Grass Fed Bovine Tracheal Cartilage

Traditional peoples, Native Americans and early ancestral healers believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would strengthen and support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. For instance, the traditional way of treating a person with a weak heart was to feed the person the heart of a healthy animal. Similarly, eating the kidneys of a healthy animal was believed to support urinary ailments and overall kidney health... Pancreas was fed to people with digestive and endocrine problems...[7] trachea and other cartilaginous parts provided concentrated amounts of connective tissue, collagen and other proteins that are now missing from the modern diet.

Whether from Grass Fed beef, bison, or lamb, grass fed liver is one of the most nutrient-dense, health-promoting foods you could possibly eat. Hunters all over the world, for uncounted thousands of years, would eat the raw livers of the animals they killed. Lions and other predatory animals will also eat the liver first. Grass fed liver is particularly rich in vitamin B12, vitamin A, choline, folate and many other powerful nutrients that most people are deficient in. Grass fed liver also contains compounds that help the human liver function better. Other substances in liver reduce fatigue and improve brain function.

Organs and glandulars were a staple of our early ancestors' diets as the ultimate superfood, for good reason. It turns out, this nourishing tradition is backed by science... "Radioisotope labeling studies in animals have shown conclusively that, when eaten, organs and glands selectively travel to the corresponding organs and glands in high concentrations. This research, done at the University of Scotland in Edinburgh, lends credence to the ancient practice of eating animal organs to help ensure health in one’s corresponding organs..." - Dr. Ron Schmid, ND.[8] Our early ancestors knew this, which is why their traditional diets included the frequent and nourishing consumption of like-supports-like nutrients.

• Powerful effects on wound healing, autoimmune conditions, joint health and other conditions considered to be treatment resistant to conventional therapies.
• Contains numerous powerful molecular biodirectors and immunoregulators to balance and regulate a health-promoting response to a given stimulus.
• All the building blocks for connective tissue and cartilage... glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans, chondroitin sulfates and type II collagen

Our Grass Fed Trachea (with liver) is a whole food dietary supplement that provides bovine tracheal cartilage with the ultimate superfood — liver. Liver fills nutrition gaps more completely than any other food. This supplement can be taken with (or) without food (even though it technically is food). The suggested use is 6 capsules a day or as directed by a healthcare professional — for added support, the dose can be doubled or tripled. If consuming more than six capsules at once, the doses should be separated by at least three hours to improve tolerability.

Most customers tolerate our supplements without incident; however, approximately 5 to 10% of customers (usually with an autoimmune condition) may experience a detoxification reaction. Detoxification reactions go by many different names including healing reactions, healing crises, cleansing reactions (or) Herxheimer reactions with hallmark symptoms of nausea, headache, lethargy, dizziness and other flu-like symptoms. In this instance, detoxification reactions are generally an indication that detoxification pathways in the body are back online... cells suddenly have an opportunity to release an even greater than normal quantity of stored toxins, metabolic wastes, pathogens and unwanted material. 

A detoxification reaction is more likely to occur when starting with the full suggested serving size of 6 capsules per day. If you know that you are sensitive to supplements and/or you have an autoimmune condition, you may wish to start slow when adding this product to your current regimen. Tolerability can be greatly improved by starting with just 1 (or) 2 capsules a day and increasing by just 1 capsule every couple of days — this method may take a full two weeks to achieve the desired serving size of 6 capsules per day.

Okay, you're convinced! You're going to start incorporating like-supports-like nourishment in your routine because, well... you're educated now... you understand, just as our early ancestors did, that they provide superlative health benefits that are missing in our modern diets. The next step is sourcing it. It's important that you source the highest quality because not all organs, glands and cartilage are created equal. Consider the source. 

