What's all the fuss about bone broth

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Bone broth has been in focus in the media a bit lately, but this amazing elixir has been around for a very very long time so I thought it would be timely to share my thoughts on it including how it could benefit you.

Benefits

Bone broths are rich in minerals to strengthen the immune system and support healthy digestion, and have a number of other benefits including:

  • Great for bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, hair, skin, nails (specifically the collagen in the broth)

  • Heals and seals your gut (specifically the gelatin in the broth)

  • Reduced need for meat/protein

  • Helps detox (specifically the glycine in the broth)

  • High in calcium and magnesium

  • Fights inflammation and infection

Not a bad list of benefits huh! I have personally seen my skin improve so much (with dryness, acne and wrinkles!) since incorporating it daily, and reach for it as soon as I feel my immune system struggling a bit or have any gut healing to do after taking any medications.

Making bone broths is definitely going to stay and become a tradition in our house, just like it used to be just a few generations ago. It is one of the (if not THE) best thing for healing your gut, in particular for anyone that has allergies, digestive issues, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), arthritis - right through to any autoimmune diseases including Crohn’s, Celiac, Hashimoto’s, Alzheimer’s and Rheumatoid Arthritis to name just a few.

As Hippocrates (the father of medicine) said thousands of years ago “All disease begins in the gut”.

Grass-fed and grass-finished

I recommend sourcing bones from grass-fed and grass-finished animals. Now this is so important because it means that the animals have had a natural and humane life grazing on grass pastures like they’re meant to (i.e not grain-fed - cows are NOT designed to eat grains despite the marketing that is done).

This translates into a healthy animal which then means that the vitamin, mineral and fat content is much healthier too. For example, grass-fed animals have about 3-6 times more of the omega-3 healthy fats than their grain-fed counterparts!

How do you use it?

You can use bone broth in almost any meal! We simply drink it as a tea in a cup with some different herbs and spices added, or you can use it to sautee your vegetables, use as a soup base, or add it to any slow-cooked meals.

It is also a fantastic addition to give to our little 2 year old, she’s been having bone broth since she was around 6 months as one of her first foods and now loves her “jelly soup” as she likes to call it! (if you use a lot of knuckle bones to make your broth it will become gelatinous)

Beef bone broth recipe

So read to give it a go? If so here is my Beef bone broth recipe! All you need is a pot or a slow-cooker and see what benefits come up for you :-)

Supplementation

Now if you don’t quite have the time (yet!) to make broth yourself, then another option is to use a supplement. Just make sure it comes from a good quality source, and the ones I link to below is the one that most people have recommended as it comes from grass-fed animals.

Here are the 2 supplements I recommend and use:

Gelatin*

I use this one if I’m looking to do any gut healing because it contains more gelatin. This one can also become gelatinous if mixed with hot water, which also means you make healthy jelly or gummy treats (all while healing your gut!). And no don’t worry it does NOT taste at all like beef!

Collagen supplement*

I use this one if I’m looking at improving joint and skin health because it contains more collagen. This one doesn’t become gelatinous and can be mixed in with cold or hot liquids, so it’s more convenient to use as you can just pop it into your smoothie and you won’t even notice it!

* If you use these links you will receive a 5% discount off your order and I get a small kickback too :-)