​​​​​​The thyroid gland is a small butterfly-shaped organ that is responsible for some vital roles in the body, from controlling our metabolism to regulating our brain development. It also influences our heart rate, body temperature, muscle strength, body weight, and even cholesterol levels. The thyroid gland makes up part of the endocrine system, which is a combination of glands that produce, store, and release hormones into the bloodstream for the purposes of cellular communication. The three main hormones involved in thyroid function are TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), T4 (triiodothyronine), and T3 (thyroxine).
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     Unfortunately for some, the thyroid ceases proper functioning and a whole host of symptoms often emerge. Determining what treatment will be best to treat a thyroid hormone imbalance begins by first determining what the root cause of the dysfunction is.

     One of the core principles of functional medicine is to nourish the body and ensure it is getting the appropriate balance of nutrients to stay healthy. Traditionally, this was achieved in a hunter-gather diet by eating colourful whole foods and by practicing “nose-to-tail” eating of meat, which included the consumption of skin, cartilage, marrow, tendons/ligaments, and other parts of the animal that are now typically discarded. Unfortunately, much of this practice has been lost as a result of prepared meats, microwaves, and canned soups over homemade stocks. As a result, our diets have become deprived of an important protein, known as collagen.

      There is a lot of noise in the health industry lately about collagen supplementation. The concept of supplementing collagen attempts to regain what we’ve lost from our primitive diet, but the question becomes if supplementation has any benefit.
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Benefits of Collagen
I’ll admit that when I first heard about the trend of supplementing collagen, I wasn't on board. It made no sense to me. Collagen is a tissue found in our bodies made from amino acids, vitamin C, etc. So how could supplementingthe end product collagen benefit us? But as it turns out, research in mice shows that hydrolyzed collagen peptides (from gelatin) have a 95% absorption rate at 12 hours after intake, and it distributes in the body similar to that of raw amino acids, with the exception of cartilage (1). Collagen was seen to concentrate more than twice as high in cartilaginous tissue that raw amino acids (1), giving collagen some unique benefits. So, I jumped on the bandwagon.

Adrenal fatigue is a functional condition which can occur as a result of stressors of the body. We’re quick to identify with emotional stress, but we often forget that stress can also come from physical and environmental stressors. Adrenal fatigue occurs when the adrenals release higher levels of hormones into the body than normal as a response to a continues or persistent stimulus, resulting in an output of these hormones being greater than the production, and ultimate fatigue of the glands. They are considered fatigued since they are essentially drained of their active and stored hormones, and need time to recover.

Yet, recovery is limited and difficult when we continue to lead a busy and stressful lifestyle (which is what ultimately caused the problem in the first place). Rather than slowly starting to recover, the adrenals remain drained and strained. Furthermore, we add aggravators like limited and/or poor quality sleep (which prevents rebuilding and recovery), processed foods, alcohol and cigarettes (which create physical stressors to the system) and high caffeine intake to deal with the fatigue (which creates a further draining of the gland by increase cortisol output).

Bone broth is a rich source of nutrients. It contains protein, cartilage, gelatin, and minerals, especially calcium. It’s easy for our body to digest, tastes delicious and fills a home with an aroma of goodness while cooking. Bone broth is inherently calming, consoling, and restorative to our energy and spirit. The gelatin in bone broth also has been shown to have numerous benefits on the cartilage in our joints, the integrity of our gut membrane, the detoxification of our livers, and the health of our skin!
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BASIC BONE BROTH MAKING

1. Bones - poultry, fish, shellfish, beef or lamb
   - cooked bones from a previous meal, with or without skin or meat
   - raw bones, with or without skin and meat (can be browned first for flavour)
   ​- use a whole carcass or just parts (good choices include feet, ribs, necks and knuckles)
2. Water - cold
   enough to just cover the bones or 2 cups water per 1 pound bones
3. Vinegar - any kind
   a splash (1-2 tablespoons), or substitute lemon juice for vinegar
4. Vegetables (optional) – skins, ends and tops or entire veggie
   traditional choices include celery, carrots, onions, garlic and parsley, but any will do