Importance of Bone Broth: Health Benefits & How To Make (2024)

Bone broth, also known as meat stock, is a fundamental ingredient for cooking. Many recipes use bone broth to enhance our favorite dishes’ umami flavor or pleasant aroma. The savory taste is not the only appealing aspect of this ancient cooking method; its numerous health benefits are also a significant draw.

The growing popularity of bone broth is mainly due to its positive impact on the immune system, particularly its ability to improve gut health. Roughly the entire immune system resides in the gut, which plays a pivotal role in the body’s capacity to heal, ward off infections and ailments, and decrease inflammation.

Optimal gut health depends on a healthy and diverse collection of bacteria and fungi in the gut, also known as the microbiome and mycobiome, and a healed and sealed gut lining. When there is an overgrowth of harmful organisms in the gut, known as dysbiosis, the immune system weakens, potentially leading to further health issues. Dysbiosis can also compromise the integrity of the gut lining, which is composed of tightly connected cells that prevent undigested foods and toxins from escaping into the body. When these cells become weak or permeable, commonly called “leaky gut,” toxins can enter the body.

Bone broth can help repair and maintain the integrity of the gut lining. The slow-cooking process extracts nutrients like collagen, the body’s most abundant protein, from the bones. Furthermore, bone broth is a rich source of L-glutamine, an amino acid that acts as the primary fuel for the cells of the small intestine, helping maintain a healthy gut lining. The amino acids in bone broth not only support a healthy metabolism by delivering nutrients to cells

but also enhance the body’s natural detoxification pathways, among other health benefits.

Bone broth is also known to help alleviate sore muscles and joints and lower inflammation. Its rich vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, make it a nutritious way to stay hydrated. These minerals are easily absorbed into the body and are essential for maintaining hydration. That’s why I recommend bone broth as the ultimate sports recovery drink. With high protein and minerals, it’s the perfect combination for recovery.

If you’re looking to add broth to your diet for general health benefits, shoot for two to four cups a week. You can include it in recipes, sip it throughout the day, or drink it between meals. For a tasty twist, try “Bulletproof” bone broth: start with a basic chicken broth, then blend in a bit of ghee (clarified butter), MCT oil (a concentrated form of coconut oil), and a touch of honey. This creates a frothy, sweet-savory drink that supports gut health and provides healthy fats for sustained energy.

If you have a leaky gut or want to improve your gut lining, aim for six to eight cups of broth daily. It may sound like a lot, but you’ll find it easy to reach this amount by incorporating broth into your cooking. Use it to sauté vegetables, make soups or casseroles, and replace water with broth in recipes like rice or quinoa for added flavor.

Broth typically stays fresh for about a week in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container or jar. In the freezer, it can last up to a year—just remember to label it with the date. For convenience, consider freezing broth in ice cube trays so you can easily add a couple of cubes to your dishes.

The process of making bone broth is fairly simple. It’s really about throwing veggies, bones, seasoning, and water into a large pot or slow cooker and allowing it to simmer for 18 to 24 hours. Then, strain everything and you have your broth!

You can use various bones to make broth. The most commonly used are chicken carcasses, beef marrow, knuckles, or soup bones. I’ve included some recipes below for Classic Chicken Bone broth and Beet and Sweet Potato Bone Broth for beef bones.

Leave onion skins on. This adds color and flavor to the bone broth.

Save your scraps! Create a discard pile in a freezer bag with vegetable ends like carrot tops. Then when it comes time for your next broth, you can use all your freezer scraps and help reduce food waste.

Save your bones! Similar to creating a freezer bag for veggie discards, save your bones. Don’t let those go to waste, Whether chicken wings, steak bones, or even a whole chicken carcass. Freeze and use in your next bone broth.

Keep it simple. It doesn’t have to be pretty. I roughly chop my veggies when adding them to the broth, sometimes I just break the carrots in half by hand. Don’t spend too much time on diligently chopping, the work is in the slow simmer of the broth.

Add more water. You may need to add extra water about halfway through, as long as the water level is maintained about 2 inches from the top of the pot or slow cooker.

With the colder months ahead, now is a great time to start making broth and have it readily available to sip on or use in your favorite recipes. Not only does it taste amazing, but it yields so many health benefits that will help keep your immune system strong and your gut healthy!

Classic Chicken Bone Broth

  • 1 chicken carcass or whole chicken (thawed or frozen)
  • 6 Carrots, chopped
  • 4 Celery Stalks, chopped
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped, skins on
  • 1 small sweet potato, chopped
  • 6 Black Peppercorns
  • 3 Bay Leaves
  • 1tsp sea salt
  1. Option to add a splash of apple cider vinegar
  2. Add all ingredients to slow cooker and fill with filtered water about 2-inches from top.
  3. Cook on low for 18-24 hours, stirring occasionally.
  4. Strain and store in air-tight containers or Mason jars. Generally stays fresh for about a week or frozen for a year. You can also freeze in ice cube trays and pop a few whenever you need!

Beet & Sweet Potato Beef Bone Broth

  • 1 knuckle bone
  • 1 package soup bones
  • 1 marrow bone
  • 3 carrots
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 3 medium beets
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6-8 black peppercorns
  • sea salt to taste
  1. Coarsely chop carrots, celery, beets, sweet potato and onion (Note: You can leave the skins of the onion on to give the broth more flavor).
  2. Add veggies to pot. Optional to saute veggies in butter for a few moments until they begin to sweat.
  3. Add bones and fill pot with filtered water about 2 inches from top. (Note: You can also use a slow cooker, prepare the same way by filling cooker with contents and water about 2-in from top. Set on low for 18-24 hours).
  4. Add bay leaves, peppercorns and salt.
  5. Bring mixture to boil then turn to low/simmer for about 24 hours, stirring every so often.
  6. Strain broth into separate pot or container to remove vegetables.
  7. Sip broth as is or incorporate into blended soups or oatmeal. Enjoy!

Check out our USWM Discover Blog for amazing recipes from trusted sources like Carley and so much more!

Importance of Bone Broth: Health Benefits & How To Make (1)

Carley Smith, AKA Fairy Gutmother®, is a Nutritional Therapist, Certified Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Practitioner, and Registered Yoga Teacher. Carley became interested in health and nutrition after being diagnosed with Lyme disease and using food as medicine emphasizing gut health to help heal. She became so empowered in the progress of her healing based on diet and lifestyle changes emphasizing gut health that she started her business, Fairy Gutmother® to help others.

Importance of Bone Broth: Health Benefits & How To Make (2024)
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