the double life of a hot toddy {a cold spell}

Posted on March 2, 2012 by key & bones

I don’t know about you, but I have a winter cold that’s taken hold. I’m not much for anti-histamines or cough suppressants ’cause I like to let the body do it’s healing thing, but I hate it when a runny nose or cough keeps me from falling asleep.

Rest is key to recovery and there is one old-fashioned medicine I love to take: a hot toddy.

Any bartender knows the drink, but I do think it’s fallen out of fashion with the general public. When I mention a hot toddy, usually people know the phrase but not the recipe. So here goes:

1 shot of whiskey
A mug of hot water
1 tsp honey
1 wedge of lemon

Heat up the water for warmth and some semblance of hydration, pour in the whiskey to relax you to sleep, stir in the honey to coat a sore throat, squeeze the lemon for taste and a little vitamin c.

I like to have mine shortly before bed. Don’t have more than 2 or you’ll do more harm than good. Take extra time to rest and I promise, you’ll practically look forward to next year’s winter cold.

{ ginger carrot soup }

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Suzanne Lindgren

Fall has arrived, bringing with it root vegetables and hearty appetites (at least for me). One of my healthiest, insanely tastiest indulgences this time of year is ginger carrot soup. It’s amazing. Ginger’s pro-digestive, anti-inflammatory enzymes team up with carrot’s sight-enhancing, cancer-preventing vitamins. This means that every cell in your body will be as happy as your taste buds. Perhaps luckiest of all, this delicious dish is inexpensive and easy to make.

I first tried the recipe while reading Eight Weeks to Optimum Health (yup, Andrew Weil) almost ten years ago, and I haven’t given it up since. My boyfriend at the time jokingly referred to Dr. Weil as “Jesus” and said I regarded this book as if it were the Bible. Jokes aside, I do love this soup and have been spreading the good news to anyone who will put a spoonful in their mouth. Most people love it as much as I do.

Over the years, I’ve played around with the recipe a little. Below you’ll find my version, but you can read the original recipe here.

What you need:

5-6 cups soup stock (homemade is best, but bouillon will do)
3-4 cups carrots— chopped
1 medium potato or yam — chopped, I don’t peel them.
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion — diced
2 T ginger — grated or finely chopped
2-5 cloves garlic — optional, to taste (can be a substitute for onion)
salt — to taste
blender or food processor

What to do:

Start your stock heating.
Wash and chop carrots and potato. Put them in the stock and bring to boil. Turn down to simmer until tender, 30-45 minutes.
While that’s cooking, chop your onion and ginger. If you’re going to add garlic, chop that too. Sautee over medium (or lower) heat just until onions are translucent.
When the carrots and potato are soft. add sauteed onions and ginger. Bring to a boil again, then turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
Blend (with a blender or food processor) until smooth.
Add salt to taste.
If you can, garnish with a green herb — basil, rosemary or cilantro are all good (basil pesto is pictured).
Enjoy!

Oxymels: Honey and Vinegar at Their Best

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Celia Linnemann

What is it about vinegar that we like? The tartness? The pungency? The fact that it is almost alcoholic? I would like to postulate that we like vinegar because our body needs it. Our biology tates it and thinks, “Mmmm … electrolytes, alkalizing, digestive stimulant ….” If your body (or your tastebuds) isn’t a huge vinegar fan, then oxymels are for you. And if you already love vinegar, oxymels will give you an excuse to integrate it into your day.

Before I talk about oxymels, check out the varieties of vinegar in the photo above. This is from the Nashmarkt in Vienna, which is a daily marketplace for edibles, flowers, soaps — and loaded with amazing restaurants. This vinegar shop featured handcrafted, artisan varieties of vinegar. Some sweet and fruity, some spicy, some very dark and strong, like the balsamics in the bottom right. I tried a few, and swear I had a little buzz, not unlike an effervescent kombucha feeling. Even though most medicinal recipes will call for good old apple cider vinegar, why not branch out to other varieties?

