October is the perfect month to start adding soup and broths back into the diet. This comfort food is not only delicious but can also be beneficial to your health – especially bone broth. Bone broth has infiltrated the world of wellness and is loved by celebrities, athletes and anyone in search of better health. This is because bone broth is nutrient-dense, easy to digest, rich in flavour and boosts healing.
What is bone Broth?
Bone Broth has been around for centuries and usually consists of an aromatic broth simmered with either beef or poultry bones and vegetables. It’s not the same as stock. The difference lies mainly in the amount of time it’s simmered which can be up to 24 hours. The longer the liquid cooks, the more nutrients and minerals that leach from the bones. This simmering causes the release of healing compounds like collagen, and amino acids like proline, glycine and glutamine that have the power to transform your health.
Bone broth offers a laundry list of body-boosting benefits:
- Heal and seal your gut – A cup of bone broth a day can help with leaky gut syndrome (porous intestinal lining), but it’s also good for protecting non-leaky guts. The gelatin in the bones typically used for in making broth is said to help seal up holes in the intestines. This “patching” can help ease digestive issues like chronic diarrhea, constipation, and may even help with food intolerance.
- Protect your joints – The cartilage in joints tends to wear down with time and continual use and the gelatin contained in bone broth helps to protect the joints.
- Improve Skin Health – Collagen is also found in bone broth which is a building block of cells found in your skin that improves elasticity and moisture.
- Sleep better- Research has shown that the calming amino acid glycine, found in bone broth, may help improve sleep and ward off fatigue.
- Support a healthy immune system & reduce Inflammation – Because of bone broth’s high concentration of minerals & amino acids, it can strengthen your immune system and aids in a healthy inflammation response.
- Increase bone strength – The phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium in the bones seep out into the broth, providing you with all those essential nutrients for your own healthy bones.
- Provides protein – If you don’t regularly eat meat, bone broth can help supply amino acids from animal protein via the bones in the broth. Amino acids are important for muscle recovery and energy.
Written by Natasha Decarie, Marketing Coordinator at Tree of Life Canada