Bone Soup

It was such a nice relaxing weekend.  I actually motivated to make broth from the extra meat bones I had hanging around, and had 2 pots simmering most of Saturday day.  I love it when I get motivated.  I threw some carrot, celery, onion, leek and peppercorns in with 2 pots of bones just covered with water and set them to boil then simmer for 6 hours each.  It was such a flavorful broth with just a bit of fine sea salt added.  I didn't know the crazy benefits of making bone broth.  Check it (from bodyecology.com):

Bone Broth: Heal Your Gut and Lose Cellulite!

Have you noticed that modern convenience has abandoned traditional foods?
Most of what is available to eat today, whether from the market or restaurant, is either highly processed or made with ingredients that are themselves highly processed. What do we lose when we stop eating traditional foods? In a word, our health!
Traditional foods are:

• Sprouted and fermented grains
• Fermented vegetables, cultured dairy
• Organ meats
• Bone broth 

The Amazing Health Benefits of Bone Broth

Besides the exquisite flavor that bone broth imparts into any savory dish, it:

• Is full of minerals.
• Fortifies the immune system.
• Enhances digestion.
• Nourishes all body parts related to collagen. This means joints, tendons, ligaments, skin, mucus membranes, and bone.

Bone Broth Is Mineral Rich

Clearly, long-cooked broth made from bones will be rich in a dynamic array of minerals. Bone is, after all, highly mineralized. A well-made bone broth will give your body calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfate, and fluoride. All delivered in a form that your body understands. In order to pull these precious minerals from the bone during cooking, add an acid, like apple cider vinegar, to the water before cooking.

How the Collagen in Bone Broth Heals the Gut

Bones, marrow, skin, tendons, ligaments, and the cartilage that sometimes accompanies a bone are all made of a protein molecule called collagen. Collagen contains two very special amino acids: proline and glycine.
Collagen has been found to help heal the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, which includes the stomach and the intestines. This means that heartburn or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and many of the conditions associated with intestinal inflammation can be helped with bone broth.

• Collagen and gelatin have been shown to benefit gastric ulcers. (1)
• Proline is necessary for the formation of collagen.
• Glycine improves digestion by increasing gastric acid secretion. (2)
• Glutamine, also found in bone broth, is important metabolic fuel for cells in the small intestine. (3)

Besides collagen, cartilage contains something called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Studies have found an underlying deficiency of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in patients with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. (4) Correcting a deficiency and helping to repair a compromised gut wall is another good reason to consume bone broth regularly.

Bone Broth Helps with Wrinkles, Stretch Marks, and Cellulite

Bone broth contains collagen to make your skin supple and radiant. This delicious, mineral-rich broth can be used to make soup to support smooth, strong skin and reduce cellulite.

Drinking bone broth makes skin supple. Cellulite does not arise from carrying excess fat. Haven’t you ever seen a thin person with cellulite? It is common. Most people are taught to choose skinless and boneless meat and to fear animal fats. This is why even those who are slender will not be able to shake cellulite until they change their diet. (5)

• Cellulite comes from a lack of connective tissue.
• The smoothness of skin is from an abundance of connective tissue.
• Collagen-rich bone broth will supply your skin with the tools that it needs to support itself.
• Adding chicken feet, animal joints, and knuckles to a bone broth will increase the amount of collagen available.

Heals my gut and gets rid of cellulite?  I'm in!  Just ask your butcher for extra bones and whip some up.  It literally warms your bones.