3 Unusual Foods you Should be Eating but Probably Aren’t

By djpope

January 14, 2012

diet, food, nutrition

Here are some extremely nutritious but often overlooked foods and some of their benefits.
1.  Bone Broth

What the heck, why?

Bone broth is basically a bone and joint building mineral supplement.  The act of heating bones with joints in water and something acidic for a long period of time causes the health promoting compounds to leech into the broth.

Bone broth made from joints contain something called glycosaminoglycans (GAG).  Popular GAGs include glucosamine and chondroitin, two compounds with beneficial joint building properties.  Bone broth contains glucosamine, chondroitin as well as a many other glycosaminoglycans.  These glycosaminoglycans are a vital part of our joints and making them part of the diets may be helpful.

Adding something acidic to the recipe pulls calcium, magnesium and other bone building minerals into your stock as well.

Lastly, if you have some marrow in your bones that gets into the broth as well.  Marrow (from a grass-fed/cage free source of course) contains lots of healthy fats that come standard in animals fed properly.  For more information on the subject click here.

Here is a good video recipe for broth that’s educational too.

2. Liver

Liver contains incredible amounts of readily absorbable Vitamin A and is one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D and vitamin K2 as natural vitamins.  K2 has been shown to be linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease(1) as well as fracture occurrence(2) in the elderly.

Liver is one of the only natural sources (besides beef heart) of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).  Coenzyme Q10 has been shown to be helpful in reducing hypertension and cardiovascular disease (3,4).  Unfortunately your body decreases production of CoQ10 with age.  CoQ10 production is also hampered through statin usage.  Keep in mind statins are the biggest pharmaceutical drug prescribed right now to patients with high cholesterol.

If you’re eating liver from a grass-fed source which is the only source I’d recommend, you are also getting a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids as well as CLA, another heart healthy fatty acid.

Liver is a traditional food that is fast losing popularity.  The liver is a major processing and detoxifying center in the body and if an animal is exposed to food that contains toxins such as heavy metals they are most likely going to show up in the liver that we eat.  I recommend eating liver from animals fed organic, grass-fed diets.  Research has concluded that liver from these sources is safe to consume.

Here is a link to where you can buy delicious grass-fed liverwurst.

3. Fermented Foods

Fermentation has been around for a very long time and is a part of nearly every culture’s diet.  Fermentation is a natural process where certain foods are combined with either salt water or whey and left to sit for a few days.  As fermentation occurs beneficial bacteria is produced.  When these bacteria are consumed they help to populate our own guts and give us a slew of health benefits as well as being beneficial for disorders such as (5)

  • Vaginal Infections
  • Recurrent Urinary tract infections
  • Diarrhea
  • Complications of antibiotic therapy
  • Colitis
  • Lactose Intolerance
  • Hypertension
  • Cancer
  • Kidney Stones
  • Small Bowel bacterial overgrowth
  • Elevated cholesterol
  • High Cholesterol
  • Flatulence
  • Bacterial and Fungal Infections
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Lupus

Some examples of these fermented foods are kimchi and sauerkraut.  Its fun and easy to make yourself.  I’ve currently got a big mason jar of sauerkraut fermenting.  Here is recipe for sauerkraut.

Well there you have it.  Please let me know if you guys have any good recipes for broth, fermented food or liver.  I’d love to hear it!

Resources:

1. 21. Geleijnse J M, et al. Dietary Intake of Menaquinone is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: The Rotterdam Study. The Journal of Nutrition November 1, 2004 vol. 134 no. 11 3100-3105

2. Cockaye S, et al. Vitamin K and the Prevention of Fractures Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1256-1261

3 Rosenfeldt FL., Haas SJ., Krum H., Hadj k., Leong J-Y., Watts G F. Coenzyme Q10 in the treatment of hypertension: a meta analysis of the clinical trials. Journal of Human Hypertension. April 2007:21, 297-306 doi:10.1038/sj.jhh.1002138

4. Pepe S., Marasco SF., Haas SJ., Sheeran FL., Krum H., Rosenfeldt., Coenzyme Q10 in cardiovascular Disease. Mitochondrion 2007 Jun;7 Suppl:S154-167: Epub 2007 Mar 16.

5. Lipski, Elizabeth (2004) Digestive Wellness McGraw-Hill NY, NY