 500 mg vitamins C. This help with stress levels and also the magnesium can help to relax the muscles that are involved in tension headaches.

Migraine

Symptoms: Migraine Is a neurovascular disorder which gives periodic headaches often with prodromal symptoms called an aura, these can range from nausea to visual disturbances. The mechanism starts in the brain and then spreads to the blood vessels where high levels of serotonin causes contraction then dilation of vessels which give rise to painful headaches.

Advice: Prevention is best here. Taking the anti-inflammatory herb feverfew leaf (Tanacetum parthenium) daily reduces the number of migraine attacks possibly by affecting the hyperreactivity of the blood vessel wall, thus preventing the cramping and subsequent dilation. I have used this herb successfully with many clients of mine,  it has also been widely studied and shown to be successful in the treatment of migraines.The dose is the equivalent to two leaves a day, so even keeping a plant and nibbling on a leaf is a good bet! Make sure to get a good quality brand if taking a pill or tincture.  As well as feverfew there has been good evidence to suggest butterbur (Petrasites) is an effective treatment for migraine sufferers. Discovery of the high incidence a mutation in a gene  causing a resulting  elevation of homocysteine levels in patients with migraine with aura led to a trial of b12, folate, and b6 in these patients. This trial showed that taking these three supplements resulted in a reduction of homocysteine levels and improvement of migraine symptoms. So taking a b-complex can help reduce migraines. If your migraines are worse around your period also follow the advice below for hormonal headaches. Lastly lavender oil has been shown to be effective in trials for reducing the severity of migraine headaches. Use throughout the day on the pressure points and in the bath at night.

Hormonal headaches

The type you get before your period.

Advice: Taking magnesium and b6 every day can have a preventive effect on these kind of headaches. It also helps with PMS and period pains which is an added bonus! The addition of the hormone balancing herb agnus castus can also be very helpful having been shown in clinical trials to significantly reduce all PMS symptoms including headache. You take this herb in the morning, daily without skipping a dose and for a minimum of two months. Keeping blood sugar up before your period is also helpful at preventing headaches, so eating protein with slow release carbohydrates and not skipping meals is a good bet. If you are also dizzy, pale and tired the headaches may be related to anemia rather than hormonal imbalances. These headaches tend to be on the top of the head. Taking a blood tonic throughout the month like floradix tablets or liquid can help these kind of headache.

Sinus headaches

Its nearly that time of year for allergy season! Sinus headaches are horrible.

Advice: I suggest treating the underlying inflammation by taking a combination of quercetin and bromelain. These anti inflammatory plant chemicals have been shown in trials to reduce histamine and inflammation in the sinuses as well as symptoms of chronic sinusitis. In my experience taking these daily is more effective that taking claritin or some other over the counter medication. Bromelain is in raw pineapple and quercetin is high in nettle. I have been known to grab raw pineapple when I have forgotten to taken my herbs  and within 15 minutes the sinus pain has gone. Its important to take bromelain or fresh pineapple away from food as it is an enzyme it will basically digest food you eat with it rendering it ineffective. As well as the quercetin and bromelain I love the nasal spray sinol M. It contains capsicum, thats right chilli. After the initial burn it clears sinus headaches very nicely. I always pre-order a couple of bottles to be ready for the allergy season.

Easy winter detox

We often find ourselves in January after the indulgences of the holiday season unbuttoning our jeans and pledging to detox. As a medical herbalist and nutritional adviser I know all the tricks for good health, but as a working mom I know it isn’t always possible to follow them! In herbal medicine we do not recommend drastic detoxes in winter, these are best left for spring as they are too cooling and depleting for the winter months. So leave off the raw-food diets and juice cleanses and here are some simple Januray detox tips.

Try these simple changes for a month and you will feel more energy, have better skin and loose weight!

Avoid:

All simple sugars that is added sugar but also fruit juices. People often make the mistake of thinking that fruit juices for detoxing but the body sees the sugar from these drinks in the same way as that in soda, increasing insulin and fat storage! If you love to juice instead go for vegetable based juices. I personally think in the winter it should be soups rather than juices you should be reaching for.

Consider avoiding wheat and cow dairy especially if you suffer with bloating, sinus issues, eczema or tiredness.

Avoid booze! If you can’t quite do this try to cut way back and if you suffer with bloating stick to spirits with a sugar free mixer.

Avoid “bad” meats. Bacon, preserved meats like ham, beef that is not grass fed.

Refined grains For example switch from white to brown rice, you can buy it frozen now in wholefoods and other health stores. No excuses now!

Omega 6 vegetable oils. These are pro-inflammatory and suppress the formation of the more active thyroid hormones. Olive oil and coconut oil are fine but avoid other vegetable oils. Also consider cutting out nuts and seeds. YES you read correctly! They are very high in omega 6 oils and pro-inflammatory!

Add in

Whole fruit and vegetables Aim for the magic 9 portions a day and see the difference! Warming soups and fresh fruit snacks are an easy way to boost your levels up.

Fish This anti-inflammatory food is great on a detox. Aim for three servings a week of low mercury fish.

Nettle and burdock herbal teas An easy way to detox if you grab the more medicinal ones! My best selling tea is a detox one I formulated to target all organs of elimination. You can also pick up burdock and nettle tea as single herb teas in good health food stores including wholefoods. Just pop two tea bags (one nettle, one burdock) in a mug of boiling water for a double strength detox! Have three cups of this super cleanse tea a day.

Eat more roots less grains Try switching one grain a day to a root vegetable. e.g. rice for a sweet potato. This has an alkalinizing effect on the body.

Take a probiotic, prebiotic or Keffir. The good bacteria in your gut not only boost your immune system but have been shown to improve energy and mood! I love goats milk Keffir for a cow dairy free option.

Take liver support If you have battered your liver with fatty foods and alcohol consider taking NAC 500mg three times a day or a good quality milk thistle 250 mg three times a day. Both these supplements boost the livers glutathione levels that aid detoxification. You will notice it in your energy, skin, and it will do wonders for PMS.

A lemon a day..... A great way to provide your body with vitamin C and helps to stimulate the gallbladder and liver function. Add to salads and enjoy in hot water in the morning.

Coconut oil for metabolism If you like the taste you will enjoy eating the virgin stuff off the spoon! Aim to have 1 teaspoon a day. You can also use a healthy spread and use refined coconut oil for cooking with. It boosts the thyroid function (your

metabolism) as well as being a source of caprylic acid that suppresses yeast in the digestive system. Once particularly cold winter I raised my basal body temperature by 2 degrees (thus boosting my metabolism) by taking three teaspoons of coconut oil a day.

Also you can pamper yourself!

Detox is not all about denial.

Massage is great to get sluggish lymphatic system moving.

A weekly sauna will aid elimination through the skin, did you know sweat glands act the same way as mini-kidney nephrons!

Acupuncture is not only deeply relaxing but can clear liver stagnation.

Body brushing and self massage towards the heart will aid lymphatic drainage. Before you get in the shower spend five minutes brushing with a dry body brush towards your heart or my favorite use a salt scrub to massage towards your heart. If you are feeling brave once in the shower you can alternate between hot and cold water for some at home hydrotherapy!