Bone broth is gut balsam! Sipping on a bone broth feels soothing and can quickly calm an upset digestive tract. This is true for constipation, bloating, diarrhoea, a leaky gut, and for general gut pain or food sensitivity.
Bone broth contains many important nutrients as calcium, silicon, glucosamine, essential amino acids, cartilage and much more. Therefore, a good bone broth help prevent osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and autoimmune disorders. It can reduce inflammation, prevent infection, promotes healthy bones and much more.
- Bone broth is cheap and simple to make at home!
Bone broth ingredients
Meat and fish stocks provide building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining and they have a soothing effect on areas of inflammation in the gut. That is why they have been known for centuries as a healing remedy for the digestive tract.
Some people enjoy the heavier and fatty beef stock and for them it feels like gut-balm. However, for others, the heavy meat broth is too rich. In this case, it might be better to consume the lighter chicken or fish broths. Try what works best for you.
NOTE: most commercially available soup stock granules or bullion cubes are highly processed and contain unhealthy ingredients.
Chicken stock is particularly gentle on the stomach and is very good to start with, also in cases of food sensitivity, intolerance or allergy.
Bones and joints provide most of the healing substances than the meat. Bone marrow is very nutritious. Use organic bones if you can, or bones from local farmers.
Use any or all of the following:
- Joints
- Bones
- A piece of meat on the bone
- A whole chicken
- Giblets from chicken, goose or duck
- Whole pigeons, pheasants or other inexpensive meats
Bone broth recipe
- Put bones, joints and meats into a large pan, fill with water
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar in 4 quarts water
- Himalayan or sea salt at the beginning of cooking
- Bring to boil, remove the foam on the surface
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppers, roughly crushed
- A few chopped celery stalks
- A few chopped carrots
- 1 chopped onion
- Minced garlic
- A few bay leaves
- Optional: turmeric, sage, rosemary, cayenne, cloves, fresh ginger
- Cover with lid and simmer on low heat for 6-24 hours; the longer the better
- If using a pressure cooker; cook the bones for about 3 hours
Bone broths can be stored in the fridge for 5-7 days; in the freezer for 6 months. Consume as is or use in soups and stews.
Fish stock
Follow the same procedure as with beef and chicken broth above. Use whole fish or fish fins, bones, and heads.
- 4 pounds fish; rinse and clean from blood
- One glass of dry white wine
- 2 onions, 2 carrots, some celery stalks, 2 bay leaves, a little parsley and thyme
Instruction
- Add fish, white wine in a large pan, add enough water to cover ingredients
- Bring to a boil, skim off the white foam on top
- Reduce heat, add rest of ingredients, let simmer for 20 minutes
- Remove from heat, allow to cool for 10 minutes
- Take the bones and meats out and sieve the stock to remove small bones and peppers
- Strip off all the soft tissues from the bones as best as you can to later add to soups
The fish stock will keep in the fridge for 3 days, but several months in the freezer. Avoid microwaving the stock but use a conventional stove. Try adding some probiotic food into the soup like fermented vegetables or fermented garlic.
Bone broth soup
Bring some of the meat stock to a boil, add chopped or sliced vegetables like onions, carrots, broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, courgettes, marrow, squash, pumpkin, and simmer for 25-35 minutes.
In case of a leaky gut or other digestive disorders, avoid fibrous vegetables such as cabbage and celery.
- Cook vegetables well until they are really soft
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of chopped garlic and turn heat ofF
- A nice variation is making a smooth soup using a blender
Bone broths are very diverse, so we never get tired of them. And consuming them brings many health benefits.