Foods like bone broth, chicken skin, pork skin, beef and fish all are natural sources of collagen! Bone broth especially is rich in gelatin. Gelatin is what happens when you boil down collagen (its what gives foods like jell-o, panna cotta and gummies their jelly-like texture), and of course, it’s a rich source of glycine and glutamine–both of which have been studied for their benefits on gut health, sleep and memory.
Health Benefits of Bone Broth
Gut Health
A study on rats saw that rats fed a gelatin supplement (gelatin is a form of collagen–more on that below) saw that it protected the gut’s mucosal lining and prevented it from damage. Of course, people aren’t rats. But it does show promise that collagen could support our own gut health!
Improved Sleep
A study found that people who supplemented with glycine, an amino acid found in collagen, had better sleep quality and reported feeling energized the next day. Again, the study wasn’t done on collagen specifically, so the results are still unclear!
Prevent Diabetes
Another study on glycine saw that people who took glycine daily over 3 months, had better blood sugar control and reduced inflammation as opposed to the placebo group. The study may not have been on collagen, but the fact that you could actually measure improvement from glycine supplementation is pretty cool.
Better Body Composition
This article covers 2 recent studies that came out, both highlighting better body composition: meaning more fat loss and an increase in muscle strength.
Also, homemade broth taste so much better than store-bought, and is free of additives, added sodium, corn syrup and MSG–all ingredients that we don’t want to be consuming. Plus, this is a great way to use bones up after a meal (like a roasted chicken dinner), and make sure nothing goes to waste! I know the idea of making a bone broth can seem rather daunting, but it’s actually fairly easy and the prep only takes a few minutes!
You can use anything for broth (poultry, fish, beef) but if it’s your first time, I’d recommend using chicken, if only because chicken broth is so delicious and so easy to work with in soups–and it really does help with the flu! I actually made a beef broth, because they had beef bones at my local health food store, but you can use whatever’s available to you!
Helpful Tips
*use cold (filtered, if possible) water to enhance the flavour and allow the fibres of the vegetables to open slowly and release juices, and use just enough to cover everything in the pot
* add a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to your broth to draw minerals out of the bones
*the bigger the animal, the longer the cooking time. Of course the longer it sits, the richer it will be, but generally speaking:
fish/seafood stock: 4- 24 hrs
chicken/turkey stock: 6-24 hours
beef/lamb/bison stock: 12-72 hours
*for beef stock, roast the meatier bones for about an hour in the oven at 350 degrees, to enhance the flavour
* add ingredients like parsley and garlic within the last 30 minutes of cooking, so the flavour remains
*cook with bones from grassfed, organic and free range
*use a crockpot so you can leave it on unattended and let the broth simmer for as long as possible
You can find basic bone broth recipes almost anywhere now. The Nourishing Traditions Cookbook by Sally Fallon is filled with lots of easy broth recipes and teaches you everything from soaking your own grains to making your own kefir and sauerkraut!
HOW TO MAKE BONE BROTH
Ingredients
2 lbs of bones (I used beef bones)
cold water to cover everything
1 onion, chopped into large pieces
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Spices (salt, pepper, turmeric, peppercorns) to taste
Optional: one handful parsley and two cloves of garlic to add in at the end
Directions
1. roast meaty bones in the oven for 40-60 min at 350 degrees, until well-browned. In the meantime add other bones, vegetables, vinegar, spices and water to crockpot.
2. Add roasted bones to crockpot and turn on heat. As the broth cooks in the first few hours, impurities (little soapy bubbles) will float to the top. Just check every 2-30 minutes for the first two hours or so, scoop it off with a spoon and throw it out.
3. In the last 30 minutes add parsley and garlic, if using.
4. Once it’s done cooking, let cool slightly, and then pull out bones and vegetables with a pair of tongs or slotted spoon. Strain the broth using a strainer to remove any small bits and pieces floating around.
5. Pour broth into glass jars and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days, or place in freezer (it will stay good for several months). Use it to make delicious soups, or drink on its own for a warm, nutritious beverage!
Want high quality bone broth that you don’t have to make? Check out Kettle + Fire! They make premium grass-fed beef + organic, free-range chicken bone broth (and you can get it delivered right to your door!). All the perks of homemade without having to do it yourself!
I hope these tips help you! Also if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter for the latest + greatest in nutrition!
With love,
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[…] and have a hot bowl of chicken soup! I talked about the benefits of bone broth and how to make it, here. If you have access to homemade broth, that’s great! But in a pinch (like when you’re […]