Ok peeps, here is another vent. The whole hype about bone broth gets me (as a vegetarian turning Vegan) a little upset. I understand that the gelatin and collagen are parts of bone broth, but HELLO PEEPS, our bodies can make collagen through food. And even if we are consuming heavy meat based products loaded with collagen, we still needs to manufacture it in OUR OWN bodies. Hence diets such as GAPS, Paleo, SCD compromise the ethics of vegans and vegetarians. Thus I refuse to accept that only a meat laden diet works for vegans.
There are experts out there insisting that vegans and vegetarians should be consuming bone broth, which I don’t think is very good at all. I understand that there may be a need for various ‘meat based’ products and I am not criticizing meat eaters (eat the damn meat if you want!!!) But stop forcing meat based products down our vegan and vegetarians throats.
After much research on this topic, I figured out that ANIMAL PROTEIN IS NOT ESSENTIAL FOR HEALTH, there are alternatives, which in some cases may even prove to be better than the meat sources. Bone Broth has been tooted in the media for all its wonderful benefits, it is definitely a health trend at the moment, but to be honest it is nothing special. Yes it has bones in it (dead animal carcasses, but we can still get benefits from a vegan source).
As human beings, we can make our own collagen. As it turns out vegans can make their own collagen. Our bodies cannot even digest collagen as a whole food, did you know that? We have to absorb the nutrients from it and utilize those raw nutrients as building blocks to make it!!! Hence eating collagen doesn't mean having ‘more of it”. In fact if you are eating dark leafy greens, these plants offer rich sources of collagen building blocks.
So to heal stomach lining, especially from gelatin, there are other plant sources that will help you instead of resorting to DEAD ANIMAL CARCASSES. May take longer, but hey nothing comes easy.
In Ayurveda, foods like healing aloe vera, ghee, coconut oil, turmeric, ginger and kombu can help with gut healing. Also fermented foods like miso, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir etc. All those minerals found in bone broth are also found in vegetarian counterparts.
So to my fellow vegans and vegetarians, YOU CAN GET A PLANT BASED SOURCE OF BONE BROTH, which is probably better than dead animals boiled down!!!
For your broth feel free to use the following ingredients for a warm rich and nutrient dense broth.
Wakame seaweed, Kombu seaweed, hiziki seaweed - omega 3, great for intestinal health, packed with essential minerals and vitamins such as iron, calcium, magnesium and iodine.
Shitake Mushrooms, Cordyceps -packed with flavor and cancer fighting agents, great source of zinc, vit D and B. Contains all essential amino acids and is considered a pre-biotic.
Coconut oil, Ghee - healthy fat stable and great for gut healing, as it feeds the probiotics already in the gut. Liquid gold. Helps one absorb essential nutrients.
Turmeric, Ginger considered rhizomes, and help with tissue absorption and detox according to Ayurvedic. It is anti-inflammatory.
Dark leafy Greens such as kale, choi sum, spinach you name it!! Packed with vitamins K, A, C and minerals magnesium and calcium, good protein and prebiotic source.
Noosh or Nutrtional Yeast is packed with B vitamins, a wholly stable source vitamins
So you see folks, there are vegan alternatives. Stay tuned in recipes section for VEGAN BONE BROTH….
check out recipes for a great VEGAN BONE BROTH RECIPE