When the bone broth movement began several years ago, it was a celebration of a return to traditional, nutrient-dense, healing foods.

Many of us began to recognize that the rise of disease and lack of optimal health, happiness, and energy that we're experiencing is a product of the processed, inferior foods we're buying into. So we began ditching our microwaves, TV dinners, and processed foods in favor of real, ancestral foods once again.

But, as the old adage says, history repeats itself. This is evident in the genesis of products like powdered bone broth and K-cup bone broth. That is, an attempt to take a healing, REAL food and turn it into a processed convenience food.

Here's the problem: all of the studies on the power and benefits of bone broth are done on traditionally prepared broth, not processed versions. By deconstructing bone broth, you lose the very essence of what makes it the nourishing, healing food that it is. Properly prepared bone broth is more than its individual properties:

• bioavailable collagen
• abundant amino acids
• vitamins and minerals
• glucosaminoglycans
• healthy fats and much more!

Bone broth is a synergy of all its properties working together. Add to that the aroma, warmth, deliciousness, energy, love, and nostalgia, and you begin to understand that real bone broth is an EXPERIENCE: you can actually FEEL it nourishing your cells. I dare say you miss that experience when you drink powdered water from a blender cup in your car!

I'm not going to say there are no shortcuts in life. There are some. But bone broth is not one of them. We could take shortcuts and powder our broth. Charge less, and make a huge profit. But integrity does not allow it. In the case of bone broth, you do get what you pay for.

If you're in the market for bone broth, then you likely value your health and wellness. So do your research. Ask questions. How is it being made? Who is making it? Look at reviews and credentials.

While I do sometimes supplement with probiotics or use green powders (from companies that I've researched and vetted for myself), I do so with full knowledge that it isn't providing the same benefits as eating fermented foods or real vegetables. If a green powder manufacturer claimed I would never have to eat another vegetable again if I used their product every day, I would seriously question their ethics.

Bone broth is not a fad. It's a traditional, healing FOOD. And, if done right, it tastes really good!

To learn more about the health benefits of bone broth soup, read my book, Kristina Amelong's Ten Days to Optimal Health.

For those who don't eat meat, find it unpleasant to work with the bones, or do not consume bone broth for other reasons, alternatively I recommend one daily scoop of Ortho CollaGEN Powder dissolved in 8 oz of water. This supplement is formulated to nutritionally support cartilage, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and skin.

Labels: bone broth soup, collagen, food as medicine, healthy fats, nourishment, probiotics, processed food, vitamins

by Stephanie Carnes
OHN Contributor

Most people have been erroneously convinced that fats and oils are damaging to one’s health. This is a lie. Unfortunately, the importance of fats and oils in the human diet has only become widely recognized within the last few years. Fats and oils are our most important nutrient!

If we think logically, we know this. We live in a fat-phobic world where fat is one of only three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein and fats. We need all of these three macronutrients. Fats are the macronutrient that allows us to feel full, to mini­mize food cravings, and to most fully meet the energy needs of our organs. Our bodies use fats as a supply and store of energy: a gram of fat contains more than double the amount of energy present in a gram of carbohydrate.

Why is sufficient fat and oil consumption necessary for optimal health?

Healthy fats and oils replenish our cellular membranes with needed nutrients. It is the fats that keep our cell walls strong. By maintaining the structural integrity of our cells, fats pro­mote the full functioning of our rebuilding and cleansing mechanisms. Toxins, in order to leave our bodies, need to be taken from the cells and bound to a carrier of toxins. Most cleansing programs only carry toxins out of the main circulation. How do we get toxins out of the places where they are stored? Eat high-quality, raw fats.

Fats are binding agents. Fats bind tox­ins more than any other substance. Most of us don’t and haven’t ingested enough high-quality fat over the years to safely remove the toxins that are stored in our bodies. This is an absolutely essential reason to increase your fat and oil intake.

Does it matter if they are raw or cooked?

It is important to eat a large amount of your healthy fats and oils raw. Raw fats are crucial for health because they contain lipase, the fat-splitting enzyme. Lipase prepares the fat you eat so that it may be utilized by the cells and the organs. Without sufficient lipase in your body, your body cannot properly utilize the fats that you eat and your pancreas becomes over­worked.

What about saturated fats?

Saturated fats from animal sources—portrayed as the enemy by the United States Food and Drug Administration and consequently by American culture—give the body the raw materials it demands from us in order to be optimally healthy. Saturated fats form an important part of the cellular membrane by giving the cellular membrane rigidity; they protect the immune system and enhance the utilization of essential fatty acids.

Saturated fats are needed for the proper development of the brain and nervous systems. Low-fat diets contribute to depression, because our brain is made out of fat. There is a high-fat diet used by the medical community to control seizures. This diet consists of 80% fat and is known to work better than drugs. Additionally, our liver is made of 80% fat. You must eat raw fat in order to regenerate your organs.

Isn’t lowering my cholesterol levels a good thing?

High cholesterol is not the cause of heart dis­ease. In spite of the offi­cial advice that tells us to lower the amount of satu­rated fat in our diet, we still have an epidemic amount of heart disease!

