Because of Covid-19/the novel coronavirus (nCoV) there has been A LOT of information online this week about how to stay healthy. If you haven’t gotten the memo – WASH YOUR HANDS!

One post I saw had a list of foods to keep your immune system strong. Garlic, ginger, turmeric and lemon where on the list along with a few fruits and veggies. I agree. Eat those things. They are good for you.

One kinda iffy thing on it was Manuka honey. I think it’s a stretch to call honey a health food. It acts exactly like sugar in your system. Since Manuka honey is from New Zealand and there is quite a bit of fraud in the honey industry, you can’t really be sure you’re even getting real honey, let alone that it’s Manuka honey. That said, there is some evidence that honey might help with allergies – IF (big if) you get local, raw honey. But keep in mind, if you take local, raw honey and put in hot tea - - you just cooked out all the benefits.

The only animal product on the list was bone broth. That absolutely floored me. No! Just no. Bone broth is not a health food!

Not wanting to start a war in the comments section on Facebook (it has been known to happen), I simply wrote, “Bone broth contains lead. I HIGHLY recommend against it.”

When I got the notification that someone had tagged me in their reply I thought, “Oh no. Here we go.” But I was pleasantly surprised.

The reply said, “Even organic grass fed?”

That is a perfectly fair question.

I replied as follows:

“Yes. All animals, including humans, store any ingested or inhaled lead in their bones to protect themselves from it.

Lead is in soil and atmosphere from when lead gasoline was a thing. This is substantially worse in anything from China because they had lead gas longer (I even recommend people avoid tea from China due to lead concerns).

Because feed animals are often fed the debris from slaughtering other animals (particularly true with chickens), the lead and banned antibiotics keep cycling from one generation to the next.

When the bones, cartilage and other scraps are boiled and/or soaked in acid to create broth, the lead is leached out. If humans drink it, their bodies have to filter it and it ends up in our bones. As we age, it can leach into our systems.

nce I understood the process it shocked me that it's even legal to sell bone broth as a food source. But big industry is in control of the government and everything is about the almighty dollar.”

Since bone broth is animal based (obviously), we wouldn’t recommend ingesting it anyway. But even if you are still eating an omnivore diet, bone broth should be a hard-pass for everyone.

We have also done videos about the lead risks of ingesting bone broth. To see those videos, sign into your Whole Food Muscle account and search “bone broth.” If you aren’t a member – go here to join for immediate access to all the exclusive content.