Bone Broth for Health: everything you ever wanted to know about BROTH!

I recently downloaded a copy of a new e-Book, Bone Broth for Health. Right after I made a QuickMeme with a rapidly aging pop-culture reference.

(That is the FIRST time I’ve ever written “LOL.” *Pangs of intense regret*)
This was an all-around great read. It’s not just about broth – it’s about every component in, near, and around broth, and everything those fabulous components can do! Before this e-book, I had never seen this information all in one place.

This book rivals anything on the Traditional Food Interwebs for density of information and enlightenment about one of my FAVORITE traditional foods. It’s well worth the buy, from both a scientific and a practical perspective. Multiple “Real-Food” heavy-hitters, including Sally Fallon and Mark Sisson, agreed to have their personal broth recipes reproduced in this book!
Grab yours and learn more by clicking here.
bone broth recipe for health
And lucky me – Jaclyn, the author, agreed to do a little interview with me!
Me: What inspired you to get SO in-depth on bone broth?
Jaclyn: I guess I’d have to credit that to my type-A personality and my Dad! Let me explain…
When my husband suggested that we follow a paleo diet a few years back in order to get fit for our wedding, I immersed myself in paleo-related books, blogs and forums. I learned everything there was to know about the paleo diet and made sure that we practiced it to a tee. (I wanted to look my best at our wedding dammit!) While we reached our aesthetic goals, we were unable to rid ourselves of our lingering health issues. So I decided to tweak our paleo diet to incorporate more traditional and nutrient dense foods. In my true all-or-nothing fashion, I soaked up all that I could from the Weston A. Price literature, GAPS teachings, and other traditional and real food blogs. We made bone broth a staple in our diet and saw incredible health improvements.
While I found tidbits of information about bone broth (recipes, techniques, and claims of incredible health benefits), I had to hunt for them and piece information together to get the whole story. My Dad, a fellow paleo and traditional foods enthusiast, suggested I create a single source of comprehensive information on bone broth. I was immediately excited about joining the community and helping to spread the word about bone broth’s wonderful healing properties. I’m hoping that others will benefit as we did!
Me: What are the top five things broth can do for folks? What’s your “sales pitch” to turn the broth-wary into the broth-chugging?
Jaclyn: Choosing five when there are so many health benefits is not easy, but I’ll give it a shot!

  • Supports healthy digestion and nutrient absorption
  • Bolsters the immune system and helps ward off illness
  • Strengthens bones, joints, tendons, ligaments and aids arthritis
  • Promotes healthy, supple skin and strong teeth
  • Helps manage autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease, Crohn’s and multiple sclerosis

For the broth-wary, I would borrow Robb Wolf’s infamous sales pitch, “Try it for 30-days and see how you look, feel and perform.” My father, husband and I all experienced improved digestion and immune health by sipping on one large mug of broth/day. Your readers in particular might also be pleased to hear that we all got compliments on our skin as well! The nutrients and minerals in broth, particularly proline and glycine, two amino acids critical to the production of collagen, do wonders for smooth, supple skin. (Liz’s note: This is a dang-ole FACT!)

Oh, and broth is easy and inexpensive to prepare, nourishing and nutritious, and tastes delicious. Why not give it a try? No need to chug though, your readers should feel free to sip!
Me: You got permission from TONS of traditional foods heavy-hitters to reproduce their recipes for almost any kind of broth and stock you could imagine. Out of all those recipes and wisdom, which is your favorite nutritionally? Flavor-wise? 
Jaclyn: As I’m sure you know, the members of our community are incredibly generous and supportive. I’m grateful for the permission I received from traditional foods advocates such as Sally Fallon, Mark Sisson, Christa Oreccio, Vanessa Romero, and the others.
When it comes to nutrition, I’d have to say that Sally Fallon is Queen. Both her Beef and Fish Stock recipes even taste nutritious – if that’s possible! They are chock full of the most nutritious types of bones, veggies and seasoning, and her methods are designed for optimum nutrition.
As for taste, I’m preferential to a recipe submitted by Lea of Paleo Spirit for “Brown Beef Broth.” While it takes a bit more preparation time, roasting the beef bones results in a rich and deeply satisfying flavor. It’s certainly my husband’s favorite.
We have plenty of varied recipes in Bone Broth: A Recipe For Health; there’s definitely something for everyone. We cover most types of bones and different cooking methods – some super simple and others more complex, but all nutritious and delicious!
Me: What are a few tips for broth beginners?
Jaclyn: Start simple! I would direct beginners to the “Bare Bones” version of broth in my book. It requires minimal effort; it can even be prepared before leaving for work. Think bones, water and apple cider vinegar… it can’t get much more simple than that. It does however require a decent slow cooker, which I highly recommend for those interested in making bone broth a regular part of their diet.
In fact, we’ve dedicated an entire section of the book to “Tips & Tricks” and include tips for saving money and time, maximizing nutrition and flavor, and storing and serving broth of all types. The purpose of the book is help others improve their health with broth, so we’ve made it foolproof!