Although I have tried oxymels, I figured it was high time to make one for my household. Oxymels are a mixture of vinegar and honey, combining sweet and sour to create an invigorating and balanced blend. The simplest type of oxymels is by stirring a tablespoon of vinegar in a tablespoon of honey, then diluted in a cup of warm water. This simple remedy is known to balance the acid-alkaline balance in the body and is employed as a daily tonic. Here is the oxymel that I made from a recipe I wrote down from a 2006 lecture:

Teresa Broadwine’s Onion Thyme Oxymel (with my own addition of anise)

1 onion, chopped
16 0z apple cider vinegar
2 T thyme
2 T fennel seeds
2 T anise seeds
2 T oregano
2 cups honey

Bring all but the honey to a light boil, then simmer covered for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly, strain and press herbs, and add honey while it is still warm.

When would one take this oxymel? You guessed it: cold and flu season, especially for chest colds of all kinds. I added the anise to assist the herbs in expectoration; it’s one of my favorites for thinning and bringing up congesting phlegm.

There are endless varieties of oxymels, so add in herbs that suit your individual needs. The above recipe could replace onions with garlic for extra anti-microbial action, or an addition of black peppercorns and mustard seeds for more warming actions (as vinegar is cooling, see). James Green says that the basic ratio of vinegar to honey is roughly 1:3, or 1 cup vinegar to 3/4 pounds honey, although I have had some with equal parts honey to vinegar and they seemed to work just fine. Perhaps the larger amount of honey serves for added preservation.

Lobelia oxymel – from Dr. William Cook for dry, irritable coughs, lung congestion

dried lobelia herb
apple cider vinegar
honey

Place lobelia (preferably dried) in a jar and cover with apple cider vinegar and steep for 2 weeks. Strain, mix with honey in the proportion of ¾ pound honey to 1 cup vinegar. Place in a water bath, until the mixture is like thin molasses, bottle and refrigerate (246). As you can see, there are no set measurements for materials, so adjust quantities to your needs. Dose as needed for coughs.

Jam’s Green’s Poison Oak Lotion

1 part mugwort
1 part horsetail
apple cider vinegar
salt

Make a strong decoction of 1 part mugwort and 1 part horsetail. To 2 parts of this liquid, add 1 part apple cider vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon salt per cup, bottle, label, and store in the fridge. Apply externally often (184).

For more info on oxymels, visit The Medicine Woman’s Roots, this site, and the Art of Drink, which give a recipe for switchel.

Sources:

Green, James. The Medicine Makers Handbook.

Broadwine, Teresa. Lecture notes, Medicines from the Earth 2006.

Vinegar: Pantry Medicine

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Celia Linnemann

Even herbalists can get into a rut. We don’t see little bottles of vinegar extractions lining shelves at health food/herb stores, so we generally don’t make them at home, either. Vinegar, being made from and still containing plant matter, naturally decomposes over time. Vinegar tinctures last about 2 years, while alcohol preparations last almost indefinitely. As James Green reiterates, when we are making herbs at home, we generally do so in small batches so there is no particular reason we should not employ vinegar tinctures on a more regular basis.

For years, vinegar was the official menstrum in mainstream pharmacy. Then in the early 1900′s it was replaced by ethyl alcohol. At that time, medicine was quite heroic, and using the strongest, biggest and baddest (because they were sometimes toxic) medicines and treatments was the norm. It was all but goodbye to food-based menstrums like vinegar, alcohol, honey and sugar, and oils as medical knowledge was becoming possessed by the “official” medical community.

Green reminds us that when herbal medicine experienced a resurgence in the 1960s and 1970s, budding herbalists took on where the 1920s pharmacopoeia left off; that is, using strong alcohol extractions rather than using food-based menstrums. Not to say that alcoholic tinctures are a bad thing; just that herbalists may have overlooked viable options.

More non-alcoholic medicine-making appeals to me on many levels, not least for the fact that grain alcohol is not widely available (I have to drive to Wisconsin to get it, as it is not sold in Minnesota) and is more costly than even the most expensive bottle of apple cider vinegar. Many households have vinegar on hand anyways, so it’s truly medicine from the pantry.

