The health benefits of bone broth

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March 28, 2023

The history of bone broth is vast: dating back thousands of years! In Chinese Medicine, bone broth was used for digestive and kidney health. Hippocrates, the father of medicine in Ancient Greek, also recommended it for digestive health. In 12th Century Egypt, chicken soup was used for asthma and colds. It was also given the nickname “Jewish Penicillin” for its anti-inflammatory properties. Looking at its history, you can see how profoundly it has affected many cultures worldwide.

Bone broth is essentially liquid gold. It’s made by simmering various bones and cuts like marrow, knuckles, and feet in water for anywhere between 12-48 hours. You can also add fresh herbs, onion, carrots, and celery. Adding a splash of an acid, like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, has been said to help break down the proteins and connective tissue, which gives the broth a higher protein and collagen count. When it cools, it should be incredibly gelatinous. You can drink it as is or add it to your favorite recipes.

What makes it different from a regular broth? Broth is cooked in a shorter time period (45 minutes to 2 hours), and it’s usually made with meat, ie. a whole chicken. If there are bones, it’s not cooked long enough to obtain the same nutritional value as a bone broth.

Bone broth is nutrient and mineral dense. Bones are abundant in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, copper, iron, and manganese, and also have 17 types of amino acids! The nutritional content of bone broth varies due to the type of bones used, the cooking time, and the method, but all bone broth includes:

Collagen: makes up 30% of the protein found in our bodies. It’s found in our bones, skin, ligaments, cartilage, and tendons.
Gelatin: It is collagen simmered. This is why bone broth is gelatinous when it comes to room temperature. It’s beneficial to our digestive system and gut health.
Glycosaminoglycans: a complex carb that’s important to connective tissue and synovial fluid.
Glycine: an amino acid that makes up about ⅓ of collagen. It also acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
Proline: another amino acid found in collagen. It helps with wound healing as well as how the immune system responds.
Glutamine: an amino acid mostly found in the blood. One of the amino acids that can cross the blood–brain barrier. It helps remove excess ammonia and helps with the immune system, brain, and digestive system functions.
Bone marrow: also filled with collagen. It helps reduce inflammation in the joints.

With all these amazing nutrients, you probably now understand why our ancestors included bone broth in their diets.

So what exactly do these nutrients in this medicinal broth do for our health? It can help with everything from brain to heart to joint health!

Brain: the fatty acids found in bone broth have been shown to improve brain function. Glycine also helps with memory, stress, and mental clarity.
Skin: bone broth is filled with collagen, and this has been proven to help with skin elasticity. It can help increase collagen production and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
Liver: glutathione, an antioxidant that is made from amino acids, one of which is glycine. This antioxidant helps flush out toxins and excess hormones from the liver.
Bones & Joints: calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium help strengthen bones. Bone broth also contains glucosamine and chondroitin, which helps decrease joint pain and reduce the risk of osteoarthritis. Getting these minerals from bone broth makes it easier to absorb.
Gut & Digestion: that wonderful amino acid, glycine, is at it again! Studies have shown that it decreases inflammation in your gut and improves the health of the tissues that line the gut. Studies have also shown that gelatin can protect and heal the digestive tract.

When friends and family come to me for advice on how to eat better, I tell them to start with bone broth. It’s so easy to add to your diet. I like to incorporate bone broth into many of my meals. Obviously, using it as a base for soups, but I also replace the water with it when making rice, and I’ll replace/reduce the milk/cream in my mashed potatoes with it too. This way, I am sneaking in the health benefits no matter what I am cooking!

Keep in mind the health benefits are most likely greater from pasture-raised animals. Simply Grassfed sells bones so that you can make your own. If you’re not up for the task of making broth at home, check out our chicken, beef, and turkey bone broths.

Drinking a cup a day may very well keep the doctor away!

