Over the past 7 months life has been anything but routine. From Health issues to joblessness to the busiest summer on record for our family, it has been a ride I’d rather not repeat. With that said, I have learned so much in the past months that otherwise could have taken years because of the necessity to learn!
Without going into all that I have been doing in this one post, I have chosen to address the questions I get about my health over the course of time. Hopefully, through something that I am learning about and doing, you can glean greater understanding for yourself. None of my blogging is meant to be medical advice and I am truly a believer in finding a “GOOD” doctor! But, you can do a great deal to better your own health through the foods you chose to eat and the vitamins/minerals you look into using.
When I was diagnosed back in March with gluten intolerance and Hashimoto’s disease, unlike many people, I was ready to do anything it took to feel better. From the moment the doctor said no more gluten I walked out of his office, went straight to the local Teriyaki and Sushi restaurant, ate everything I wanted whether gluten filled or not and that was that! No more gluten at all.
I thought everything would immediately get better but it didn’t. It took 2 months of no gluten for my ears to stop itching, watering and driving me crazy. It took about 2-3 months to have more nights of good sleep than not and to date I am still working on finding balance with my thyroid.. Why you ask? Because for me finding the correct thyroid medication, dose and combination has been difficult and my doctor seems to have more vacation than office time. But through it all I have learned so much, spent so much, and researched many other ways to correct or at minimum alleviate my symptoms through non-prescription methods.
One way , as I mentioned in past posts, I immediately began eating the Paleo way. For three months I was faithful to their methodology and it helped immensely to take me off gluten without feeling a severe loss. Slowly, I did add back non-GMO corn, non-GMO black beans and non-gluten non-GMO grains. Otherwise, I still use many of the Paleo recipes in my daily menus. Why am I not strictly Paleo still? Because this journey is all about what works best for me. I found that their method worked great in the beginning but I wanted to tweak things to fit better in my family’s life as well as mine! And that’s ok. All of this is about finding what works best for you and making that work. Currently, my doctor has pin holed me into a 70% category and treats me as such. I am not the norm in any way so what works for 70% of the people doesn’t necessarily work for me. Hence my desire to work it out on my own with only the help from him that I can’t do by myself.
So here is some food for thought! Many of us have heard how bad meat is for our bodies and try to avoid it if you can. Well, I am here to tell you that isn’t the case at all. What is bad for our bodies is conventional beef that is raised in inhumane yards and feed inhumane food. BUT grass feed beef, chicken, pork, veal and even wild has fabulous healthy benefits for you and their bones could be what we all need to heal. You may be wondering what I mean by “their bones”? I am talking about Bone Broth. Here are a few of the benefits of using bone broth every day.
- Ever heard of the tooth paste that is supposed to hard your enamel? Well, bone broth re-mineralizes your teeth naturally without chemicals and without the worst part – fluoride.
- It will improve your hair and nails if you have any issues with them or not. Naturally!
- Because of the collagen content in the broth it will help to reduce wrinkles, stretch marks and cellulite. Naturally!!
- Helps improve heart function because it reduces the plaque build-up that causes so much damage. Naturally!
- Are you always looking for the label’s with “Antioxidants added” well this is full of them, naturally!
- Helps to balance blood sugar all the while aiding in muscles retention, naturally!
- Ever need to take an anti-depressant? Look no further because it improves nervous system function and keeps our brain functioning properly.
- If you have an auto immune disease you more than likely have leaky gut and bone broth heals the gut which more than likely caused your ailment. Naturally!
- Bone broth from grass fed animals is full of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants of which we are severely lacking in our everyday diets.
I just made a batch of beef bone broth which is currently in the freezer and one in the fridge because that is the one I heat a cup from every day to drink. It tastes great and warms me up physically and intellectually because I know I am doing something great for my body!
Beef Bone Broth
Ingredients
about 2 pounds beef marrow and knuckle bones
1 pound meaty rib or neck bones
2 or more quarts cold filtered water
1/4 cup Bragg’s apple cider vinegar
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
several sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together
1 teaspoon dried red peppercorns, crushed
Place the knuckle and marrow bones a large pot with Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and cover with filtered water. Let stand for one hour. Meanwhile, place the meaty bones in a roasting pan and brown at 350 degrees in the oven. When well browned, add the vegetables and roasted bones to the pot. Pour the fat out of the roasting pan, then add cold water to the roasting pan, set over a high flame and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen all the bits and pieces from the pan. Add this liquid to the pot. Add additional water, if necessary, to cover the bones; but the liquid should come no higher than within one inch of the rim of the pot, as the volume expands slightly during cooking. Bring to a boil quickly and reduce temp to maintain a slow boil. A large amount of scum will come to the top, and it is important to remove this with a spoon quickly before it begins to mix back in with the broth. After you have skimmed all the scum off, reduce temp to a slow simmer and add the thyme and crushed peppercorns.
Simmer (bubbles should only surface minimally as opposed to several a second) stock for at least 12 and as long as 72 hours. Your broth will not look pretty at this point but not to worry ! After straining all the bits and bones out you will have a delicious and nourishing clear broth to use in your recipes or as a nourishing drink.
Remove bones with tongs or a slotted spoon. Strain the stock into a large bowl. Let cool in the refrigerator and remove the congealed fat that rises to the top. Transfer to smaller containers and to the freezer for long-term storage.
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I could go on all day about bone broth but I think you should do your own research for yourself. Bone broth is a simple recipe that has complex benefits to your health!
Here are a few places you can begin your research:
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/broth-is-beautiful
http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/03/health-benefits-of-bone-broth.html
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9890/10-benefits-of-bone-broth-gut-healing-recipe.html
