Bone Broth Benefits
Bone broth has been used as a healing remedy for thousands of years. Your mother was really onto something when she gave you chicken soup when you were not feeling well as a child. Bone broth benefits the brain, body, and skin, making it powerful super food.
Making bone broth involves cooking animal bones, tissues, cartilage, and ligaments on simmer for several hours to release its powerful nutritional compounds and nutrients. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, and we lose this valuable protein as we age. Collagen makes up most of our bones, muscles, hair, skin, nails, tendons, and gut lining, so bone broth can support any issues related to these parts of the body.
What is Bone Broth?
Don’t confuse bone broth with regular meat broth that is usually cooked for 2 hours or less. Bone broth focuses on animal bones and connective tissues, with only a little bit of meat. Regular broth usually focuses on meat only. Bone broth is cooked on simmer for several hours or in an instant pot for about 2 hours.
Chicken Bone Broth contains type II collagen, which is a protein made up of amino acids good for joint pain, arthritis, back pain, and neck pain. Bring the chicken parts to a boil and then simmer for 5 – 6 hours.
Beef Bone Broth contains type I & III collagen, which is a protein made up of amino acids good for hair, skin, nails, bones, and digestive health. Bring the beef bones to a boil and then simmer for 15 hours.
Bone Broth Instant Pot
An instant pot or pressure cooker will change your life when it comes to making bone broth. I usually cook chicken and beef bones in the instant pot for 2 hours. Once it’s done cooking, I let the bones sit in the broth for another several hours before opening the lid. This usually creates a gelatinous nutrient dense bone broth.
Now let’s explore some of the benefits of bone broth.
Bone Broth Benefits
1) Improves quality of sleep
Bone broth contains glycine, which is known to promote relaxation and sleepiness.
2) Promotes Relaxation
Reduces stress and anxiety due to its pro-relaxation glycine content. More glycine is needed during times of stress, making bone broth good for mental calmness, clarity, mood, and memory.
3) Heals the Gut
Heals the digestive system and gut lining due to its potent collagen and glutamine content. Collagen makes up a large portion of the gut, and bone broth is easily absorbable, making it excellent for digestive health. It’s also anti-inflammatory, which also helps improve gut health.
4) Boosts Your Immune System
Supports immunity due to bone broths glutamine content. When our body is injured or sick, it doesn’t produce enough glutamine, which is responsible for immunity. This could be why bone broth is soothing and healing when we are sick.
5) Good for the Joints and Arthritis
Support joint health and can help alleviate symptoms associated with arthritis. Bone broth contains glycine, proline, and glucosamine, which helps reduce inflammation, while providing lubrication and protection for the joints. Chicken bone broth would be best for joint health as it contains type II collagen.
6) Strengthens the Bones
To put things into perspective, our bones contain 3 x more collagen than calcium, so why is everyone so hyper focused on calcium, when they should be considering collagen for the bones as well. Bone broth is packed with collagen making it good for those suffering from poor bone health, such as those with osteoporosis.
7) Reduces Inflammation
Bone broth contains glucosamine known to reduce inflammation. Inflammation is responsible for a host of issues within the body, so it’s important to keep it in check as much as possible.
8) Anti-aging - Good for Hair, Skin, and Nails
Bone broth is rich in collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid, making it excellent for anti-aging. Our hair, skin, and nails are made up of 75% collagen and elastin, which is why bone broth is so beneficial to these parts of our body. Beef bone broth would be best for anti-aging benefits because it contains type I and II collagen.
9) Food Intolerance
Bone broth is rich in collagen and glutamine, which helps heal the gut lining and leaky gut, which are both responsible for food intolerances.
10) Detoxes the Liver
Bone broth contains potassium, sulphur, and glycine, all known to enhance the liver’s ability to get rid toxins.
11) Reduces Blood Pressure
Bone broth has anti-inflammatory abilities, making it easier for blood to flow throughout the body. The arteries are also made up of collagen, which is why bone broth can help them function better.
12) Cellulite reduction
The nutrients in the connective tissues of the animal helps restore the skins firmness.
13) Muscle growth
Bone broth contains amino acids that are anti-inflammatory and promote repair and growth of muscle tissue.
14) Increases Electrolytes
Bone broth contains electrolytes, such as sodium, which can help replenish the body with any lost electrolytes during exercise or drinking alcohol.
15) Can Help With Autoimmune Conditions
Autoimmune disease is closely linked with inflammation and leaky gut, which makes bone broth the perfect healing cocktail for autoimmune conditions.
Bone Broth for Dogs
Bone broth is excellent for pet health as well, so pet owners can share their brothy goodness with their pets. I always find that I have excess meat because of all the bone broth I make, so I mix the extra meat in with my dog’s food. The meat can also be frozen to eat later.
As you can see, the bone broth benefits are abundant and there’s good reason why it has become one of the hottest health trends lately. So, give this super healing food a try and see if it lives up to all the hype.
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Author Bio
Taleen Keuftedjian is a mental health and wellness enthusiast who coaches others on the importance of whole-body health, which incorporates brain, body, and spirit. She takes a relatable approach where she uses her own personal experiences to help motivate others to live a healthy, happy, anxiety-free life.
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