Is your gut lining like a leaky bucket?
Repair your gut with Healing Broth!
The "leaky bucket" is a great metaphor for leaky gut syndrome. The idea of a leaky bucket full of holes, is a bit like when the intestinal lining called the epithelium, becomes damaged, allowing harmful substances to escape into our bodies. Just as a bucket with holes can't effectively hold water, a compromised gut struggles to hold the contents of the gut in the intestines, leading to digestive issues, inflammation, and eventually chronic illness if it is unchecked. Good gut health affects every aspect of our health and this becomes even more important as we age and our strength declines.
It’s interesting that in order to have a healthy gut we need to think about more than just diet.
Manage stress
Relaxation techniques such as meditation are proven to decrease inflammation and promote better digestion and gut function. The migratory motor complex is a series of small movements that allow food to pass through the intestines. We need to be in a relaxed state for this to happen. Stress stops the digestive process, leaving undigested food to stand still in the gut and ferment, which can lead to unhealthy bacterial overgrowth.
Stay active
Regular physical activity helps circulation and helps the motility of food and then waste through the gut, the movement of fluids around the body and the oxygenation of tissues allows for better waste excretion.
Stay hydrated
Drinking plenty of water (2 litres per day for the average person) helps to maintain the healthy lining of our gut and the movement of food through the digestive tract by creating healthy mucus along the lining of the gut.
Warning: Incorporating broths and fermented foods into your daily diet can vastly improve your health.
Broths heal the gut lining with amino acids and fats (the building blocks) and adding fermented foods to warm broths boost the flavour and also the maintenance of beneficial bacteria in your gut known as your microbiome, improving digestion, immune health and even hormones.
Broths have been made since the time of early Egyptians. They combine flavours from many ingredients, such as meat or fish bones, vegetables, herbs and spices and fats, slowly cooked in simmering water.
Broths are the ultimate fast-food since you leave the ingredients for hours in your slow cooker and the ‘ready to eat’ window is long, meaning you can go about other tasks and eat once it’s ready.
Ten benefits of broth
Easily digestible, absorbable form of micronutrients – superfoods such as herbs and spices can be added to enhance therapeutic properties.
Hydrating - full of electrolytes.
Animal bones are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and other trace minerals needed to build and strengthen your own bones. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to broths to facilitate the releasing of these minerals from bones.
Bone marrow provides many key dietary micronutrients such as vitamin A, B12, iron, selenium, magnesium as well as protein and healthy fats.
Fish bones (marine fish) contain iodine, essential for healthy thyroid function.
Source of collagen - supporting connecting tissue and joint health.
Aids detoxification – due to the glycine and cysteine content which is used to make glutathione, the master detoxifier.
Contributes to healthy gut lining due to the amino acid glutamine which is abundant in broth.
Anti-inflammatory – contains the amino acid arginine and healthy anti-inflammatory fats.
Boosts immune system – with the variety of minerals and protein content, supporting healthy white blood cell production.
To get you started on your gut healing journey here are some basic broth recipes:
Investing in good quality, teflon-free, cookware is a great step towards better health.
Basic Fish Broth
(Makes approximately 1 litre - feel free to batch cook and freeze in portions for the future)
Use oily fish for the best health benefits - like sardines, mackerel, wild salmon or trout.
Ingredients
1 onion, sliced
2 carrot, sliced
1 stick celery, sliced
1 leek, sliced
450g fish bones (include skins, heads or tails too)
1 bunch parsley stalks
1 bay Leaf 1 sprig fresh thyme 6 black peppercorns
Preparation
1. Put all the ingredients together into a saucepan, with water to cover, and bring to the boil.
2. Turn down to simmer and skim off any scum.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes if the fish bones are small – 30 minutes if large.
4. Strain. Notes: the flavour of fish stock is impaired if the bones are cooked for too long. Once strained, however, it may be strengthened by further boiling and reducing.
Allergens: Fish, Celery.
Hippocrates “All disease begins in the gut”.
Bone broth
Ingredients
4 litres of filtered water
30ml apple cider vinegar
1-2kg organic animal bones
2 bay leaves
4 large carrots, chopped
2 pinches of fresh thyme
3 Garlic cloves
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Look for organic bones and joints to use in your slow cooker or crockpot.
Preparation
1. Place all the ingredients in a large pot.
2. Bring to a boil and pour a cup of cold water onto the top and using a ladle skim off any impurities (cloudy or greasy looking pockets of liquid).
3. Reduce the heat so the broth is light simmering and cook for 4-6 hours – note the longer it cooks the richer the flavour and more nutritious it will be.
4. Allow the broth to cool, strain off the liquid using a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth and store in a container and refrigerate for up to 5 days (or freeze in smaller portions).
5. Discard the solids and use the broth as a warming drink or to add to the base of soups, sauces and stews. *Apple cider vinegar is an important component because it helps to draw out the valuable nutrients from the bones to provide us with the nutritious health properties.
If we make our gut health a priority as we age, we can improve our quality of life and prevent so many common health issues. We improve our ability to clear out waste and absorb the best nutrition that our efforts to eat well, give us. Simple lifestyle changes like nourishing your body with the right foods, managing stress, and staying hydrated can make a big difference.
A healthy gut is the foundation for a healthier, more vibrant and happier you.
