My 5 Favorite Foods for Gut Issues: #5 Bone Broth

We can’t talk about my 5 favorite foods for gut health without talking about bone broth. 

Whether you're drinking it on its own or you’re cooking a delicious broth based soup for dinner, bone broth is a staple in the world of nutritional therapy. 

Here are 3 reasons I love bone broth for a healthy digestive system: 

1. Glutamine- The collagen found in bone broth is a good source of the amino acid (building block of protein) glutamine. This amino acid is important to many functions in the body, but is especially helpful in maintaining healthy function of the digestive system. Glutamine strengthens and repairs the lining of the intestine so it can prevent and repair a leaky gut. Repairing (or avoiding leaky gut all together) means you can resolve your annoying symptoms like food sensitivities, environmental allergies, hives, stuffy nose and more.

2. Arginine-Bone broth is a rich source of another amino acid, arginine. This amino acid has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and in animal studies has been shown to reduce inflammation in the airways of subjects suffering from asthma. Drinking bone broth to reduce chronic inflammation in the digestive system can help resolve the heightened immune response associated with adverse food reactions and can help with inflammatory digestive conditions like IBS and Chron’s. With the possibility to help fight the development of other inflammatory conditions in the body like arthritis, cancer, Alzheimers and type 2 diabetes. 

3. Easy to digest- I often hear that people feel they have “slow digestion” and many of my clients come to me with impaired digestive function. Some foods are more difficult for us to break down and digest than others, which can add stress to an already stressed digestive system. Bone broth is gentle on the digestive system and particularly easy for our bodies to digest and absorb nutrients out of. Give your digestive system some love and drink bone broth so it can take a well deserved break, repair itself and be ready to serve you well for the rest of your life. 

⁠⁠A note on sourcing your animal bones:
 

Just like the measurable nutritional differences in dairy and meat products that come from grass fed cows when compared to grain fed cows, we see the same sort of differences with stock bones.

Grass fed meat and bones tend to have higher levels of fat soluble vitamins like A and K, B vitamins, and minerals like calcium, magnesium, iodine, and zinc. 

Grass fed animal products also have higher levels of antioxidants and a more favorable ratio of omega 3’s to omega 6’s when compared to grain fed or grain finished beef products. 

Not to mention, grass fed and organically raised animals have much lower levels of chemicals and synthetic hormones in them when compared to conventionally raised animals. 

For this reason, I highly recommend only using bones from high quality and organically raised animals for your bone broth. 

You MUST try this recipe if you:

*Drink coffee each morning and would like a caffeine free alternative

*Suspect you have a leaky gut

*Have a ‘sensitive’ stomach

*Experience allergies, sensitivities and intolerances foods

*Experience seasonal allergies 

*Experience sinus congestion ‘stuffy head’

*Experience racing pulse after eating

*Experience bloating 1-2 hours after meals

*Experience hives

*Experience frequent gas

*Experience alternating constipation and diarrhea  

*Have been diagnosed with a digestive disorder such as Chron’s, IBS, IBD, etc.