Bone broth was once a staple in our ancestors’ diets, lauded for its healing and body rejuvenation properties. Made from the bones of chicken, fish or cattle, the broth is easy to prepare beverage that can be customized to include healthy vegetables, spices, additional meats and other ingredients of your choice. Modern eating patterns which include purchasing deboned chicken breasts, fish fillet or ground beef have edged out the ingredients needed to prepare bone broth but this healthy beverage is making a comeback as more and more people realize its myriad health benefits. Below are just a few of the miraculous health benefits you stand to gain by incorporating bone broth into your diet:

1. Gut Health

  • Bone broth is rich in gelatine, which has been shown to heal Leaky Gut Syndrome, a condition in which the intestines permeability is increased, allowing larger food particles to pass through. Gelatine seals off and heals these holes in the intestine, providing much-needed relief to people suffering from this painful condition.

2. Stronger Bones

  • Boiling bones, especially those from cattle and other large animals helps to extract minerals such as calcium, magnesium, silicon, phosphorous and others which are necessary for bone health. Bone broth is especially important for people who are lactose intolerant as it provides an alternative source of calcium.

3. Reduced inflammation

  • Inflammation is the body’s reaction to harmful stimuli such as pathogens and other irritants. Modern diets which contain foods that are high in preservatives, food color and other additives have to lead to a rise in inflammation which has been shown to cause and aggravate conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. Bone broth contains glucosamine, a compound which has been shown to promote the production of collagen and reduce joint pain and inflammation.

4. Fighting infection

  • There is a reason chicken stock has long been used as a cure for colds and flu. Chicken and other stock are chockfull of minerals and other compounds that improve the body’s immunity and help to fight disease. For instance, chicken stock contains an amino acid known as cysteine, which helps to thin mucus and allow for its easy expulsion from the body.

5. Healthier skin, nails, and hair

  • Bone broth is rich in the amino acids proline and glycine which help to rebuild skin cells. Further collagen, the compound responsible for firming up your skin also helps to improve its elasticity and remove fine lines or wrinkles. Gelatine and collagen also support hair and nail growth, giving you stronger nails and luscious hair.

6. Weight loss

  • Bone broth is full of healthy fats which leave you feeling fuller for longer after consumption. Further, as the broth is relatively low in calories, it makes a healthy snack which means you can consume moderate amounts of it without worrying about weight gain. Feeling fuller for longer also means that you will be less likely to reach for unhealthy high fat and high sugar snacks which further aids with weight loss.broth can be an integral component of a successful weight loss plan.

7. Increased mineral availability

  • The degradation of today’s soils due to overuse and pollution has meant that the minerals necessary for our bodies to function well have been leached from the soil, completely destroyed, or are only available in trace amounts. This means that crops are very low in the minerals we need and we must get these through supplementation or other sources of food. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to get minerals such as calcium, potassium, silicon, phosphorous and others is through the bone broth. Boiling bones extract these minerals and make them easily available to us in liquid form. Further, a little can go a long way as a few bones can produce a large volume of broth which can be consumed over a long period, making broth more cost effective than other sources of the minerals we need.
  • Bone broth is a cheap and healthy source of nutrition, providing much-needed minerals and amino acids, as well as helping the body to combat infection and disease. Chockfull of easy to absorb nutrients, a stock should be an integral component of the diet of anyone looking to gain numerous health benefits easily and in a cost-effective manner.