Back to vinegar. Look on the bottle of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and you will find a paragraph of vinegar’s health benefits and history of use. It has been along for, well, as long as anyone can remember. It was used by Hippocrates, Galen and steeped in uses by common people though the ages. Green sums up vinegar’s benefits (179):

Pure vinegar is non-toxic and can be tolerated by everyone, young and old
It is a digestive tonic, helps regulates the acid/alkaline balance
High in minerals (dilute or add honey to make it go down smoother for daily use)
Non-alcoholic, for those who want/need a break from traditional tinctures

Medicinally, vinegar is warming but still has an refrigerant effect as it evaporates off the skin, quells thirst and promotes saliva. Green says it has a quality that “alleviates restlessness,” as well as “promotes secretions of the kidneys and respiratory mucous membranes” (181). Topically, vinegar is antiseptic and astringent so use for deodorant, to relieve inflammation, itching, allergic rashes and sunburn. Rosemary Gladstar once joked that her grandfather said her grandmother smelled like a salad dressing from slathering olive oil on her skin and using vinegar hair rinses. Indeed, it is cleansing, toning and conditioning to the skin and hair.

Vinegar combines with other herbs that augment the medicinal attributes it already has. Add to it expectorant herbs, or astringents for internal or external use. A bit of cayenne makes vinegar a wonderful liniment for aches and pains. Where vinegar really shines as a menstrum is for extracting alkaloids, which water and alcohol do not do as well. When alkaloid-containing herbs (lobelia, goldenseal, bloodroot, black walnut are a few) are macerated in vinegar, the acetic acid from the vinegar causes an alkaloid salt to be formed, making it readily available (179).

Sources:

Green, James. The Medicine Makers Handbook.

Gladstar, Rosemary. Rosemary Gladstar’s Home Herbal.

{how to make} Kombucha

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Suzanne Lindgren

As promised and at long last: the post on making your own kombucha. Hurrah! You can save a lot of money this way, if you’re a kombucha addict. Also, it’s fun.

What you need:

1 gallon of water (distilled is good but if your tap water is tested and safe, use that)
a big pot
1 cup of sugar
8 bags of black or green tea. If using loose tea, 4 tablespoons (a quarter cup) will do the trick. Use simple green &or black tea. You don’t need fancy blends and definitely no herbal tea!
a big glass bowl: large enough to hold your gallon of tea. Other shapes can be used but a high surface-to-volume ratio is desirable for fermentation. Try to find something at least as wide as it is tall. Always use glass. Kombucha is acidic and toxins from ceramic, plastic and types of crystal will leech into your “healthy” drink.
A “mother,” also known as a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast).

No no, not a Scooby! Although, it does look a little like a monster and you might find your self singing, “Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you?”

Here’s what I’m really talking about:

It can take awhile to track down a scoby if you want one for free, but it can be done. I paid for my first one. Now I know that anyone who makes kombucha has a new scoby every couple of weeks. I gave them away to friends, family members and strangers who posted scoby-wanted ads on Craigslist. You might also find one through the Kombucha Exchange Worldwide. If only I had known!

The nice part about building a kombucha community is that even when you lapse from making the stuff for awhile, you know someone who can give you a mother when you want it again. It’s kombucha karma, I suppose. You give it away and it comes back to you again.

Now I suppose you want to know what to do with all of this stuff.

What to do:

boil your water for 5 minutes
add the sugar, stir until dissolved, boil for a few more minutes
add tea, turn off heat
cover and bring to room temperature (an ice bath can help if you’re impatient)
put some fermented kombucha (comes with the scoby) in the glass container, swish around
pour the tea into the container (make sure it’s about room or body temp (slightly warm to the touch at the very highest)
place scoby on top
pour the remaining fermented kombucha on top
cover with cheesecloth, paper towel or other breathable fabric
let ferment! This will take about two weeks. Taste it!
At the end you’ll have a baby culture and some nice kombucha to drink
bottle
save a culture with a cup or so of kombucha for your next batch
start again!

Essential Oils {101}

Posted on March 25, 2011 by key & bones

Essential oils are the volatile essences of plants extracted using steam distillation. They are known for their pronounced scents, but retain other properties of the plant in concentrated form as well. Essential oils are powerful. Except in rare and specified cases, do not apply them directly to the skin or household surfaces. Dilute them in water, oil or baking soda (depending on what you’re using them for). You’ll probably only need to use a few drops at a time.

Basil: repels insects.

Cinnamon: antiseptic, repels insects.

Citronella: repels insects

Clove: antiseptic

Eucalyptus: disinfects and clears stuffy sinuses.

Grapefruit: antiseptic

Lavender: anti-bacterial and generally calming. Used in easing depression, anxiety and tension. Repels insects. To treat insect bite or sting (or plant sting), apply 1 drop of lavender oil directly on the bite or sting every 5 minutes. Stop after 10 drops.

