(This was purchased for my wife who suffers from scoliosis. This is her review) I wanted to share this to let both the company and readers out there know the massive potential that this line of products has to improve lives. In short, I use Ancestral Supplements Grass-fed "Living" Collagen, Grass-fed Bone Marrow, and Bovine Tracheal Cartilage + Liver synergistically with other supplements, diet and exercise as part of a routine to improve my curvature. So far they have been very helpful and I am making a lot of progress. My scoliosis comes with a lot of problems, so I needed all of the help that I could get. First, some back-story: In January of 2018, at age 26 I found out that I had 3-curve scoliosis that went under the radar for the course of my life. I found out in the worst way, by suffering stomach torment from a left-leaning middle spine curve and a lot of other internal and outwardly problems that gradually came to a boiling point from childhood into adulthood. Among the symptoms that led to the finding were: chronic inflammation, fatigue, breathing problems, severe arm and shoulder weakness, the appearance of unusually long arms due to a compressed torso, muscle tension and spasms, sleep deprivation, eye twitching, digestive issues, a bizarre lack of athleticism, back pain, an incorrect gait. Since the 3-curve scoliosis spine is a spiral shape, there were also front-to-back curves; my right hip was rotated backwards as well as tilted down, and my neck heavily leaned forward and left. The curves displaced both of my shoulders, with the right shoulder lower than the left to the point that the right arm was rotated. The right arm and hand had poor motor control. The right hand held utensils with a fist. Both shoulder blades protruded with one looking like an open door. My asymmetrical legs were swollen and my rib-cage was twisted and caved-in. The doctors I saw were not able to help me. They offered painkillers for management or surgery if it was unbearable. My case was not from a congenital abnormality in the vertebrae, just "idiopathic", like most cases. It is not known yet how idiopathic scoliosis is initiated, but through this process I came to understand some of physical factors that stand in the way of it improving or make it worse. I began an exercise routine with the help of a physical therapist to see if it would create impetus for the curvature to reduce: doing stretches, shoulder exercises to push them up and back, 5 inversion table sessions every day, hanging off a pull-up bar, and walking carefully with the intention of rotating my hip, wiggling the spine and encouraging upward blood-flow. This had to be very consistent and my entire day was structured around it. I only sit for meals. I began taking Systemic Enzymes which reduce inflammation and pain without nasty side-effects and help speed the repair of connective tissue (It is a potent non-vegetarian brand called Zymessence, for anyone curious. It must be taken on a completely empty stomach). To not be in great pain meant that I could guide my bones and flesh into better positions and make it stick without giving up and regressing. The maker of the enzymes advised me to increase my magnesium intake because the deformed muscles around the spine are tense and if they did not relax, the spine could not be freed. These efforts started to show results as I was able to make drastic changes to my right shoulder, lifting and rotating the arm so that it could hang more like the other arm, flatting the protruding shoulder blades significantly. The spine started shifting. Eventually the neck moved closer to center, the hip started to rotate, the torso continued to stretch out. The changes were incremental, month by month, but very visible. I gained 2 inches in height and still have more to go. Where Ancestral Supplements came in: Along the way I realized that I needed a lot more help in terms of supplements because this was a huge undertaking. I was essentially unraveling a lifetime of deformed growth, resolving body composition issues, constantly re-training my arms to do tasks, and re-learning how to walk properly as my hip turned. In trying to stay as healthy as possible despite the predicament and its limitations, I already ate 2 lbs of meat every day (cooked in tallow, grass-fed butter, real olive oil), did intermittent fasting, used some circulatory, anti-inflammatory, sleep, and digestive supplements. I was having strong cravings for bone broth all of the time, particularly when the inversion table wore me out. It made sense due to the amount of repair work I had to constantly do all over my body. I could do my best to stay on track with everything, but a lot of this was controlled by underlying biology. Conventional collagen was ok but not strong enough. When I tried the Ancestral Supplements Grass-Fed "Living" Collagen the impact was huge. Later on I added on Bovine Tracheal Cartilage + Liver and Bone Marrow for additional joint support, accelerated recovery and an all-around boost in resilience and well-being. This was the impact: - I had genuine energy and was glowing. - I moved with more ease, my movements were more coordinated, and repair sped up. -There were cognitive benefits. I was better able to focus and