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Ah, bone broth. Of all the wellness trends, this one’s probably up there with the strangest. A broth? Made from bones, you say? Sounds a bit fee-fi-fo-fum to me. Still, we know that bone broth has an array of supposed health benefits. Some studies have shown that it’s an anti-inflammatory, which can help with everything from fatigue to low mood. It contains amino acids like glycine and glutamine, which can help regulate the immune system and promote gut health. And, famously, it is also brimming with collagen, which is said to improve skin and joint health. Hmmm, maybe not so unappealing after all?
What is bone broth?
Bone broth is the byproduct of simmering bones (usually chicken or beef) in filtered water over a low heat for long periods of time. Often, you’ll add the odds and ends of fresh produce – like onion skins and the nubs of root vegetables – to the mixture, as well as spices like turmeric, for added flavour.
What are the benefits of drinking bone broth?
“Bone broth is rich in minerals and amino acids that the body can readily absorb,” nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner Farzanah Nasser previously explained to British Vogue. “It’s also rich in glutamine, which can heal and support the gut lining.”
Besides being a gut-healing powerhouse, bone broth is rich in electrolytes – the bodily minerals that regulate bodily processes (like blood pressure), transmit nerve messages and facilitate the contraction of muscles. With many electrolytes being lost through sweat and urine, bone broth, along with eating the right amount of salt, and taking electrolytes, is critical.
How much bone broth should you drink?
But exactly how much bone broth should we be knocking back per week? Salma Hayek, who is 58 but looks as though she has consumed The Substance, has said in the past that she drinks a cup a day. She has also said in the past that this is why she’s avoided botox. “It’s full of gelatine and fat and has bone marrow and I think it is very good to keep yourself young,” she told People way back in 2015 (she was ahead of her time, as usual). “It helps to restructure the tissues for your skin, your hair and your nails. It’s full of collagen.”
What happened when I drank bone broth
Well, look, if it’s good enough for Salma then it’s good enough for me. A cup of bone broth a day sounds difficult, though. All that boiling and stirring and boiling again. Wouldn’t I get tired of the stuff? Or would I never get tired of anything, ever again, because all that broth would ensure that I was fresh-faced and spritely, like a newborn lamb? There was only one way to find out. I drank a cup of bone broth every day for a week. Here’s what happened.
Days one to three
The first few days were easy. To make the bone broth, I roasted a chicken, stripped the meat and boiled the carcass for a good few hours on a low heat. The great thing about bone broth is that, unlike collagen supplements, it uses up any leftovers and is cheap to make at home. Even so, drinking bone broth on its own can be quite challenging, even for a health aficionado such as myself. To that end, I added a squeeze of lemon and pinch of cayenne pepper to make it a little more palatable. But if you’ve got the stomach for it, then by all means, go bareback.
Days three to five
This is when things got tricky. As predicted, I grew sick of all that boiling and stirring. After a while, I started feeling like some sort of Old Mother Hubbard character, constantly crouched over her cauldron of bones. Plus, everything started smelling of the stuff – my hair, my clothes, the rooms of my house. So I ended up caving and buying a few pre-made pouches instead. UK company Borough Broth sells both organic chicken and beef broth, although there are plenty of other brands to choose from and many of them are sold in local supermarkets. The microwave became my best friend.
This was also around the time that I started noticing a few positive changes. Despite upholding an almost military-grade skincare regime since the age of 13, I’ve regularly suffered from bouts of adult acne – sometimes you’re just born with it, baby. After a few days of mainlining bone broth, however, not a single new breakout occurred. This might have been a coincidence, of course – especially considering that a few days really isn’t much time, particularly with regards to skin – but perhaps not. As soon as I noticed this fact, the broth started to taste really good. One evening, I went crazy and had two cups.
Days five to seven
By the fifth or sixth day, I had bone broth drinking down to a fine art. A cup of broth in the morning with some bread and butter? Don’t mind if I do. A bit of broth thrown over some rice? Absolutely! Pure chicken broth with a scattering of turmeric and pepper? Where do I sign? And again, this may have been psychosomatic, but I’m pretty sure that my skin developed a new and dewy glow over the course of the experiment. I am over the age of 30 but, looking in the mirror, I reckon I could pass for 26.
Unfortunately, nobody was able to experience my glowing skin because on the fifth day I contracted Covid (so much for the supposed immune system benefits?), which meant I had to keep my youthful face inside. Still, recovery was faster than any other time I’ve had the virus, which could be down to the broth – again, it’s impossible to say. Either way, I’ve never looked so bright while feeling so unwell. Which has to count for something?
Now for the verdict. Will I be drinking bone broth every day, moving forward? Maybe not with the same stringency as during this past week, but I’ll definitely up my intake. After a while, I got a taste for it, and it’s an easy thing to incorporate into meals. (Like I said, you don’t have to drink it like tea. You can use it as a base for soup, or with other ingredients. She’s versatile!) That said, on the eighth day, even I had to have a break. Maybe every other day from now on.
Is homemade bone broth better than store bought?
Short answer, yes. Nuanced answer, it depends. With homemade bone broth, you’re able to control the ingredients, sodium levels and general quantities. This can mean that the finished product is simpler, though it does require more effort on your part.
Store bought bone broth varies greatly in quality and nutritional value. There’s the store-bought liquid broth which, honestly, is very similar to that you’d make at home, though likely to be far more expensive. Some, like Borough Broth, use minimal ingredients and offer variations on the traditional broth with twists like Chicken Pho flavour. Others come in powder form and are to be mixed with hot water at home.
The risk you run with store-bought versions is that they can be watered down to stretch quantities, diluting the actual goodness of what you’re getting from the broth. They may also use additives or preservatives to ensure a longer shelf life. Like most things, the easiest way to ensure you’re getting the most bang from your buck (broth) is to make it yourself.
Are there side effects to drinking bone broth?
There are some, though they’re rare and usually linked to high sodium levels or allergic-like reactions. For people with histamine intolerance, bone broth can trigger symptoms like headaches, dizziness and flushing, though this may not happen every time. Simmering the bones with onion can cause stomach upset and digestive discomfort in individuals with IBS, and high sodium levels can cause blood pressure to rise. However, this is not always the case and will be dependent on the type and amount of bone broth that’s drunk.
This article was originally published on British Vogue.
