Health Benefits of Bone Broth and Recipe

Whether you’re sipping on a mug of bone broth, or you add it to various dishes, such as soups, sautéed vegetables or sauces, bone broth will provide you a vast majority of health benefits, ranging from joint health to improvements with digestion, detoxification, reduced inflammation, and even revitalize your skin’s appearance!

Bone broth is loaded with beneficial nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, trace minerals and more, as well as glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, an important component in the fusion of connective tissue and joint mobility often found in pricey supplements that help reduce inflammation, arthritis and joint pain. In addition, collagen in bone broth builds the cells in our brains and bones, and it rebuilds damaged cells in our intestines. And, because of its liquid form, our body can easily absorb these nutrients.

For the Paleo lovers out there, bone broth was a way our ancestors made use of every part of an animal. Using bones and marrow, skin and feet, tendons and ligaments, slowly simmered over a period of days. This process causes the bones and ligaments to release healing compounds like collagen, proline, glycine, and glutamine. The combination of these nutrients enables bone broth to heal the inflammation, etc., listed above.

Whether you’re getting ready for surgery, recovering from an illness, dealing with pain and inflammation, or are looking to heal your digestion, bone broth is going to up your game when fighting your symptoms.

Let’s peel back the powerhouse components of home-made bone broth for you to understand why this should be part of your daily health routine.

• Joint Health

As we get older, our joints and bones become more brittle from years of wear and tear. And, because bone broth contains tons of collagen, the protein that makes up bones, tendons, ligaments and other flexible tissues, it’s a natural alternative instead of statins or vitamins, in taking care of our bones. The collagen in bone broth can aid our bone’s strength and flexibility and gives our joints cushion and resilience. It acts like a soft cushion between bones, helping them glide more smoothly. Collagen also takes the pressure off aging joints while supporting healthy bone mineral density.

• Improved Digestion

Sipping on bone broth is easily digested and soothing to your digestive system. Also, there are large amounts of amino acids found in a bone broth that help maintain the integrity of the intestinal wall, which helps with symptoms of leaky gut. The collagen found in bone broth helps improve digestion by ensuring that the stomach lining is healthy. Also, the gelatin in bone broth promotes probiotics, healthy bacteria in your gut.

• Youthful Skin Tone

Skin loses elasticity and hair becomes dry with age. This is more prevalent when we follow a poor diet and are nutrient deficient. Sipping on bone broth is an inexpensive way to save money on expensive topical creams, while feeding your body a nourishing, healing elixir!

• Detoxification

We are living in a world full of environmental toxins, pesticides, artificial ingredients, and chemicals. While our bodies have a means within to rid ourselves of these toxins, it often has a hard time keeping up with the overwhelming amount of chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis. Bone broth is a powerful detoxification agent since it aids the digestive system to remove waste and stimulates the liver’s ability to remove toxins. Bone broth contains glycine, which is one of the most important inflammation regulators. The liver uses glycine for detoxification.

Bone broth is so easy to make. In a matter of minutes, you’re on your way to simmering delicious broth. I have used a slow cooker and InstantPot. You start by boiling bones (beef, chicken, fish, etc.) in water with ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar that pulls out the nutrients in the bones. You can add in optional spices, vegetables, and herbs. Broth can boil for as little as 6 hours or up to 48. There is more benefit the longer you cook, so when I'm using a slow cooker, I shoot for 24 hours.

When using a slow cooker, I will simmer for 24/hours, and about 90 minutes using an InstantPot, on high pressure.

Various options when making bone broth include:

• Using one whole free-range chicken with neck and wings. Eat a nice meal of roasted chicken, save the bones for broth. You can either freeze them for later use or throw them in a pot right away. Roasting the chicken adds flavor to the bones, which makes for a richer broth.

• Purchase an organic rotisserie chicken, use bones from that, the same way, freeze or use right away.

• Visit your local farmer’s market or butcher. I have purchased organic bones there, including chicken feet. Chicken feet are not readily available at your grocery store and can be difficult to find, although some local butchers are catching on to the bone broth benefits and are carrying them. Chicken feet are going to give you a fine golden broth and will boost your broth’s nutrients. Adding them to your bones will make a good stock very nourishing in glucosamine chondroitin, collagen and trace minerals. Also, chicken feet help make a beautiful gelatinous broth. For people with allergies and leaky gut, adding chicken feet to your broth is the secret ingredient to healing, as the added collagen and gelatin in the broth not only helps the joints but the mucous membrane lining of the intestinal wall as well. So don’t throw those chicken feet out, use them!!

• Beef broth bones. I visit my local butcher to find grass-fed beef bone marrow. They are readily available at Whole Foods Market as well. Just follow the recipe below for the chicken broth and substitute meat bones.

Here’s a great recipe for chicken bone broth:

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds chicken carcass, neck and chicken feet

• 1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar

• 4 quarts filtered water

• 3 celery stalks, halved

• 3 carrots, halved

• 2 onions, quartered

• Handful of fresh parsley (wait till last ten minutes to add this)

• Sea salt

• Pepper

Serving Size: 3 Quarts

Directions

Place bones in an InstantPot or a crockpot, add apple cider vinegar and water, and let the mixture sit for 1 hour so the vinegar can leach the mineral out of the bones.

1. Add more water if needed to cover the bones.

2. Add the vegetables bring to a boil, skim the scum from the top, and discard.

3. Reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 24-72 hours (if you're not comfortable leaving the pot to simmer overnight, turn off the heat and let it sit overnight, then turn it back on and let simmer all day the next day) or If using an InstantPot, you only have to put it on high pressure for 90 minutes.

4. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, throw in a handful of fresh parsley for added flavor and minerals.

5. Let the broth cool and strain it. In addition to a strainer, I put a nylon around my strainer so it catches everything really well, and it makes for a nice clear broth.

6. Add sea salt and pepper to taste and drink the broth as is or store in fridge up to 5 to 7 days or freezer up to 6 months for use in soups or stews. Enjoy! Contact me for a free Discovery Session to explore how I can support you on your journey towards a healthy lifestyle, and how to become your own health advocate. To your health and happiness! Donna Markussen www.FindingYourHealth.com info@FindingYourHealth.com 781-354-4075

Donna Markussen