I recently shared a picture of my broth prep day and received many inquiries regarding a recipe, so instead of just sharing the recipe I decided to write a short blog about the goodness that broth is.
I’ve been drinking broth since babyhood, I’m from Eastern Europe and homemade soups were and continue to be a staple. Broth making can be traced back to our ancient ancestors. By boiling the parts of the animals that they couldn’t traditionally eat, or use as clothing and tools, they were able to extract an amazing amount of additional nutrition than from just the meat alone.
Bone broth can be made using bones from just about any animal — pork, beef, veal, turkey, lamb, bison, buffalo, venison, chicken, or fish. Marrow and connective tissues like feet, hooves, beaks, gizzards, or fins can also be used. I prefer not to do this but you can even mix and match bones in the same batch.
Animal bones are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and other trace minerals — the same minerals needed to build and strengthen your own bones. Fish bones also contain iodine, which is essential for healthy thyroid function and metabolism. Connective tissue gives you glucosamine and chondroitin, natural compounds found in cartilage that are known to support joint health. Marrow provides vitamin A, vitamin K2, minerals like zinc, iron, boron, manganese, and selenium, as well as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. All of these animal parts also contain the protein collagen, which turns into gelatin when cooked and yields several important amino acids. As the ingredients simmer, their nutrients are released into the water in a form your body can easily absorb.
Broth can help leaky gut due to the high mineral, gelatin & amino acid content, including Arginine, Glycine, Proline and Glutamine. It also had anti-inflammatory properties due to amino acids.
Bone broth is an amazing way to get a concentrated amount of a wide variety of nutrients, including glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, hyaluronic acid, collagen, gelatin, and various amino acids – rather than taking handfuls of expensive supplements & protein powders.
We’ve always been told to eat chicken soup to fight a cold or flu, right? Turns out there’s actually truth in this old saying!
It’s not widely known that much of our immune system is intimately linked to the health of our gut. If the gut is healthy, we would naturally have a stronger immune system.
Chicken soup actually has a boosting effect on white blood cells – our infection-fighters, and it stimulates antioxidant activity in the body, namely the action of glutathione, considered a “master antioxidant” So get the whole family drinking it this cold & flu season!
The glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate in broth can stimulate new collagen growth to help repair damaged joints and the abundance of the pro-cartilage amino acids glycine and proline have an anti-inflammatory effect, good for arthritis sufferers.
Bone broth offers plenty of hyaluronic acid, and gelatin (aka “cooked collagen”) -both key factors in promoting wrinkle-free skin, shiny hair and strong nails.
Broth can help in weight loss. Bone broth is typically very low in calories but it can still satisfy hunger. Studies have found that eating soup on a regular basis can increase feelings of fullness and may be associated with decreased body weight and belly fat. What’s more, bone broth is high in protein, which may help improve appetite control, increase weight loss, and maintain lean muscle mass. Plus, one study also found that when combined with resistance training, collagen helped increase muscle mass and decrease body fat.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 gallon (4 liters) of water
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (Adding vinegar is important because it helps pull all of the valuable nutrients out of the bones and into the water, which is ultimately what you will be consuming.)
- 2–4 pounds of animal bones
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- bouillon cube
- 1/2 an onion/leaks
- 3 carrots
- 2-3 bay leafs
Directions
- Place all ingredients in a large pot or slow cooker.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook for 12–24 hours. The longer it cooks, the better it will taste and more nutritious it will be.
- Allow the broth to cool. Strain it into a large container or mason jars and discard the solids or eat depending if you like to chew on bones.
k