Vietnamese Pho (broth)

Good food is good medicine. The spices and herbs on our green planet are packed with nutrients that help us thrive. Also, when you eat a great soup on a cold winter's night the proper ingredients will strengthen your body and help you endure through the harshness of the chilly climate.

Today I am going to examine the nutritional properties of some of the ingredients in a good Vietnamese Pho (broth).

In a nice Pho the base of the broth comes from beef bones. For better quality bones choose those from grass fed animals.

Nutrition researcher Sally Fallon writes about bone broth. She states that bones used in the broth have minerals that the body can digest easily. Not only calcium, but also magnesium, sulphur,silicon and trace minerals. In addition, chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine come to us nutritionally from the tendons and cartilage that are cooked down. Among other components broth has gelatin. Gelatin is a substance that is packed with the amino acids lysine and arginine. Gelatin also is a digestive aid.

Try adding cilantro (Chinese parsely) to your broth. There is some literature that suggests this acts as a powerful chelator. It can abstract heavy metals from the body.

For a real Vietnamese Pho please see the work of Jaden Hair cook extraordinaire
http://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html