• Should Come from An Unpolluted Geographical Region — Isolated, Healthy, Pristine Lands
• Should Come from Pasture Raised Animals
• Should Come from Grass-Fed Animals
• Should Come from Animals That Are Free From Added Hormones and Pesticide, Antibiotic, & GMO-Free
• Should Also Be Ultra-Pure... Absolutely No Fillers (or) Flow Agents
• Should Be Non-Defatted
• Should Be 100% Freeze-dried... Freeze Drying Preserves Heat Sensitive Biological Activity.

You're right... I'm not a hospital... I'm not a doctor... and this is not medical advice... But I do have a degree in biochemistry. I wrote a thesis on the chemistry and biochemistry of supplemental nutrition. I'm a primal blueprint certified health coach and I've been obsessed with ancestral health and ancestral nutrition for over twenty years. Perhaps my best credential is that I care about people. For these reasons, I can usually offer some value but the framework will always be built on and around ancestral living... on proven ways to work with our biology to express the best versions of what we can be.

On the hierarchy of health, sleep trumps almost everything else. It's the low-hanging fruit that can affect health metrics more than just about anything else. It's the time when your body and your brain detox, recover, rebuild and restore. How amazing is your sleep? Exactly what I thought! Instead of writing a long boring article about sleep, I'm bullet-pointing this...

• Get morning sun exposure (at the same time every day) to regulate sleep/wake cycles.
• Finish your last meal at least 3 to 4 hours before bedtime... trust me, you can do this.
• Earthing... you can do it the old-fashioned way or you can use grounding sheets like we do (Google it). We go on barefoot hikes all the time... we use an EMF meter to make sure there are no electrical fields around our bed... we turn off the wifi (actually don't have wifi but you do, so turn it off at night)... put your phone in airplane mode and make sure that there are no electronics (nor lights) anywhere near you.
• Your sleep temperature should be between 64 and 68.
• Use blackout curtains and blackout blinds... room needs to be pitch black. No battery lights, no night lights, nothing!
• Use Himalayan salt lamps at sunset instead of regular lighting.
• Wear UVEX safety goggles at least 2 hours before going to bed... this one is seriously a big deal. They cost $9 and they make all the difference. If you're not going to do anything else, do this!
• Last but not least, sleep on the floor like our tribe does... why you ask... because our bodies were never meant to be in a cast, courtesy of your bed, all night. Why do you think you wake up feeling like a stiff Rick. Katy Bowman is a biomechanist and author of Move Your DNA. She sleeps on the floor. She got us sleeping on the floor.
 

Yeah, I know, the last one is bit extreme but you have to ask yourself... how badly do I want this... how badly do I want to be strong and healthy and happy... what am I willing to do... If you're like most people reading this right now, there's little that you wouldn't do to reclaim these virtues. Prioritize your sleep! It's the single most influential thing you can do right now to support your health journey. No, you don't have to go all in and start sleeping on the floor but you do have to do everything else. Start sleeping like our early ancestors did.

Next is how you eat... there's no amount of supplements that will outperform a bad diet. Yes, supplements will absolutely help (they can make a huge difference) but diet is absolutely fundamental. For this reason, I am a huge advocate of using the ketogenic diet as a tool... not really a diet per se but a way of eating that models that of our early ancestors. I've been cycling in and out of ketosis for over six years. I've been writing a book on ketosis. The following information is from that book...

Nutritional ketosis may have health benefits in conditions such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, MS, autism, traumatic brain injuries and much more.[14] By now you've heard all the rage about ketosis, also known as the ketogenic diet. It's the new diet that everybody's doing, right! Actually, ketosis isn't new at all... it's been around for... well... since we (human beings) have been around. Ketones provided the energy substrate for our brains and bodies when glucose wasn't available, such as in times of famine which was a common occurrence for our early ancestors. Fortunately for us, biology figured out an elegant solution to the problem of inconsistent food sources and a large, hungry brain... ketosis.  