Lemon: degreaser with refreshing scent. Long used for that “clean” smell.

Lemongrass: repels insects

Lime: degreaser and general cleanser.

Orange: degreaser, can alleviate depression and fatigue.

Peppermint: degreaser, refreshing, also used to alleviate depression and fatigue. Repels insects.

Pine: degreaser, disinfectant, also used for signature “clean” smell.

Rue: repels insects

Tea Tree: anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and effective against some viruses.

Thyme: antiseptic and repels insects

White Cedar: disinfectant, uplifting scent.

Re-Fresh with a Juniper Berry Bath

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Celia Linnemann

Sometimes your favorite herbal concoctions come out of nowhere. One day a woman came into the herb shop with an ambiguous book under her arm called something like “Herbal Cleansing” and a list of about twenty herbs she needed for a such a cleanse. Hours after I helped this person with her herbs, I found a little scrap of paper with a formula called simply “Detox Bath”. It sounded so yummy I made it up right then and tried it out that evening. I call it “Refreshing Bath,” because I feel renewed after a soak in its freshness.

Refreshing Bath

* 1 part Juniper berries, ground coarsely
* 1 part Rosemary, coarsely cut
* 1 part Calendula or Comfrey
* 2 parts Peppermint

Directions: Steep ¾ cup herbs in 6 cups just boiled water, covered, for 30 mins. Strain. Add to bath and adjust water temp.

Alternate directions: Tie ¾ cup herbs in a thin cotton flour sack towel or place in a muslin bag, position under the faucet and run hot water through to “steep.” Adjust water temperature, soak and enjoy.

Juniper (Juniperus communis) is an antiseptic diuretic rich in volatile oils and tannins. By itself, juniper is quite strong. Luckily, it blends well with other cooler aromatic herbs. And no, it does NOT smell like gin, gin smells like juniper! Juniper is not recommended for internal use during pregnancy or severe kidney infections or disease (you don’t want to over-stimulate delicate kidneys) and I would extend those basic guidelines to external use.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis) and comfrey (Symphytum officinale) are great herbs to add to just about any bath because of their topical healing properties. Pick one, or both. I often choose calendula because it adds color to the mix (quite beautiful with dark purple juniper berries!) and is a gentle lymphatic. The other herbs in the recipe, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and peppermint (Mentha piperita) are wonderfully aromatic and stimulating members of the mint family that add to the experience.

Wash Away the Winter Blahs with an Herbal Vinegar Hair Rinse

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Celia Linnemann

Winter got your hair all in a bunch? Or in a perpetual pony tail, or under a hat or scarf? The combination of heated interiors and colder weather outside can leave our hair and skin limp, weighed down and less than lustrous.

That’s where a little botanical TLC comes in. You may already know that vinegar is slightly acidic and a little drying, which makes it a great astringent. Apple cider vinegar is often the vinegar of choice for herbal body care, as its fermented goodness is full of life and enzymes. Sage-steeped apple cider vinegar (doubly astringent!) is a wonderfully toning deodorant splash or spray.

Perhaps your wondering why one would want to add astringent vinegar to hair that is already dry. Luckily, apple cider vinegar promotes the regulation of pH, whether that be increasing the acidity or alkalinity. Secondly, when used diluted in herbal teas and water, it becomes more balanced.

mint

The hair cuticle consists mainly of the protein keratin (part of connective tissue), arranged in overlapping scales. According to a cosmetologist friend of mine, alkaline hair products cause the cuticle of the hair to be coated, which makes cuticle stand up and feel thick, coarse or sticky. Because of this, hair products are slightly acidic to keep the hair smooth.

Some years ago I switched to natural and organic shampoos and conditioners, about the last time I cut my hair really short. As it grew, I expected my hair to be healthier than ever, with the positive diet changes I had made, decreased washing (daily washing can strip hair of its natural, protective oils) and of course the use of natural shampoos. As time went on, it was clear that my hair was not healthier, indeed it was in its worst state ever. It was full of split ends, dull, limp, and growing slowly.

Another cosmetologist friend looked at the ingredients of the shampoos I was using and explained that some of the ‘natural’ ingredients are wax-derived and can accumulate on the hair shaft, weakening and weighing it down and may even lead the hair shaft to break. How do you know if this is the case for your hair? Tightly and tautly grab a chunk of semi-damp hair, run a sharp and clean scissor blade down the length of the hair and check the blade for any residue. Be careful and use common sense — I don’t recommend this for really curly hair.