Cholesterol, a saturated fat we are all familiar with, is the precursor to bile acids, which are needed to digest and absorb long-chain fatty acids. Cholesterol is also recognized for its physiological importance in the skin and the intestines where it plays an important structural role as a com­ponent of the organ membranes. Cells lining the digestive tract are particularly rich in choles­terol. Among its other various roles in the cell are the signal­ing activities that, for example, tell the gastrointestinal mus­culature when to contract.

“I don’t know how many people I have seen relieved of their chronic constipation, as well as any related Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), when they finally ate enough cholesterol in their daily diet,” states Kristina Amelong, creator of the Optimal Health Network. She advises [for people who are chronically ill], "It is possible that you may need to start with at least one stick of raw butter a day, along with copious amounts of cod liver oil, raw cream, avocados, and coconut oil.”

Will eating more fat make me gain weight?

The answer in short: No! Not if you're eating the right kinds of healthy fats needed by the body for nourishment and detoxification. Our livers—and not our food—make the cholesterol that our body uses for repair. Foods high in cholesterol help to repair the liver. As the body heals, it needs more cholesterol to repair the liver and to replace broken-down cells.

Even the Framingham studies, which the pharmaceutical com­panies use to promote cholesterol-lowering drugs, show that the higher the cholesterol level and the more fat in the diet, the longer the study participants lived and the more optimally the participants weighed!

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Fats

Even though fats are a nourishing food, there are fats that are damaging to the human body. The following newly used fats are not to be used in your diet, as they will cause many health imbalances over time. These imbalances can include but are not limited to cancer, heart disease, immune system dysfunction, sterility, learning disabili­ties, growth problems and osteoporosis.

Fats to Avoid:

• All hydrogenated oils such as margarine Soy, corn, and safflower oils
• Cottonseed oil
• Canola oil
• All fats heated to very high temperatures in processing and frying
• Bleached and deodorized oils

Fats to Enjoy:

• Avocado
• Black Currant Oil
• Borage Oil
• Butter, grass-fed raw
• Caviar
• Coconut Oil
• Cod Liver Oil
• Egg Yolks, organic and raw
• EPA Fish Oil
• Evening Primrose Oil
• Flax-Seed Oil
• Fortified Flax
• Ghee, raw
• Grapeseed Oil
• Nuts, soaked raw (not peanuts), very high in omega 6—use sparingly
• Nut Butters, raw (not peanut butter), very high in omega-6, use sparingly
• Olives, non-hybrid
• Olive Oil, organic, expeller-pressed extra virgi
• Raw or rare grass-fed buffalo or beef
• Raw or rare ostrich or elk
• Raw or rare fish
• Seeds, soaked
• Sesame
• Tahini

High-quality animal fats are your best source of healthy fats, such as raw, grass-fed butter—one of our best health foods!

Adopting a New Normal

The transition to healthy eating involves a change in food buy­ing patterns, more at home preparation and cooking. Incorporating more healthy fats into your diet will provide the essential nutrients for cellular membranes, hormones and hormone-like substances. Fats are also the best tool for keeping blood sugar balanced and are high in essential nutrients needed to fight toxins and rebuild healthy, vibrant cells.

If you fall back into previous unhealthy eating habits, you’ll be able to notice a difference in how you feel. In a way, bad eating habits will be self-correcting if you prefer health over the yucky feeling that occurs when you eat the wrong foods.

SOURCE: Ten Days to Optimal Health (Amelong 2006)

Labels: healthy fats, saturated fat and cholesterol, Ten Days to Optimal Health

by Stephanie Carnes
OHN Contributor


Fasting in Today's World

Labels: environmental toxins, fasting support, health consultations, healthy fats, Ten Days to Optimal Health

by Stephanie Carnes
OHN Contributor

There is a history of cancer in my family along with diabetes and high blood pressure. But how does this hereditary backdrop affect my life? Up until a few years ago I had a mild doom and gloom mentality about the fate of my health. That was, until I started to uncover how the body is actually designed to heal itself and function optimally under the correct environmental conditions.

"Genetic influences account for about 30% of aging problems. The other 70% comes from lifestyle," says Dr. Moira Fodyce, a gerontologist at Stanford University of Medicine. (Los Angeles Times, 2007) Our choices, more than anything, have the potential to make or break our health!

As referenced by Dr. Mercola, a study out of New Zealand challenged the myth that obesity is caused by "bad genes." Scientists confirmed that genetic pre-disposition to obesity is entirely preventable with good nutrition during early childhood. I would contend that the cause of most of our health problems is not a result of our genetic code primarily, but rather lifestyle and environmental influences such as toxic overload due to smoking, excessive drinking, pollutants in the air and drinking water, and processed food diets high in refined sugars and low in healthy fats.

The Optimal Health Center specializes in diet, nutrition, and detoxification means that aid the body's natural healing mechanisms. Health consultations are available at our Madison, Wisconsin based health clinic or by phone.

Labels: cancer, detoxification, diabetes, diet and lifestyle, genetics, hazards of processed foods, health consultations, healthy fats, high blood pressure, natural healing, obesity