• Ketosis certainly helps people with neurodegeneration conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, aging-related cognitive decline, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease 
• An outpouring of anecdotes suggest that otherwise healthy people can experience cognitive benefits from brain utilization of ketones. Wife and I belong to this outpouring... love the upgraded mental performance!
• Ketosis upregulates mitochondrial biogenesis in the brain. It literally creates new power plants in the brain that are good at burning fat-derived fuel and mopping up brain fog


"People whose brains suffer from impaired glucose utilization see cognitive benefits from ketones. In Alzheimer’s disease, aging-related cognitive decline, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease, brain glucose uptake is depressed—even before any actual cognitive decline appears. Despite high glucose availability, the aging, epileptic, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s brain can’t utilize enough of it to handle cognition. Enter ketones. Ketones act as an alternative energy source for the glucose-starved brains. It’s no coincidence that ketogenic diets can improve symptoms (and in some cases abolish them) and cognitive function in all four conditions."

For the record, unless there's a neurodegenerative, mood and/or memory condition on board, I don’t think we all need to be on a ketogenic diet, nor do we all need to remain in ketosis for extended periods of time; however, I do think we need to slip in and out of ketosis on a regular basis... just as our early ancestors would have done. After all, we seem to be purpose-built for doing it and we derive massive health and happiness benefits from it. We know it seems to stave off neurodegeneration, as well as improve the brains of people already suffering from it.[16]

NOTE: Ketosis is a high fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrate way of eating. Medium chain triglycerides (MCT oil), intermittent fasting (IF) and fasting all elevate ketone bodies. Have a look at what I eat (see below) but be careful with too much protein as this can kick you out of ketosis. A typical keto meal should consist of 70% to 75% healthy fats, 20% protein and 5% carbohydrates. The best book, that's also available on Audible, that I've read on ketosis is Keto Clarity.

For these reasons, my tribe (my family) and I follow seasonal eating patterns that allow us to slip in and out of ketosis. If we're feeling really good, we may stay in it a little longer. It helps us to think, to perform, and to produce. The following is an idea of how and what we eat... notice that we also go through periods of feast and famine with twenty-four hour fasts and huge refeeds where almost nothing that resembles primal food is off limits.  

Our typical 1st meal is a delicious shake and it looks like this...


• Wallaby Organic / Grass fed yogurt (2 cups or 150g)
• NOW Brand MCT oil (1-2 tablespoons; up to 30g- dose to tolerability). NOTE: MCT always produces elevated ketones.
• Organic raw virgin coconut oil or organic ghee (2 to 3 tablespoons or 30 to 45g)
• Organic almond butter (2 tablespoons or 30g)
• Organic unrefined red palm oil (1 tablespoon or 15g)
• Grass Fed Collagen / Gelatin (10-20g)
• Himalayan sea salt -- 1/4 tsp (2g)
• Organic cinnamon -- 2g
• Organic / Grass Fed vanilla protein powder (1 scoop) — I like Bluebonnet Grass Fed Protein
• Organic banana (optional when not doing strict keto or if sleep if affected by too low carb consumption)
• Organic / Pasture raised raw eggs (4 to 6 large eggs)
• Organic raw milk (1 cup or 150g)... raw is best but Whole Kalona Brand Milk is a good second option if you don't do raw milk

This shake takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to make... It's super convenient... and, it's downright delicious. If I don't make a shake, I will have a bunch of pasture-raised eggs (8 or so) that are smothered in butter with a side of avocado, nitrate-free, sugar-free bacon and a dollop of sour cream.  

Our typical second meal is cooked... It's hot... It's better than any restaurant food... It looks like this...