manage time, avoiding despair. My memory improved and stress reduced. The dominant thoughts were, "What do I need? What can I get done today?" not, "What if this never works?". Physical dysfunction has a way of bleeding through into spiritual defeat, which in-turn demotivates one from repairing the physical problems. Something like these products can be wedged to intervene in that cycle, and resultantly uphold mental fortitude. - My upper body felt far stronger and stable than before. This is significant because I don't have real solid shoulders yet, but have to manage as well as I can. - In the beginning my right leg was severely displaced by the tilted hip, with a dysfunctional knee, a twisted ankle, and a flat, poorly angled foot. As the hip, leg and foot changed position I had to protect it. The joints had to be insured given the tremendous stress imposed on them for as long as my spine is not yet straight. My ankles did not creak anymore and they were more flexible, even while being in a transient position that would not be corrected for a long time, until the hip, shoulders, spine, and everything else shifted to where it should be. I can be more confident that my joints are lubricated, kept intact and able to hold up my body. -The flesh of my torso is being pulled at every day, turning red, and has to be repaired quickly so that one day's discomforts are not carried over to the next. These supplements were a huge help for that problem. -I could endure an increase in the intensity of the daily exercises. - Scoliosis sufferers commonly have mangled connective tissue between the vertebrae. It would have to be constantly repaired in order to make stable changes. The components of these supplements help with exactly that. The unique properties of each supplement are listed on their Amazon page and on the website. The ones that especially stood out were the growth factors in the Collagen and Bone Marrow, but there is obviously plenty of high-level nourishment overall that wouldn't be obtained with diet alone. The Bovine Liver in the Bovine Tracheal Cartilage supplement assists too; one of its attributes is Hyaluronic Acid for joint cushioning and lubrication. For people with joint problems, the Ancestral Supplements Beef Tallow (whenever it's available) would help as well, since it contains Cetyl Myristoleate. I currently supplement with Cetyl Myristoleate separately and cook with beef tallow. Straightening my spine as an adult is almost more difficult than living with it at its worst. I have to stay standing, focused and moving every day regardless of how the current configuration makes me feel and I have no time to adapt and get comfortable. The challenge is to prevent regression, maintain, and to push for better positioning. These supplements make life a lot easier, together with the other supplements, good food, and the exercises. I am not currently able to work. It is now or never, to try to fix this problem in the hope for a better life. With a tight budget, I can't risk spending money on sub-par supplements. In my personal view, the best people out there are those who put detailed thought into not just how to help people get through the day but how to help them actually create momentum for the following day. That's what I think of this company. I am glad that they help people to become genuinely stronger, in a country that currently profits more from wrongly demonizing meat and neglecting the real harms such as inflammatory soybean oil in almost every restaurant to cut costs, processed food normalized in culture and cluttering the shelves. My struggle and my experience with these supplements tuned me into the causal chains in the fabric of life, and made me wonder just how much people could benefit from products like these cushioning their lives. This could help others with idiopathic scoliosis, or perhaps be useful for preventing adult degenerative scoliosis that older people develop. What if cats and dogs were fed meat and cartilage instead of pellets, or surgery patients received this level of nourishment before and after their operations as opposed to sugary snacks? How many people are not truly lazy but mostly engulfed by fatigue, existing but never having enough of a surplus to thrive? Many people are frustrated by underlying layers of physical and emotional pain that feed one another. Where do you start if you want to intervene and untangle these layers, with day-to-day life piling on more problems? What about people with anxiety benefiting from magnesium and glycine before other methods are attempted? Not all human problems can be solved, some are very complex or permanent. Life is very fast and challenging until the end, but people could definitely be better propped up than they currently are, there is no doubt about that. The modern world brought about a lot of great innovation but some crucial things were discarded. It makes me both a bit melancholy (about the reality of vulnerability, and everything that is out-of-order and lacking) but also hopeful and grateful because there is real potential and work to be done. I will update this review later on regarding whether or not I succeed with the entire regimen. To Ancestral Supplements: Thanks for all that you do.