This is where vinegar rinses come in handy! An herbal-infused vinegar rinse is incredibly helpful in treating residue-laden hair; they leave your hair softer, cleaner and invigorated. It is incredibly simple to make a herb-infused vinegar: cover dried or fresh herbs with apple cider vinegar and cap. Label, shake occasionally, and steep for four weeks. Strain, re-bottle, and use!

The vinegar should be diluted for use; a tablespoon to one cup water. Pour the vinegar-water solution through the hair, massage into scalp, then rinse with clean water. Another method is to dip your hair in a bowl of the vinegar-water solution (make sure the water is warm — unless you like cold rinses!), following with a plain water rinse.

Dina Falconi has a ‘Garden Blend Vinegar‘ (60) recipe that is for all hair colors and is a great place to start.

1 tablespoon nettle
1 tablespoon comfrey root
1 tablespoon basil
6 ounces organic apple cider vinegar

Steep for four weeks or so, strain, and enjoy. Makes 4 1/2 ounces. For any herbal vinegar, if you wish to add essential oils, do so in a small amount (start with three drops) after it has been strained. I am not exactly sure how often one should do a rinse, but I find that once a week to once a month can make a difference.

rosemary

Nettles are high in minerals that lend themselves to promoting hair and skin health, comfrey root (and to a lesser extent the leaves) is soothing and moistening with lots of mucilage, while basil is aromatic, cleansing and invigorating. Use your senses to find what herbs would be best suited for your vinegar rinse; chamomile for blond hair, black walnut husks for dark hair, rosemary for hair growth stimulation, oregano or thyme for anti-microbial action.

One of my favorite hair rinses is simply dipping my head in a bowl of a strongly steeped tea of nettle, rosemary, comfrey and birch leaves. This is less defunking and more conditioning than the vinegar rinses, and it does not need to be followed with a clear water rinse. Use the leftover tea to water plants. I was prompted to add the birch leaves after reading Matthew Wood’s entry of birch (139):

“While in Australia a woman brought her fourteen-year-old daughter to see me about something or other. I commented that she had some of the healthiest, thickest hair I had ever seen. The mother commented that her daughter’s hair was originally spindly and thin. For several years they rinsed it in nettles and birch.”

drying birch leaves

References:

Falconi, Dina. Earthly Bodies and Heavenly Hair.

Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal (Old World).

how to make {elderberry syrup}

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Celia Linnemann

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) was one of the reasons I discovered herbalism. As a 19-year-old pre-med student, I was searching the university’s Pub Med database in search for the best proven medication for the awful cold I was having. The doctors though it was strep throat or mono, but both tests came back negative. So I searched for some magic cough syrup or antibiotic from heaven, but every study that came up said that over-the-counter cough syrups were actually ineffective.

I noticed page after page of studies in German that had Holunderbeere (German for elderberry) in the title. I refined my search and found out that Elderberry was an effective treatment for the flu and other winter ailments. I was skeptical, but the seeds had been planted.

In addition to being a great remedy, Matthew Wood adds that “[elderberries] have a property not found in the other parts of the plant; they are used as a tonic to the build up the blood and combat anemia. For this purpose they may be combined with blackberries” (434). Dark berries = yum. Cancer-fighting anthocyanins, anybody?

I first saw elder’s creamy white flowers on the slopes of the Blue Mountains in North Carolina, and didn’t see them again until I was at Sage Mountain in Vermont. The last time I saw the plant was last June in southern Minnesota, on the sides of bluffs and hills outside Winona. Is it just a coincidence that all the places I have seen the black elder growing were either mountains or hillsides? Although I have seen elder growing in Northern Minnesota, it is not the right kind to harvest (it may be red elder). Typical of the elder of fairy tales and folk lore, whenever I find an elder tree in the woods up here, I can never find it again! For you Duluthians, there are a few in Hartley park, in the deer-proofed area.

I have come across many elderberry syrup recipes over the years. This recipe from Rosemary Gladstar is the one I like the most because 1) it is alcohol free, 2) it can be made with fresh or dried berries, and 3) storing it in the refrigerator reminds me to use it was a food and medicine. It is seriously delicious with baked garnet yams, waffles, or mixed with mineral water.