• Homemade Bone Soup (simmered for two to three days with tons of marrow)
• Serving or Kimchi
• Organic Avocado
• Grass fed butter or Ghee (2 tablespoons)
• Organic unrefined red palm oil
• Salad of dark leafy greens w/ 2 tablespoons of Organic, fresh pressed olive oil and sea salt (I get mine from Apollo Olive Oil)
• Grass fed beef/organs (6 - 9 oz ground peleo and various organs)
• Organic almond butter (2 tablespoons) mixed with organic raw coconut oil (2 tablespoons) and a tablespoon of Bluebonnet's Grass Fed vanilla protein
• Organic banana with raw local honey (Optional when not doing strict keto or if sleep if affected by too low carb consumption)
• 100% Cacao block for dessert


We generally carb reload on the weekends with plenty of sweet potatoes, raw local honey, the occasional sorghum and various in-season fruits. We also do a twenty-four to thirty-hour fast on Sundays... it's not as bad as it sounds. We eat an early dinner as we normally would on early Saturday evening... skip our first meal on Sunday, and eat an amazing fish-based dinner (usually wild caught sardines) with the entire tribe on Sunday.  

Supplements That We Take


• Transdermal Magnesium Oil - We use magnesium oil every night.
• Vitamin D3 - Only when we're not able to get adequate sun exposure (this is rare)
• Vitamin K2 - Only when we're not regularly eating my kimchi (this is also rare)
 
• Grass Fed Liver
• Grass Fed Beef Organs
• Grass Fed Bone Marrow


Keep in mind that my tribe and I eat a very nutrient-dense diet. We consume the whole animal just as our ancestors did... That's right, we eat the liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen, heart, thymus, bones, tendons, ligaments and more... and we eat this way every day (except on vacation we take extra Liver, Beef Organs and Bone Marrow supplements). We love our bone broth (this is my wife's specialty), and we eat tons of pastured eggs. Wife is awesome enough to sprout chickpeas for us. Then, she turns half of the batch into the best homemade hummus in the world. Super high in folate (NOT SYNTHETIC FOLIC ACID, big diff)!!

You never know, going back and forth between paleo and ketosis could easily be the missing link to the mood, memory and mental performance benefits that we are all after. This is how our early ancestors ate.

A mismatch between our ancestral and modern environments in terms of physical activity and natural movement comes to mind as being almost as big a mismatch as is diet. Based on paleoanthropological evidence from hominid fossils, and from the study of individuals living in contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, humans moved around quite a bit and were very active. People in hunter-gatherer groups probably walked around 10,000 steps a day. 

What you do with your body is just as important as what you put into it… in maintaining a “healthy level of movement,” one develops a healthy approach to consumption, where instincts become far more identifiable and beneficial. The well-being that builds from balanced movement trumps the need for consumption-based satisfaction, such as food, pain killers, alchohol, drugs etc. Don’t believe me… try it! Try moving more… I’m not asking you to put forth much effort here. I’m just asking you to put one foot in front of the other. Get 10,000 steps a day (or) walk for 60 to 90 minutes. This is how I do it…

• First thing in the morning I walk for twenty to thirty minutes… this is my cup of coffee
• Early afternoon I walk for twenty to thirty minutes… this is my afternoon nap
• After dinner our tribe walks in rain, snow or shine for thirty minutes 

I also lift heavy things but this supplemental to moving around at a slow pace. Get moving and take notice how other things fall into place.

Avoid danger like our ancestors did (think lions, trans fats, sugars, fluoride, excessive wifi, emfs, vaccines, mercury, non-native water, plastics, non-native clothing, non-native bedding, non-native eating and drinking containers, flame retardants, etc)... The list below is going to be massive and impractical to do it all but you you can take steps. For instance, instead of avoiding your off gassing furniture and mattress, get some house plants in each room to soak up the toxins... they'll even go one step further and produce fresh air while they're at it. NASA did it! We do it! To be continued...

Our early ancestors were in constant contact with nature... Like the fertile ground that we once walked upon, we were a natural extension of this earth. In the modern world, we unknowingly struggle to find direct body-to-earth contact which supports a vibrant, disease-free life. In the book Earthing, authors Clinton Ober, Martin Zucker and Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra put forth a bold proposal that earthing (also known as grounding) has the ability to heal... I believe that they're on to something.

