Have you been wondering why health gurus, fitness enthusiasts or even celebrities and influencers seem to love bone broth? So have we! Here is the low-down on all things bone broth:
Health, wellness and fitness communities around the globe have been making a fuss about bone broth for quite some time now. Celebrities have confessed their love for this brew, claiming that it has made them feel healthier, and helped improve their weight loss journey. Bone broth has actually been a part of many cultures' traditional diets for years, only making its way into the trendy social-media ecosystem in recent history.
WHAT IS BONE BROTH?
Soup! Bone broth is a clear nutrient-dense soup that is made from cooking down animal bones, cartilage and meat. Bone broth can be made with beef, pork or even seafood depending on what you fancy. When you reduce and simmer down meat and cartilage from bones in boiling water, they melt and become tasty, nutritious, liquid gold.
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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BONE BROTH AND STOCK?
Well, they are quite similar. Some say they are pretty much the same! However the main difference in length of cook-time. Stock is cooked in the same process as bone broth but for a shorter period of time (around 4-6 hours), which is why it is more viscous.
On the other hand, bone broth is reduced for hours longer (often 24 hours… or more), making it a lighter, thinner soup. Another difference is that bone broth tends to use bones that have slightly more meat attached while stock may use cleaner bones.
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WHY ARE PEOPLE OBSESSED WITH BONE BROTH?
Bone broth has been the talk of the town mainly because it is highly nutritious. The longer you cook down bones to make a broth, the more nutrients are released which is why the health and wellness community have been fussing over this hot topic for quite a while now. Since bone broth is cooked for so long, the broken-down cartilage and gelatin release all their fabulous nutrients into the soup, like calcium, magnesium, silicon, sulphur and phosphorous.
The melted-down gelatin comes from the bone’s collagen. Collagen is a structural protein that is found naturally in our bodies. It is a vital property that gives our skin and joints flexibility, strength and plumpness. When cooking down animal collagen, its protein breaks into amino acids and gives the soup drinker the potential added benefits of ingesting glycine and glutamine for example.