All of our broths are made with:

Wholesome Ingredients
Pasture Raised
Fed a chemical-free & GMO-free feed
No Hormones or Antibiotics
USDA Processing

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Sources:
The History of Bone Broth – Ossa Organic
A history on bone broth and its uses for millennia
Bone Broth: How to Make It and 6 Reasons Why You Should
10 Reasons Bone Broth Is More Than Just a Passing Trend

The Greenwashing of Our Foods – Part 2

Last year, I wrote an article titled The Greenwashing of the Organic Food Movement.Click here if you missed it, wish to read it again, or to listen to my podcast with Holistic Hilda. I share many valuable resources that you may want to access.For many years, humans and animals have lived quite robustly without disease, strong and happy on unadulterated animal products and plants in their most natural state. A hundred years ago, there was no such thing as organic because most farms and food were organic.Nowadays, finding food or growing food without chemicals is nearly impossible. We are at war with governments, corporations, media propaganda, and peer pressure. Cancer, auto-immune disease, weak bones, mental disorder, autism, dental cavities, SIDS, Downs-Syndrome, eczema, allergies, depression, diabetes, heart disease, ADHD are epidemic. Every year the AMA announces some new, unnamed unique disease. We have a hard time walking a block, yet alone reproducing.The health of our society and most importantly our children is failing. Disease is epidemic and humans and animals have become dependent on artificial life support from drugs, surgeries, and machines.Click here to listen to my latest podcast with the Appropriate Omnivore. Listen to the Podcast Here I spotlight the allowable exemptions in the USDA organic standards that include chemicals, de-beaking, and irradiation as well as standard practices in the organic produce, grain, meat processing, fishing, and honey bee industry.Did you know that if your organic grains and potatoes won’t sprout, they were likely irradiated?Towards the end, I discuss the current USDA mandated vaccination policy of our American wildlife, the laws in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho that require the vaccination of ALL cattle heifers, and the current air-drop vaccination programs across the U.S. How are shellfish treated? Click Here to watch how our shellfish are “Depurated” ie. sterilized both chemically and with radiation to protect us from harmful microbes. They are bathed in chlorinated, anti-microbial water for 2-3 days and irradiated to kill the bacteria before they ship to your grocery store to ensure we get sanitary, bacteria-free food. What they don’t disclose is that the microbes are there to decompose the toxic chemicals from industry in our waterways. And, their depuration process does NOT remove any heavy metals, petroleum, or chemicals from the shellfish. Thus, it is more likely that if someone was to get sick from seafood, it is from eating the chemical pollutants, not from the fish or the microbes. Scallops without any additives are called "dry-packed", while scallops that are treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) are called "wet-packed". STPP causes the scallops to absorb moisture prior to the freezing process, thereby increasing their weight. So, buy shellfish directly from the fisher or dry- packed, and don't eat from the Gulf of Mexico, near big cities, or toxic waste dumps like the James River in VA or New Jersey or Boston. Best to procure from PEI, Maine, NC, and a few select places in the Pacific Northwest.Currently, oysters are NOT depurated. So, go with oysters over clams, scallops, or mollusks.Clean food and healthy children or going extinct, however, I’m an “apocaloptimist”. It doesn’t look good, but in the long run, good will prevail.It takes vision, perseverance, courage, and hard work to find and grow food that is actually food.Are you down for the challenge? A healthy future for our children, aligned with the wisdom of nature, depends on us. If you want clean food, Burke’s Garden Farm and Alpine Heritage Creamery are both “Beyond Organic”. All our animals are outdoors getting fresh grass, haylage, grubs, sunshine, fresh air, and fresh water from the creeks and springs in a high-elevation circular valley surrounded by mountains, protected from city or industrial pollution. Simply Grassfed animals DO NOT eat GMO feeds or receive Growth Hormones. All our dairy cows are tested A2/A2 Beta-CaseinAll our cheeses are made with NON-GMO-Pfizer rennets. Click Here to read moreAll our cheeses are raw, never exceeding 102 degrees.Our butcher cleans our meat with either apple cider vinegar or water.We ship our products in biodegradable or recyclable cardboard insulated boxes in the Winter and ship with dry-ice when we can to minimize the plastic gel packs filling up the landfill. Click Here for an updated Healthy Products Resource List. In Optimal Health,Phoenix

The health benefits of bone broth

All of our broths are made with:

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