Bone Broth 101
Bone broth has been getting attention in the health and wellness space because of its numerous health benefits, various ways to incorporate it into meals, and the comfort of sippin’ on a steamy mug of broth that reminds you of your grandma’s chicken soup.
As a functional nutritionist that places a high focus on foods that optimize health, I analyze health and wellness trends very thoroughly–especially when it comes to diet. Before I make individualized client recommendations or provide nutritional guidance, I ensure that trendy foods are not just fads or have little benefit to health.
Due to its nutritional value and versatility within a diet, I believe bone broth’s popularity is here to stay. I understand dietary health information can feel overwhelming, so I get to the bones of the popular bone broth to tell you what it is, the health benefits of consuming it regularly, and included recipes so you can boil it down yourself!
Let’s Boil it Down: What is Bone Broth?
Bone broth is made by boiling down animal bone (commonly chicken and beef) and connective tissue with other ingredients such as carrots, onion, celery, other vegetables, garlic, and vinegar on a stovetop or simmering in a slow cooker for an extended amount of time.
As opposed to broth or stock which have shorter cooking time and may not contain the same ingredients, the longer heating process for bone broth allows the marrow and other nutrients to be released. This makes the broth rich in collagen, amino acids, and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus.
According to a recent study , it turns out that not all bone broths are created equal. The bone broths on grocery store shelves contain fewer nutrients, due to being lower in amino acids than if you were to make it at home. Although making bone broth at home may sound intimidating, I provided a simple recipe to follow for homemade bone broth.
If you choose to buy bone broth from the grocery store, it is important to pick options that are high quality and organic to ensure the bones of the animal were not raised with antibiotics, free from added hormones, contains no additives or preservatives, and the vegetables are free of pesticides. For this reason, I recommend the Kettle and Fire brand since it checks off all those boxes!
Bone Broth Benefits
The health and lifestyle benefits of bone broth include:
Heal gut lining
Nutrients in bone broth such as collagen, gelatin, glycine, and glutamine have been shown to help aid in sealing the gut lining to target issues like “leaky gut.”
Boosts immune system
Contains amino acids that regulate the immune system and help fight off infection and highly absorbable minerals that keep the immune system strong
Improve bone and joint health
The ingredient that really sets bone broth apart, collagen, is a force for improved bone and joint health
balance hormones
Amino acids are essential for hormone production and detoxification
Improve skin and nail health
Collagen is known to strengthen nails and improve skin health
easy to incorporate into diet
Add it to soups, rice dishes, beverages, or drink it straight
Easy way to get extra protein
For Kettle and Fire’s Chicken Bone Broth, it contains 19g of protein in one container
If you’re not into drinking it straight up, you can be creative with recipes like this bone broth hot chocolate. Rich in iron from the cacao, high in protein from the bone broth, anti-inflammatory properties of cinnamon, and with no added sugar, you’ll never go back to regular boxed hot chocolate!
Bone Broth Hot Chocolate:
-1 cup bone broth
-1/4 cup milk of choice
-1-2 tbsp cacao powder
-1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
-dash of cinnamon
-dash of vanilla
***Combine all in a saucepan and heat