Heal Your Gut with Bone Broth

January 4, 2016
Westen's helpful book highlights two elements as essential to maintaining vitality of body and soundness of mind: gut health and bone broth. The author asserts that the bacteria in the gut serve as a control center for the body's delicate systems. When in optimal balance, gut microbes "counteract inflammation and control the growth of disease-causing bacteria, produce vitamins, absorb minerals, eliminate toxins... and help keep our weight down." One way to keep gut bacteria in balance is a robust habit of consuming bone broth. Westen asserts that the "gunk" in the bones of a carcass (that stuff that's like "gushy fatty Jell-O") contains "super-dense, super-rich nutrients ultra-packed with vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and lipids." The book is replete with quizzes to measure toxicity levels and how out of balance one might be; these become tedious and are somewhat off the book's main point. Regardless, this is a needed and helpful antidote to the stresses of modern times that assault mental and physical health.