For more on Jaclyn’s book, head over to Bone Broth for Health!

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13 Responses

  1. Your thoughts
    http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/S0306-9877(13)00013-3/abstract#.UTlJiZdOEEU.blogger
    Abstract
    The preparation and consumption of bone broth is being increasingly recommended to patients, for example as part of the gut and psychology syndrome (GAPS) diet for autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression and schizophrenia, and as part of the paleolithic diet. However, bones are known to sequester the heavy metal lead, contamination with which is widespread throughout the modern environment. Such sequestered lead can then be mobilised from the bones. We therefore hypothesised that bone broth might carry a risk of being contaminated with lead. A small, blinded, controlled study of lead concentrations in three different types of organic chicken broth showed that such broths do indeed contain several times the lead concentration of the water with which the broth is made. In particular, broth made from skin and cartilage taken off the bone once the chicken had been cooked with the bones in situ, and chicken-bone broth, were both found to have markedly high lead concentrations, of 9.5 and 7.01μgL−1, respectively (compared with a control value for tap water treated in the same way of 0.89μgL−1). In view of the dangers of lead consumption to the human body, we recommend that doctors and nutritionists take the risk of lead contamination into consideration when advising patients about bone broth diets.
    http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-risk-of-lead-contamination-in-bone.html
    http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2013/03/paleo-and-wap-alert-risk-of-lead.html

  2. Oooh, I’m tempted by that ebook! I just stuck a big pot of beef broth in the fridge to cool. One of my favorite things to do is read about how good something is for me while I’m eating it. If the placebo effect is gonna exist, may as well take advantage of it, right?? This book would be a great read while I’m sipping on some broth tomorrow!
    Does Jaclyn review the pros/cons to pressure cooking bone broth? I’ve seen a couple blog posts on it, and I know Michelle from Nom Nom Paleo does hers in a pressure cooker. I’d be really interested to see another take on it!

  3. I’m such a bone broth fanatic since you & Diane converted me on the BB podcast. My family has all been assaulted with my enthusiasm, and my brother & sister are at least on board. I’ve decided I’m just a little too fanatical, though, because when I make pork trotter broth, I enjoy eating it cold from the fridge like gelatin. Strange but true.

  4. Thanks for sharing Liz! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the book and hope that others find it equally valuable.
    Alyssa – I’m totally with you… I find myself scouring the blogs for the health benefits of omega 3 fatty acids while chomping away on sardines. As for using a pressure cooker to prepare bone broth, I too have come across suggestions that the pressure cooker may denature the protein. However, all methods of cooking denature food molecules, including protein. If the pressure cooker works best for you (is easy and convenient) and allows you to consume broth regularly, then stick with it! If prepared properly with cartilage-rich bones (think chicken feet!) and an acid, your broth will be nourishing and healing. Enjoy!

    1. Thanks Jaclyn! I need to find me some chicken feet! Sometimes I hate it that healthy foods are ‘en vogue’ now…I bet 10 years ago, I would’ve been able to find chicken feet and oxtails super cheap.

  5. Here is one of my bone broth tricks….after the bones (I mostly do pastured chicken) have been cooking in the crock pot all night, I take the lid off and go in with a potato masher and smoosh them up. By the time the broth has cooked for 24 hours the bones are practically crumbs. I figure I am getting to more of the marrow, etc. It really is delicious. So far I have not done as well with beef broth…even roasting the bones first it never quite tastes right.

    1. You know, I’m not sure! I’m sure the nutrition would be comparable, but I don’t know what the flavor profile would be like! If you try it, do report back 🙂

  6. Question: I know I can use leftover bones for making bone broth. I toss them in a bag in the freezer until I have enough. My mom says I shouldn’t keep bones that we have eaten off of…only ones we have cut the meat off. I say it doesn’t matter because we cook it for long enough and hot enough (I do it in a pressure cooker) that it kills the ickies. Thoughts? I can’t find the answer to this question anywhere!

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