Bone Broth and Detox Diets

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Comments on this post have been locked and updates are no longer being made to this page. Please click here to view this article on the new site.How much do you know about bone broth? There's an old belief that chicken soup can cure all, and it's been frequently fed to people who are ill. However, research shows there's a pretty good reason for this belief! We've been using bone broth (and other things) to help ourselves heal and detox recently, and I'd like to share our progress with you, as well as how to make this broth for yourself.

Broth is a "magical food" according to some. Real broth (not the stuff from the store, which is mostly water and MSG) is made from the bones of animals, boiled to release the gelatin. Larger bones (like beef) will release marrow too. Gelatin, when ingested, pulls toxins out of the body and helps to clear illnesses. It also helps to heal the body and can reduce allergies. It is a major food used in the GAPS diet.

The best way to make this broth is to obtain bones from organic, properly fed animals (Whole Foods and local farms have this) first. Use as many bones as you can -- some like to use 10 - 15 lbs. in a 16-qt. stock pot. 5 - 8 lbs. will work too though. Whole chickens also work if you want to make soup from the chicken after making the broth.

Put the bones in a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Some like to add 1 - 2 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar or other acid at this point (my father used to add a little wine). You can add an onion (cut in half), chunks of carrots or celery, kitchen scraps (ends of onions, carrot peelings, celery leaves), a couple bay leaves, some sea salt, etc. Other herbs can work too (best to wrap in cheesecloth or a spice ball) if you desire. Let the pot sit for a couple hours. Then, turn on low-medium heat and leave it for up to 24 hours (you can do this in your crockpot too). When the broth is a rich golden color, it's finished.

When you put the finished broth in the refrigerator, it will get thick and jelly-like. This is the best broth. Don't ruin it by heating it in the microwave! This can be used to make soups, gravies, or even just to drink. For a cold, add some freshly grated garlic to the broth just before serving. It will help to clear the sinuses and is also anti-viral. Yes -- chicken soup with garlic can cure a cold!

There are other ways to detox, like juice feasting. But, that's a different sort of cleansing. There are various commercial detox products on the market, and also water fasting, enemas, etc. However, the broth is probably the gentlest way to detox, and easiest because you can still eat while you are detoxing, even if your diet is more limited.

We've been working on detox with broth for a few weeks now. It seems to help us some. Bekah was doing better until we discovered we hadn't cleared all her allergens. She is officially allergic to all nuts now. We are hoping by clearing all nuts, all dairy, gluten, and the various fruits/vegetables she reacts to, we will be able to finally fully clear her system. She still has eczema at this time.

I felt very tired and sometimes sick during the first few weeks, and I craved bread. After about a month I didn't crave bread or sugar, and after maybe two months I finally wasn't so tired. I do feel better now.

Have you ever done a detox diet? How did it go? Do you make broth at home?

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