The Benefits of Bone Broth

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Whether you’re trying to get pregnant, pregnant, or postpartum bone broth is a great source of nutrition for all stages of reproductive health. Really, bone broth provides great nutrition for those who aren’t thinking about pregnancy at all!

We all know that we should get a wide range of vitamins and minerals each day to stay healthy and bone broth can provide those nutrients while also being fast and convenient. For me, it was one of the only foods I could even consider consuming in the first trimester when I was feeling like I didn’t want to eat anything!

So…what is bone broth?

Bone broth is made from simmering animal bones and vegetables into a drinkable broth. All kinds of animal bones can be used, but in my home, most commonly we use chicken bones, so that is what I will focus on here today.

What are the benefits of consuming bone broth?

1. Packed with vitamins and minerals.

   Bone broth contains minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, selenium, and zinc as well as vitamins A, B2, B12, and E, plus omega-3s, omega-6. As a super nutrient-dense food, drinking bone broth can bring you closer to consuming your daily dose of these vitamins and minerals in an easy, warm cup of broth.

2. Can improve your gut health and improve your immunity.

   Bone broth contains high amounts of collagen, which turns to gelatin once cooked. Collagen and gelatin are packed with protein and line your digestive tract with a soothing and protective layer that helps carry liquids to your system and improves digestion. Amino acids found in bone broth can increase your immunity when consumed regularly.

3. Builds strong bones.

   The additional calcium you’ll consume with bone broth can, not only keep your bones strong and healthy, it can help your body grow strong bones for your baby as well.

4. Joint support.

   During pregnancy (and into postpartum) we have a hormone in our body called Relaxin. This hormone is essential for helping your joints be extra flexible and opens your pelvis to help your baby move through the birth canal. The collagen found in bone broth can help sustain and build strength in those joints to maintain their health during and after your baby arrives. Added bonus, collagen is also great for glowing skin, nails, and hair!

5. Postpartum Healing Support

   Drinking bone broth before, during, and after pregnancy can help you maintain a good level of all of those super nutrients which promotes overall health, but also helps keep you hydrated and recover electrolytes from birthing and body feeding. Collagen found in bone broth can also help heal wounds, rebuild muscle and promote overall scar mobility, even post-cesarean. Many cultures only consume warm, soft foods in the postpartum period, believing the warmth helps to heal. Whether or not it promotes healing it definitely can help feel something warm and nutritious in your body, which I believe, naturally promotes health.

Tips For Making and Using Bone Broth

• Choose high-quality bones for your broth. Grass-fed, pastured animals will naturally yield a more nutritious broth. However, don’t let that deter you, use whatever bones you have access to.

• Roast your bones before making broth. The easiest way to do this is to use bones from meat you have already cooked. I like to buy whole chickens to roast for dinner and then use the clean carcasses to make my broth the same night or the next day. Zero waste!

• Use vegetables to make your broth more nutritious and to your taste preference. I like to take all the scraps from meals and put them into a bag in the freezer until I’m ready to make my bone broth. Onions, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and ginger are great for broth, just to name a few. Again, zero waste!

• Add medicinal herbs to increase the nutrition in your broth as well. Bay leaves make nutrients more digestible, nettle can add much-needed iron, ginger to increase digestion as well as soothe morning sickness etc.

• Use bone broth to cook rice, quinoa, or dried beans instead of water for a nutrition and flavor boost!

How to make Bone Broth

Recipe:

1-2 clean chicken carcasses or 1-2 pounds of bones from any animal, roasted

Vegetable Scraps

A splash of apple cider vinegar

2-3 bay leaves

1 tsp (or more) of whole peppercorns

Enough water to cover bones and vegetables

1. Put bones and frozen or fresh vegetable scraps into a large stockpot.

2. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar and bay leaves to draw out the minerals in the bones while cooking.

3. Add medicinal herbs, spices, and seasonings to taste or preference.

4. Cover everything in the pot with enough water to cover with an inch of room in the top of the pot.

5. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

6. Simmer broth for 12-24 hours. The longer the time, the more concentrated your broth will be. Water can be added to the finished broth, to taste, when using it. *see note

7. Add mineral salt to taste and ladle into containers to store in the refrigerator. Freeze any broth you will not use within a week’s time.

8. Drink broth, warmed, in a mug, or use it to cook grains and beans or make soups for nourishment.

*Note: An Instant Pot can be used in place of the stove. Put everything into your Instant Pot, set to sealing, and put the maximum time on the soup setting. If I use my instant pot I sometimes will run the soup setting twice to get a nice dark, concentrated broth.