Don’t Throw Away the Bones!

with Sally Fallon Morell

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to nourish ourselves and our families is to use animal bones! Across the ages, traditional cultures around the world have included them in their diet in various forms: from fermented bones, to ground up bones in soups and stews, to bone broth.

Bones are rich in calcium, glycine, amino acids, and collagen which our bodies desperately need. Collagen, for example, is good for detoxing our bodies and decreasing anxiety! In today’s episode, Sally Fallon Morell, the head of the Weston A. Price Foundation, makes a strong case for including bones in the diet, as she explains Principle #10 of the Wise Traditions diet. She discusses how we can benefit from their nutrients to preserve and protect our health.

So, don’t throw away those bones! Instead, make a warm cup of broth and enjoy today’s enlightening discussion on the use of bones for a healthier diet!

Notes:

Highlights of the discussion include:

how traditional cultures always included bones in their diet—ground, fermented or in bone broth
how Dr. Price found that traditional cultures consumed at least 15mg of calcium per day
how difficult it is to get adequate calcium in the diet from vegetables alone
how the calcium from plant foods isn’t as concentrated as it is in animal foods
how oxalic acid also blocks its absorption
how those on a plant-based diet could benefit from bone broth
how poor nutrition is leading to bone fractures, even among young people and infants
the varied ways in which traditional people included bones in their diet (the Eskimos ferment fish, Africans ferment bones, and American Indians grind up bones of small animals)
the almost universal practice of cooking bones (& tendons & cartilage) for soups & stews
how the earliest recipes we have, from Samaria, are all for broth made with bones, blood, organ meats or meats
how to make broth using bones (and feet, heads and other parts if able)
how stews can also be made from bones, tendons, and cartilage
the benefits of collagen; good for our bones, our mood, and detoxification
how bone broth can decrease our addiction to coffee, sugar, or chocolate
the problem with broth from grocery stores
the importance of reacquainting ourselves with food traditions that may have been lost
how homemade broths and soups are easy on the budget and very nourishing
the benefits of broth include: calcium, collagen, detoxifying benefits of glycine, dopamine-regulating benefits, improved brain function, & stronger bones
Dr. Price’s biggest disappointment, in terms of traditional diets (what he had hoped to find, but did not)