clear glass jar with brown liquid inside by Jonathan Pielmayer courtesy of Unsplash.

The Benefits of Bone Broth

Melissa Martin, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Certified Pilates Instructor |

One of the best kept secrets of health in the holistic world is bone broth. You may have just heard about it and think it’s the latest nutrition fad, but in fact, bone broth is a traditional food our ancestors consumed prior to modern food and even modern agriculture. I am glad to see more awareness around this sacred food, as it has gone more mainstream. Many people use bone broth as a healing protocol for a variety of health issues, fasting, detoxing, and supplementing their diet for both health and beauty purposes.

What is Bone Broth?

Bone broth is usually made by simmering it for at least 24 hours with a focus on nutrient density and health. By simmering animal bones this long, it releases collagen, amino acids, and minerals. Consuming bone broth is excellent for skin, joint, gut, and immune health. Some people choose to consume bone broth on an empty stomach every day as part of a gut-healing protocol, such as the GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) diet. As we move into the winter months, this is an excellent way to supplement your health with getting extra added nutrients into your diet.

Many beauty products contain collagen as an anti-aging ingredient that people spend top dollar on. Bone broth is both a safer and more effective way to get consume collagen for plumping up aging skin and creating a glow. This same collagen is what also heals the gut and protects our joints as we age.

Stock on the other hand, is more for culinary purposes to enhance the flavors and textures of dishes such as soups and stews. There isn’t as much of a focus on nutrient density, but rather flavor and cooking. You will still want to consume bone broth over stock if you are wanting the health benefits.

How to Consume Bone Broth

  1. Make your own. Dr. Catherine Shanahan’s book Deep Nutrition is an excellent resource on all things related to sacred, traditional foods for true health and healing. I like to use her recipe on her website.
  2. Certain pre-made brands are a great option for supplementing broth into your diet when you simply don’t have the time to do so. I personally really like the brand Kettle and Fire. They make high-quality and tasty broths.
  3. Use bone broth instead of water or stock in cooking. This is such an easy way to supplement more broth into your diet if you have trouble consuming it or simply don’t prefer it. You would substitute the bone broth and won’t even notice the difference- other than a richer flavor in your foods!
  4. If drinking bone broth really isn’t for you, or wish to add other options, cooking meat with the bone and skin on delivers similar benefits as drinking bone broth. When meat is cooked with both the bone and skin on, all of those nutrients, minerals, collagen, and amino acids are being infused into the meat that you will then consume. I recommend cooking all meat like this, or even as much as possible, to reap these benefits.

 

I personally use all of these methods for consuming broth and meat to get as many nutrients in my food as possible and can attest to the health benefits it offers. After one week of consuming bone broth daily, my skin was so plump and glowing and even had strangers complimenting me on this. My joints felt less achy and stiff in general, and I also experienced an overall improvement in my gut health with fewer symptoms. My goal is to get the most bang for my buck with nutrition in my diet and this is both an easy and delicious way to do so. Other resources I highly recommend are the Weston A. Price Foundation and the book Nourishing Traditions, specifically the companion book to that Nourishing Broth. Wishing you lots of warm cups of health this holiday season!