To Wit

It’s been a while since last I explored a nutrition-related topic …. so today I’ll offer this quick nod to bone broth, with its superhero constituents: gelatin and collagen. Even among my vegan and vegetarian friends, quite a few are making an exception (or are seriously considering doing so) for bone broth, whose proven and anecdotal health benefits span far and wide. To wit: a good bone broth is chock-full of minerals; features an abundance of amino acids; supports digestion and overall gut health by reducing intestinal inflammation; and its plethora of gelatin and collagen are manna-from-heaven for our skin, bones and joints. Yeah!

Bone broth is pretty simple to make yourself, though a tad time-consuming. If you choose to purchase it instead, go for an organic variety, made from grass-fed animal-bones; and remember that a high-quality broth will be gelatinous at room temperature. My current favorite brand is Bona Fide Provisions.

Bone broth’s two main skin-bone-joint healing components can also be purchased separately. For instance, Great Lakes makes a nice unflavored gelatin, which can be used as a thickening agent in soups and stews, or in its traditional form as fruit-juice jello. Now who would have thought jello to be a health food?! — but if left unsweetened (or minimally sweetened with honey or maple syrup) and sans any artificial colors or flavors, it actually can be an excellent source of gelatin.

Eureka!

Strolling through a natural grocers a couple weeks ago, my eye was drawn to a large container of something called “multi-collagen protein powder.” Now I already knew about collagen, via my recent bone-broth adventures — but didn’t realize that collagen was available also in a hydrolyzed powdered form — which apparently makes it easier for the human body to assimilate.

Initially I thought: Why do I need this collagen powder, when already I’m getting plenty of collagen via drinking bone broth every day? But at the same time I could feel a strong intuitive “yes!” toward this product …. so I tossed a couple individual-sized-serving packets of the product into my basket, and then finished my shopping.

Later that day, I mixed the contents of one of these packets — a fine white powder — into a glass of water, and drank it (noticing it to be almost entirely neutral in taste and odor). Once again, and immediately, my intuitive knowing was giving me the thumbs-up: a clear shift at the level of my subtle body, hard to describe, yet experientially undeniable, and something I’ve learned to trust. So next time I was at the store, I purchased the large container of the stuff — Dr Axe Multi-Collagen Protein — and began taking it once or twice a day.

After a couple weeks of taking this regularly, I began to notice my joints feeling better than they have in a long time. My knees, in particular, were noticeably less “crunchy” — say, in the weight room, doing leg extensions — and comfortable. To what extent this is due to the multi-collagen protein powder; or to the bone broth; or to the combination of the two of them; or to something entirely unrelated ….. I’ll never know. It’s not hard science — but from where I stand (with newly happy knees!) the correlation between adding the multi-collagen protein powder, and the improvement in my joint health — is quite suggestive. So …. just thought I’d share the good news, in case it might be useful to you also 🙂

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