Have you been hearing the chatter about the bone broth diet and wondered what the heck is that? You’re not alone. That’s why we’re going to take a closer look at bone broth and some of its benefits.
For over a thousand of years, traditional foods like cultured dairy and fermented vegetables were touted and advertised for their numerous health benefits. And for the past few years, there is one healing food that is now hogging popularity because of its incredible health benefits. Bone broth is now scattering and rising with numerous bone broth shops being established and blogs on the perfect bone broth diet.
But what is this bone broth?
Bone broth is made from animal connective tissues and bones— usually from fish, chicken or cattle— that have been boiled into a broth and slowly simmered for more than 10 or 20 hours with spices, vegetables, and herbs. The long hours of cooking maximize the extraction of nutrition and flavors.
Bone broth has considerable health benefits when compared to usual broth or stock. This is because the gelatin and collagen in bone broths provide a rich thickness and flavor than that of broth or stock.
It contains:
- Amino Acids
- Proteins
- Minerals (Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium)
- Collagen
Benefits of Bone Broth
1. Anti-Inflammatory
Bone broths contain amino acids. Many of these amino acids like glycine, histidine, and cystine help in reducing inflammation. For instance, L-glutamine helps in reducing inflammation of the gut and arginine helps reduce the inflammation-related to obesity.
2. Strengthens Bone
Bone health and bone formation require enough supply of nutrients like B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin A, iron, boron, copper, manganese, zinc, potassium, vitamin D, phosphorus, magnesium, protein, and calcium. All these nutrients can be found in a bone broth with vegetables and fish or meat.
3. Detoxifying
Bone broth contains amino acids proline and glycine. These amino acids help your liver removes toxins from your body. Additionally, glycine is known as the building block of glutathione which is a very powerful detoxifying agent.
4. Heals Joint
A bone broth can give you a good supply of chondroitin, glucosamine and other GAGs or glycosaminoglycans which helps with the healing of your joints. They also provide your body with the needed collagen. Additionally, hyaluronic acids help keep your joints healthy and pain-free by lubricating them.
5. Boost your Immune System
When you feel weak with mild headaches and runny nose, what is the one food that you crave for? A warm bowl of chicken broth or soup, right? Turns out, there is a good reason for this. It helps soothe the gut and boost your immune system. Amino acids found in bone broth helps you feel better and fight illness by improving your immune system.
6. Healthy looking skin
For your skin to be healthy and younger looking, it needs collagen. Without it, your skin will lose its vibrant color and elasticity. In short words, you will look older. Normally, the body produces enough collagen. But, once you reach your 20s, the body produces lesser collagen every year. As a result, your skin will become thinner and uglier as you age.
The good news? Bone broths are packed with collagen. It would be the perfect remedy for aging skin.
7. Brain health
A healthy brain means better memory, good focus, and strong willpower. Bone broth helps by providing the brain the nutrient it needs. For instance, Glycine is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter. Meaning it, improves blood circulation in the brain, regulates energy use of the brain and help in cognitive performance.
Chondroitin from bone broth also helps in plasticity and regeneration in the central nervous system. Meaning it can help with improving memory and learning.
8. Helps in Weight Loss
Bone broths are very low in calories. However, it can still pacify your hunger. Eating bone broths on a regular basis can help reduce your calorie intake and cause weight loss over time. Also, Bone broth has gelatin, which gives you the feeling of fullness and is effective at reducing hunger.
The Bone Broth Diet
Created by a weight-loss specialist and naturopathic physician, Dr. Kellyann, the bone broth diet helps in the improvement of gut health and reduces inflammation through intermittent fasting and balanced nutrition. This program focuses on consuming whole foods, particularly collagen-rich bone broth and detoxifying from grains sugars and other toxins. Packed with anti-inflammatory and gut-healing properties, skin-tightening collagen properties, and fat burning nutrients, the bone broth diet helped many patients to achieve a good gut health and weight loss.
Bone Broth and Gut Health
The greatest health benefit of bone broth is its gut-healing property. It promotes gut health and digestive harmony by:
- Protecting gut lining and gut walls
- Improving storage of liquids and nutrients
- Improving elimination of waste and digestion
- Helping liver to remove toxins
- Protecting the gut from disease
- Reducing irritation and inflammation
- Balancing gut flora and helps in replenishing good bacteria
Bone broth aids in the improvement of mineral and nutrient absorption, proper elimination of toxins and waste, and restoring healthy digestive function. This is because bone broths are packed with hydrophilic colloid gelatin (a particular type of gelatin that aids in drawing and storing in nutrients, digestive juices, and liquids) and Type II collagen. This gelatin can also help in reducing gut inflammation.
Because of the gelatin and collagen ability to build soft tissue, it helps in restoring damage to the mucosal and intestinal lining in the GI tract caused by leaky gut, IBS and other illness that causes disturbances in the gut. Additionally, the main compound in bone broth called hyaluronic acid is important for soft tissue health. It nourishes intestine and stomach lining, aids in proper elimination AND REDUCES THE RISK OF ULCER.
Specific amino acids like glutamine and glycine help in liver detoxification which stimulates digestion. Glycine has potent cells that help decrease excess stomach acid. Arginine boosts tissue repair, circulation, and metabolism while glutamine and proline prevent and protects the lining of the intestines from damage.
Bone broths are also great for balancing gut flora. It is the ratio of bad and good bacteria which is important for your gut microbiome. It also helps reduce bloating and aids in regulating digestion.
