Bone Broth - A Paleo Superfood

What if there was a deliciously hydrating superfood that can give you healthier skin, improved digestion, may help you lose weight and fits perfectly into your Paleo lifestyle?

This is not too good to be true!!!!!

Bone broth is this superfood. The gelatinous broth made from simmering bones with adhering meat, herbs and vegetables for a long-time (usually 24-48 hours) results in a delicious and nourishing bone broth full of collagen protein, hydrating electrolytes and amino acids. 

The skin, cartilage, gelatinous cuts of meat and tendons in bone broth provide a rich mix of nutrients including dense amounts of collagen, glycine, gelatin, proline, glutamine and arginine which are often lacking in typical western diets.  

Bone Broth History

Bone broth consumption dates back to prehistoric times. There is  evidence that just about every hunter-gatherer ancient civilization made some form of bone broth. 

German and Danish cultures reserved specific hens for making chicken bone soup. East Asian cultures combined bone soups with miso. Ancient Greeks combined eggs and lemon with bone broth as a healing remedy. In times past, people could not afford to waste any food, so typical inedible animal parts were tossed into a cauldron with water to make bone soup. These cultures quickly realized that nose to tail eating provided the most nutritional benefit.

Nowadays, bone broth has become quite trendy with athletes and celebrities drinking bone broth for its many benefits. 

Bone Broth As Medicine

With something this deeply steeped in tradition with a history that goes back long before evidence-based medicine could determine the actual properties of bone broth – there must be something to the power of bone broth.  

Paleo advocates love bone broth for its wide array of nutrients that are difficult to find in any other food source. These nutritional elements extracted during the long, slow simmering of bones include electrolyte minerals, amino acids, bone marrow, gelatin and collagen from cartilage-rich bones.

Bone broth is very easy to digest and is soothing to the gut. Many people notice therapeutic effects from consuming a well-prepared, slow simmered, gelatin-rich bone broth daily.

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If you haven’t yet, it’s time to consider adding bone broth to your Paleo diet and reap the health benefits from this true superfood! Other than supporting your general health or helping you feel a little better when under the weather (your grandmother was right, home-made chicken soup will heal many ills), some of the many attributes of bone broth include:

Immune Support

Bone broth provides a rich source of minerals and amino acids that supply the body with raw materials to rebuild stronger and healthier cells. Bone broth also boosts antioxidant activity in the body. In traditional Chinese medicine bone broth is used to boost the immune system and fight infections.

Aiding Digestion

The gelatin in bone broth is soothing to the digestive tract and actually helps repair the mucosal lining. It also assists in breaking down the protein and fat from foods, making them easier to digest.

Gut Healing 

When the intestinal lining becomes too permeable and allows undigested food particles and disease-causing bacteria to leak from your gut and into the bloodstream the body sees these innocent food particles as a foreign invader and starts to attack itself. Increased intestinal permeability can be responsible for the formation of food allergies, autoimmune conditions, asthma, skin conditions, digestive disorders, chronic fatigue and most diseases associated with chronic inflammation. Leaky gut affects a huge part of the population and is a growing epidemic due to poor food choices, stress, environmental toxins, overuse of NSAIDS, antibiotics, birth control and other medications.

Bone broth helps heal gut permeability. The gelatin in bone broth heals the mucosal lining of the digestive tract. A healthy digestive tract is the cornerstone of health.  When the digestive system is healed and working well, nutrients are properly and efficiently digested, absorbed and assimilated. Consuming bone broth is a more natural and effective way to heal and seal the gut than taking supplements.

Supporting Detoxification in the Liver

The liver is so overburdened from the toxic and chemical nature of the modern world. Toxicity exists everywhere from the air and water to the food supply and personal care products. The liver is responsible for removing these toxins from the body. The ability of the liver to eliminate these toxins effectively is largely dependent on the amount of available glycine. Gelatin-rich bone broth is rich in glycine and a strong ally in detoxification support.

Reducing Inflammation

Chondroitin sulfate is a structural component of cartilage and has been found to improve inflammatory conditions. Bone broth also contains large amounts of the amino acids glycine and proline, both of which are extremely anti-inflammatory.

Relieving Joint And Muscle Pain

The specific amino acids in bone broth, glycine and proline, are necessary to build muscle, repair tissue and reduce inflammation. Bone broth is an excellent source of glucosamine and chondroitin. These are often taken in supplement form for joint pain relief, but are more bioavailable when consumed in their naturally occurring state. The latest studies have shown that the gelatin in bone broth provides almost immediate relief to joint pain. The glycine in gelatin speeds wound healing, helps stiff joints and promotes recovery.

Helping Sleep

Research has shown that consuming gelatin before bed helps induce sleep because of the amino acid glycine. Glycine plays an important role in the neurotransmitters within the brain. So not only will ingesting bone broth improve sleep quality, but it will also help reduce daytime sleepiness and help improve your memory during waking hours.

Supporting Brain Function

Any food that supports optimal sleep is definitely worth eating, and the sleep benefits of bone broth extend further to brain health.  Many components in bone broth help keep your brain healthy. Beef bone broth is rich in marrow, which provides the building blocks for the brain.

Glycine in bone broth has many positive impacts on brain health. It plays a pivotal role in brain development in the womb and throughout the first few months of life. Glycine also protects the brain from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.  It is also used to treat many mood disorders like schizophrenia and depression. People consuming glycine have also been shown to have better verbal memory and sustained attention.

The chondroitin found in bone broth supports learning and memory due to its beneficial role in neuroplasticity.

Bone Strengthening And Repair

The large amounts of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus in bone broth helps bones grow, strengthen and repair

Boosting Mineral Consumption And Absorption

Many people in the western world are deficient in one or more minerals due to dietary deficiencies or poor absorption. Furthermore, the soil is depleted in minerals. Ingesting these trace minerals through bones is extremely important. As the bones cook in water, minerals and other nutrients leach from the bones into the water. Homemade broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals. Bone broth offers easily absorbed extracted minerals and supports utilization of the minerals by promoting the health of the intestinal tract.

Anti-Aging

Collagen production decreases with aging. Bone broth is rich in collagen, the proteins found in flesh and connective tissues. Skin becomes smoother and more elastic in the presence of an abundance of connective tissue. Some have even suggested that bone broth helps eliminate cellulite.

Drinking Bone Broth

You can drink bone broth in a Paleo diet any time of the day. If you have digestive issues then you should drink bone broth first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and before your meals. 

For joint, tendon or ligament pain the best time to drink bone broth is approximately 1 hour before you exercise for best results (be sure to include 50 mg of vitamin c). The timing is crucial as your exercise activity helps to shuttle collagen peptides into your tendons and joints

For restful sleep, you should drink bone broth before bed for improved sleep quality.

Professional and gourmet cuisines rely on quality bone broth. The richness and depth of flavor that is used in soups, stews, gravies and sauces is unparalleled. And that alone is enough reason to include it in your cooking! 

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Bringing bone broth back into the modern diet offers an easy and delicious means of obtaining the nutrition from parts of the animal that ancient man and traditional cultures prized!

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