1 cup fresh or 1/2 cup dried elderberries
3 cups water
1 cup honey

1. Heat the berries and water to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 30-45 minuets.

2. Mash the berries, strain, and add 1 cup of honey. I add a half cup of the purple liquid to a measuring cup, then pour in honey until the total volume is 1 1/2 cups. Then stir to mix well, and add to the rest of the reserved liquid.

3. Bottle and store, refrigerated. for 2-3 months.

4. Enjoy a tablespoon daily to keep the immune system strong, use more often when afflicted with the flu.

Refereance: Gladstar, Rosemary. The Family Herbal.

Celia Linnemann is a maker of natural medicine and doula in Portland, OR. This article is reprinted from the blog on her site, Dandelion Revolution. See the original post on elderberry syrup here.

Bone Party {the how and why of bone broth}

Posted on February 10, 2011 by key & bones

At a recent social gathering I found myself discussing, of all things, bones. Human bones, animal bones and how they’re linked.

The conversation had meandered quite naturally from the topic of teeth. You see, I’d just returned from a year without fluoridated water. “Good for you!” my cohorts encouraged, probably thinking of how fluoride interferes with proper thyroid function.

“But!” I cried, “When I went to the dentist I had two cavities! I haven’t had even one for over a decade.”

“The fluoride shouldn’t matter,” declared the resident expert. “Cavities are a sign that you’re not getting enough minerals. Your organs are leeching them from your teeth and bones because you’re not ingesting enough.”

“Oh my. How do I get more?”

“Bone broth.”

I gulped, vague recollections of my parents boiling animal carcasses in water floated through my mind. I remembered standing off to the side, hoping I never had to do such a thing. Though I enjoy an occasional steak or burger, meat has never been at the top of my to-eat list, let alone bones. But for my teeth I would do just about anything, so I got the low-down.

The recipe is easy: bones, pot, water, vinegar, simmer.

Get some bones from your local butcher, put them in a pot and cover (just barely) with water.

Splash in some vinegar, let sit for a bit. The vinegar is essential. The acid helps leech the minerals from the bones into the water, where they can be absorbed by your body.

Turn on the heat and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for at least 12 hours. Some people leave it going for a day or more. The logic is that the longer it goes, the more minerals come out, though probably after 12+ hours you’ll get diminishing returns. Have errands to run or friends to visit or just don’t want to leave the stove on all night? Two words: crock pot. If you got yours from your mother, like I did, say a silent “Thanks, Mom,” as you’re dumping the ingredients in.

When there’s lots of fat on top of the broth and the bones seem empty, strain with a colander. You can line the colander with cheesecloth if you want your broth to be pure liquid. Use in soups, to cook rice (and other grains), steam veggies or make sauce.

Notes:

The broth you buy at the supermarket is not going to have the same health benefits as homemade. There are no regulations for the ratio of bone to water and most (if not all) are very diluted. They’re also high in sodium, since they pour on the salt to make up for lost flavor.

Josh Bryceson of Turnip Rock CSA told me that you want to start with good, healthy animal bones. A mass-manufactured animal is raised on high-calorie, low-nutrient feed so it gets fat in a hurry.

“If they’re not raised on grass with healthy soil,” warned Josh, “they probably don’t have a whole lot of minerals in their bones to begin with.” You can boil it all you want and you still won’t be doing much for your body. If you don’t know a local farmer, butcher or fishmonger and you didn’t catch or kill the meat yourself, organic is probably your best bet.

Josh gave me some of Turnip Rock’s very own bone broth to try for myself. It was amazing, slightly salty, completely smooth and wholesome. Great taste is one of the best reasons to make your own broth.

But if, like me, you’re getting into broth for your health, there are a couple more things you might want to know. Part of the function of your bones is the storage and release of minerals. When your body takes minerals from your bones to help the organs function, the bones are doing their job, but we need to replenish the mineral supply.

This means that if you are getting cavities or experiencing bone loss, you can actually reverse these processes. Bone broth is a great starting point, but you don’t have to stop there. Check out this article on how to remineralize teeth naturally and this one on preventing tooth decay.

Mineral deficiencies have many effects on the body and can even affect your mood. Here’s a great resource for learning more from Townsend Letter: examiner of alternative medicine, “Traditional Bone Broth in Modern Health and Disease.”

key & bones

think. make. grow.

Tag Archives: wellness