Bone Broth the Original Stem Cell Therapy

Bone Broth has been the center of humanity’s diet for eons. Today, Natural Medicine Doctors, Nutritionists, and Chefs consider it the foundation of a healthy diet.   In our fast paced lives we have lost touch with basic nutritional necessity of a good home-made bone broth.   In my research for this posting I have uncovered some very interesting theories about just how important consuming bone broth is.   It may just have been the original stem cell therapy our ancestors used to support their health and even to help grow their brains.   I close this posting with a simple healthy recipe with the secrets for making your own Bone Broth.

Traditional Medicine Roots – Bone Marrow is called Jing

In Traditional Chinese Medicine one of the key measures for your health and resilience is the strength of your Jing.   Jing is considered your core physical essence.    It is the material basis for your physical body, it nourishes, fuels, and cools your body.   You inherit it from your familial lineage so it is determined by your DNA.   The strength of your Jing is based on the age and health of your parents when you were conceived.  It is the essence of your life force.  It creates your bone marrow, cerebral spinal fluid, lymph, blood, all the fluids of life.

We are born with enough Jing to live healthy dynamic lives of over 100 years but once you use it up your body dies.  Your Jing is consumed continuously throughout your life.  Large amounts of Jing are consumed by everyday stress, prolonged or severe illness, substance abuse, sexual intemperance, too many too frequent pregnancies, over indulgence, poor diet.

Bone Marrow as Food is Even Older than that   

Anthropologists theorize that 4 million years ago the Australopithecine started cracking open the bones and consuming the bone marrow of its prey.  This correlates to the time when their brains started to develop and grow into the size it is today in Homo Sapiens. Prior to this they were similar to humans, but with a brain size not much larger than modern apes, lacking the encephalization characteristics of the genus Homo.  In “Ape-Man; Adventures in Human Evolution”, Prof. Leslie Aiello (University College London) points out: “Bone Marrow is highly nutritious, and contains many important elements for brain growth and development. It also takes much less energy to digest than plant food. Scientists have shown that brain size was beginning to increase in the later australopithecines, and it could all be down to bone marrow as brain food.”

Who will benefit from homemade broth?:

Those who are or have

• Immune Compromised
• Auto Immune disorders
• Easily catch flus or colds
• Post Menopausal women
• Osteoporosis
• Post Partum women
• Insomnia
• Any Intestine issues ie
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Colitis
• Leaky Gut
• Anemic
• Brain Disorders
• Alzheimer’s
• ADD
• Anyone in recovery from surgeries, long-term illness, cancer
• Weak Nails
• Thinning Hair
• Fatigue
• Adrenal Exhaustion
• Burn out
• Basically Everybody

Basic Beef Bone Marrow Stock   

Based on  Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

 

I made this recipe for the first time last week.  I used Marrow Bones from my Grass Fed/Grass Finished Beef CSA (community supported agriculture) J and J  Grass Fed Beef.     http://www.jandjgrassfedbeef.com/

It turned out really well and tastes amazing.  I could feel its healing energy giving me strength with each mouthful.

There are 4 Secrets to making a good bone broth:

1) Use the highest quality of bones you can find. Grass fed and finished is the best

2) Add Vinegar to the water to draw the minerals out of the bones into the broth

3) Roast and brown the bones in the oven before adding them to the stock.

4) You don’t have to buy bones just for this – freeze the bones from your meals until you have enough to make stock.   You can also freeze the ends of your carrots, celery and other veggies to add to it as well.

 

Ingredients:

4 pounds of beef marrow, knuckle bones, bits of leftover beef

3 pounds meaty rib or neck bones

4 or more quarts cold water – add more as needed to keep bones covered

1/4 cup Apple Cider vinegar

You can add your standard mirepoix (carrot, celery, potato) as you like for more flavor.

Preparation:

Place all of your bones that have meaty bits on them on a large cookie sheet or roasting pan and brown in the oven at 350 degrees until well-browned (30-60 minutes usually). Meanwhile, throw all of your non-meaty marrow bones into a pot, add the water, vinegar and vegetables. Let sit while the other bones are browning. Add the browned bones to the pot, deglaze your roasting pan with hot water and get up all of the brown bits, pour this liquid into the pot. Add additional water if needed to cover the bones. Bring to a boil and remove the scum/foam that rises to the top. No need to remove the floating fat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least 12 hours and as long as 72 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the more rich and flavorful it will be.

Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions: “You will now have a pot of rather repulsive-looking brown liquid containing globs of gelantinous and fatty material. It doesn’t even smell particularly good. But don’t despair. After straining you will have a delicious and nourishing clear broth that forms the basis for many other recipes….“

Remove the bones with a slotted spoon and/or tongs. Strain the stock into a large bowl, then ladle into mason jars. Let the jars sit until they are pretty cool, then freeze or refrigerate. Remove the congealed fat after refrigerating or freezing.

Reference Links:

Nourishing Traditions Blog

http://thenourishingcook.com/2009/12/beef-stock-anyone/

“Ape-Man; Adventures in Human Evolution”,

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/apeman/chronology/2_5.shtml)