Why Drink Bone Broth?

So, you’re probably reading this because you’re curious about bone broth – you’ve heard of it, and maybe you’re familiar with some of the hype, but you’re interested in learning more about this mysterious food that looks just like the broth in your soup but is apparently some sort of miracle cure.

Well – let us enlighten you! Bone broth may look just like regular broth, and in some ways it’s very similar. Both are made by simmering meat and/or bones and various other similar ingredients such as mirepoix (a mixture of onions, carrots, and celery) for various amounts of time. But the difference lies both in the parts of the animal that are used, as well as the length of time the ingredients are simmered. 

How does bone broth differ from broth and stock?

• Broth is simmered for the shortest amount of time (often under a couple of hours), and is made with meat, mirepoix, and seasonings. While flavorful, the resulting liquid is thin, and best used in cooking. Broth may or may not be made with bones.
• Stock, which is widely used by chefs in a variety of recipes and as a base for sauces and soups, is made by simmering animal bones and mirepoix for a few hours. It results in a savory but generally thin liquid. Stock is generally not seasoned, so that it can be used as the base for a variety of recipes.
• Bone broth, while made with ingredients similar to those in stock (animal bones and vegetables), is simmered for between 12 and 48 hours, and the result is a savory, gelatinous consistency that is packed full of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Some bone broth recipes include an acidic liquid such as apple cider vinegar, which many believe helps to extract the nutrients from the bones. Bone broth generally isn’t seasoned during cooking, but can be seasoned afterwards and used in recipes or as a restorative tonic consumed on its own. 

The healing benefits of bone broth

Unlike broth and stock, which are undoubtedly delicious, bone broth is both delicious and nutritious – it’s used just as often as a health tonic as it is in culinary recipes. In fact, while bone broth is savory and delicious in recipes, the health benefits of drinking it as a medicinal tonic are unparalleled, and it can be sipped warm on its own to heal and restore the body. 

The slow simmering of animal bones on low temperature releases anti-inflammatory amino acids, collagen-rich gelatin, and loads of minerals and vitamins. The long simmering time is crucial to extract these beneficial compounds from the bones and get the most benefit out of your bone broth, and it’s this length of time that makes the difference between a savory stock and a wholesome, nutrient-dense bone broth. 

The health benefits of bone broth include reducing inflammation in the body, nourishing, protecting, and strengthening skin and hair, and healing a host of digestive issues by restoring the beneficial bacteria in your gut and healing and sealing your intestinal lining. 

Bone broth reduces inflammation and improves gut health 

The anti-inflammatory properties of bone broth are due to the release of collagen during the slow simmering process. Collagen is a protein made up of essential amino acids, including arginine and glycine, which have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. 

Glycine also aids digestion by stimulating the production of stomach acids, and the gut-healing properties of collagen help to reduce inflammation in the body by creating a strong intestinal lining, which keeps harmful bacteria and toxins from permeating the bloodstream and activating the body’s inflammatory immune response. These processes work together to ensure that not only is your body better able to digest (and thus absorb) your food, but a strong gut lining keeps toxins in your intestines, where they can be easily eliminated rather than released into the bloodstream.

Bone broth provides nourishment to hair and skin

The collagen present in bone broth strengthens your hair follicles and improves elasticity – collagen is a vital protein, but one that is not often found in our modern diet. Traditionally, the parts of the animal that contain the most collagen, such as the skin, tendons, and joints, were consumed by our ancestors along with the rest of the animal, to avoid waste. As a result, collagen was regularly consumed as part of a normal diet. Today, we tend to throw out the parts of the animal that contain this crucial nutrient, and our modern diet is largely deficient.  Perhaps this is part of the reason that hair loss and skin trouble is such a pervasive problem nowadays. 

Hair and skin are made of proteins, and collagen happens to be a protein that helps to build other proteins in the body. As a result, collagen helps to build strong hair follicles and improve the look and elasticity of your skin, but this is only one way that bone broth plays a role in your skin and hair health. Bone broth nourishes your body from the inside out, which helps to avoid vitamin and mineral deficiencies and hormonal imbalances which can also be a contributing factor to hair loss. An imbalance in the gut microbiome can affect the regulation of hormones, which can cause a host of problems, including hair loss. 

Bone broth is an easy addition to your diet

Whether you currently suffer from digestive issues, hormonal imbalance, or autoimmune issues that you’re hoping bone broth will help with, or you just want to add it to your diet for an extra boost of nutrition, you’ll be glad to know that it’s incredibly easy to make. While it definitely takes some time, due to the slow simmering required to extract the maximum benefit from the bones, the process is not difficult to learn. The necessary cuts of meat can likely be found at your nearby farm store or butcher, and the rest of the ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

If you want the benefits of bone broth but don’t have the time or the inclination to make it yourself, you’ll be glad to know that it’s easy to find and even easier to order – companies such as The Osso Good Co. offer ready-made bone broth from organic, grass fed, and pastured animals, in a variety of flavors and available via a convenient subscription. It has literally never been easier to add this amazing nourishing food to your diet and reap all of the benefits that bone broth has to offer.