Health Benefits of Bone Broth

Remember when your mom used to make you chicken noodle soup when you were sick? Well it turns out, she was on to something. A good homemade soup broth does actually boost your immune system. But it has a lot of other benefits too.

This week is a great time to talk about the benefits of bone soup broth because we have a lot of turkey leftovers to eat.

I love a good homemade bone broth on its own or as the base of any kind of soup. It’s warm and delicious and more importantly, has amazing health benefits! So let’s talk bone broth.

Bone broth is basically the homemade soup broth made by boiling the bones of turkey, chicken, or other animal bones (pork/ham, bison, beef, etc.).

It’s super easy to make bone broth. All you do is throw the bones in a slow cooker or large pot and fill the pot water, a bit of salt, and herbs or vegetables to spice it up and add extra flavour.

Boil it all up for several hours and you’ll have a phenomenally healthy, nourishing bone broth.

With turkey bones I like to add an onion, a few stalks of celery (the leafy bits and ends leftover from making stuffing so they aren’t wasted), a few carrots, and a couple cloves of garlic. For spices, I add salt and pepper, a touch of celery seed, thyme, and dried mustard.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF BONE BROTH

Bone broth helps to boost your immune system and prevent colds and flus.

In traditional Chinese medicine, bone broth helps the body adapt to the changing of the seasons in fall and spring. If we don’t adapt well, the shifts in temperature can predispose us to getting sick.

Bone broth contains a lot of gelatin and collagen protein so it helps to heal the lining of the gut and prevent or treat food sensitivities.

This is very important if you have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or struggle with diarrhea/constipation and gas/bloating.

Bone broth helps to decrease joint aches and pains and prevent wrinkles.

If you notice aching in your joints whenever the weather changes, bone broth may be particularly beneficial. Collagen and a little extra hydration in bone broth can also prevent wrinkles and aging for healthy luminous skin.

So if you want to give your health routine a little boost and use up your leftovers at the same time, start making soup! Try it out. I recommend drinking 1 cup of bone broth every day for a few weeks. Make a large batch of soup and freeze what you won’t drink within the next 3-4 days. That way, you will have plenty in the freezer for ongoing use.

Note: store-bought broths are NOT made using bones so they will not provide the health effects of bone broth.