Boost your wellness with this super bone broth protein

First, let’s get this straight. Bone broth is not a regular stock or broth. It’s the superhero of stocks. Some call is liquid gold.

Where stock and broth are boiled for a few hours, bone broth is simmered for up to 24 hours or pressure cooked for at least 90 minutes. Bone broth should also contain vinegar, which draws additional nutrients from the bones.

There are a lot of amazing benefits of bone broth, but today we’re going to focus on one - collagen!

Collagen is a protein that contains specific amino acids that are essential for rebuilding bone, connective tissue, and skin. These little amino acids do so much for your overall wellness.

According to ConsumerLab’s reviews, 1 cup of store bought bone broth contains anywhere from 2.5 to 11.5 grams of collagen. I assume that a homemade bone broth made from quality pasture raised bones (you know, the kind that’s like jello at room temperature) would have 11.5 grams of collagen or more per serving. 

There are many nutritionists, health coaches, and practitioners that recommend collagen supplements anywhere from 10-15 grams per day. So 1 cup of bone broth per day would cover it. And, since the only side effect of too much collagen (if that’s even possible) is a tummy ache, feel free to have as much as your body says it needs.

Collagen helps repair a leaky gut.

Your intestinal walls are made up of microscopic folds or “villi”. The villi are built from amino acids in collagen. The collagen literally seals the leaks.

Collagen improves the appearance of your hair, skin, and nails.

Starting at about age 35, you naturally start to produce less collagen. This is one reason why your hair may get brittle, your skin becomes less elastic and starts to form wrinkles, and your nails may be weaker. Adding more collagen to your diet is a great way to make your hair, skin, and nails smoother, firmer, and silkier.

Collagen impacts your joint health.

Like oil in a car, collagen allows your joints to move smoothly. As you age and collagen depletes, adding more collagen to your diet will help ease any pain or stiffness when your body moves.

Collagen supports bone formation, growth, and repair.

Your bones are made of ⅓ collagen. This is what allows them to be flexible. Adding collagen to your diet may support bone health by increasing the mineral density. There are studies that show collagen can also help with osteoporosis.

Collagen also supports your heart and liver function.

Specific amino acids in collagen can help your liver and heart repair itself from the damage caused by normal function.

And a great thing about bone broth is that it’s easy to make. You can find our bone broth recipe here.

It’s important to note that the quality and source of your bones will significantly impact the quality and amount of collagen in your broth. Please make sure you are sourcing from farms like ours that raise truly pastured animals.

Miller’s has a bunch of bone options for making an excellent bone broth: beef marrow bones, beef bones, pork bones, chicken neck and back, stewing hens, and more! 

To make things a bit easier for you, we created a bone broth collection where you can buy bone broth as well as ingredients to make it yourself.

And please remember to NOT throw away the leftover bones from your steaks, roasts, and other cuts. Those can be made into bone broth within a few days, or stick them in the freezer (along with your veggie scraps) for making bone broth later.

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*Photo by Jules