At the heart of earthing is central physics-based relationship. Since the advent of shoes, houses, flooring, and elevated beds, we’ve lost our connection with the earth and its inherent electrical field. Think about it... when was the last time you had your bare feet directly connected to the earth? How long did you stay connected? Our early ancestors were connected 24/7.

"Basically, the theory is that our bodies are meant to come into contact with the Earth (a “grounding” force) on a regular basis. Positive electrons in the form of free radicals (ever heard of those guys?) can build up in our bodies and direct contact with the ground balances this out as it is a negative grounding charge. Our bodies and cells have electrical energy, and especially with the high prevalence of Electromagnetic waves, Wi-Fi and mobile phone waves, many of us have a high amount of positive electrons built up in our bodies." — Katie Wells from Wellness Mama

Reported Benefits

• Improved Sleep
• Anti-inflammatory
• Stress Reduction  
• Muscle Recovery
 
• Pain Management  
• Improved Circulation
• Antioxidants
• Protecting The Body From EMFs

How To Do It
This is the easy part... it doesn't cost anything... it doesn't require a whole lot of effort... all you need to do is take off your shoes and put your bare feet directly on the earth (grass, dirt, gravel, sand, etc). That's it! Do this for a 10-minute stretch and pay attention to how you feel. Do it in the morning, do it in the evening or do it every few days... some is better than none. If you see and feel the value in it, you'll do it more... we (The Johnson Family) do it every day for at least a few minutes and we do it weekly when we go on our barefoot hikes. I can't say anything objective about it but I love the ancestral connection, and it just feels right!

Our early ancestors were regularly subjected to cold temperatures. It’s most likely why we humans have brown adipose tissue (BAT). BAT is especially abundant in newborns and in hibernating mammals.[9] It is also present and metabolically active in adult humans and its primary function is thermoregulation. In the modern world though, we are rarely subjected to cold temperatures for any real duration... Let's face it, who likes that uncomfortable frigid feeling that comes with cold, especially when we have access to warmth 24/7. In modern times, we simply put on some clothes… turn up the heater… or we avoid the cold altogether by staying inside. Our potential for strength and health remains encoded in our DNA, and under certain conditions, we can genetically express the strongest, healthiest version of ourselves. Those "certain conditions" almost always have to do with like-supports-like nutrition. In this instance, it has to do with getting cold.

 
• Improves blood circulation so the arteries work more efficiently at pumping blood, therefore boosting our overall heart health 
 
• Promotes “hardening,” which results in increased tolerance to stress and disease 
 
• Upgrades the immune system by increasing glutathione (our master antioxidant) and decreasing inflammatory markers

Intentional cold exposures initiate adaptive processes and response mechanisms that are hardwired into our genes. We have 60,000 miles of blood vessels within us that are lined with smooth muscles that constrict (or) dilate based on our perception of temperature. This process of vasoconstriction and vasodilation is like exercise for your blood vessels.

Cold exposure benefits include boosting heart health through improved circulation and increased tolerance to stress, upgraded immunity, and enhanced metabolic flexibility. Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D. writes “cold exposures increase cold shock proteins including one in the brain that repairs damaged synapses and in muscle prevents atrophy, how a cold-induced catecholamine lowers inflammation and pain by decreasing the levels of 3 inflammatory mediators…” [10] This is very, very interesting stuff and it's grounded in evolutionary science.

Give it a try. Start with cold/hot shower contrasts for 30 seconds at a time. At first, you'll downright hate me for it because it is downright uncomfortable. Continue the shower contrasts over a 30-day period. Take notice how you feel afterward... it will keep you coming back for more. It gets easier and easier because the adaptive mechanisms, including the smooth muscles that line the blood vessels, adapt... they get stronger, faster and more efficient at doing what they were designed to do. You will notice that your ability to withstand cold will increase considerably after only a few days. Like any other stressor, we adapt… it gets easier… and it starts to feel amazing.