Old News Can Be Good News
Bone broth might be old news for some of you. But in more than thirty years of practice — I have been caring for patients since 1996 — I have learned that the oldest news is often the best news. Some of the most powerful things I recommend are things your great-grandmother already knew by heart.
One of my favourite subjects is how the diets of our ancestors were, in many ways, healthier than our modern processed-food diet. They may not have had the science to explain why a food worked. They simply knew that it did. Bone broth is a beautiful example — there was almost always a pot on the stove, or a clay vessel over the fire, quietly turning bones and joints into something nourishing.
That instinct is exactly what I honour in the first pillar of my approach — Good Food and Nutrition — within The Epigenetic Autoimmune Protocol (the Epi-AIP). Broth is one of the simplest, gentlest, most traditional foods I know, and it earns its place on the menu again and again.
A proper broth is made by simmering the bones and joints of larger animals — bison, elk, deer, and of course cows — for many hours. There are also broths made from the leftover bones, necks, and feet of chicken and turkey, and from the bones, heads, and shells of fish and shellfish. Nose to tail, nothing wasted.
The Three Elements of a Nourishing Broth
A good bone broth gives you three distinct gifts: melted bone marrow, dissolved minerals from the bone itself, and thoroughly dissolved cartilage. Each one does something different for you.
Bone Marrow, Anyone?
Marrow is the easiest to understand: nutrient-dense fat, plain and simple. I like to melt it gently in the oven and stir it into a spicy soup.
I always enjoy how surprised new parents are when they watch their toddler chew into a chicken bone to suck out the marrow — an ancient instinct that all of your ancestors shared, and that primates still act on when they come across a carcass.
There are two kinds of marrow, each supporting you differently:
- Red marrow is the storehouse where you build your red and white blood cells — arguably two of the most important cells in your body — and the precursor molecules that keep your blood and immune system supplied.
- Yellow marrow is rich in high-energy fats, fat-soluble vitamins, and more collagen.
Marrow is also a source of vitamin A, vitamin K2, and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Marrow from beef and lamb also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
Your Bones Are a Mineral Bank Account
Believe it or not, your bones are biochemical “bank accounts,” storing and releasing the minerals and proteins that nearly every function in your body depends on:
- Calcium supports nerve conduction, muscle contraction, heart function, stable moods, and hormonal balance, and it participates in hundreds of enzyme reactions.
- Phosphorus helps activate and regulate energy production and is essential to the healthy replication of your DNA.
- Magnesium works in over 300 enzyme pathways and is needed for the proper use of proteins and fatty acids. Magnesium deficiency is one of the most common mineral shortfalls in the developed world, and a real factor in weakened immunity.
- Sodium and potassium are your primary electrolytes, pumping fluid in and out of cells and keeping nerves, muscles, and signalling molecules working properly.
- Sulphur helps you build strong connective tissue like cartilage, skin, and fascia; supports enzymes, antibodies, and hormones; and helps your liver detoxify and produce healthy bile.
Sorry — Broth Is Not an Abundant Source of Minerals
Here is the honest part. Although bone broth supplies your bones’ minerals in the right proportions, the measured amounts per cup are surprisingly small. A cup of broth is not going to meet your daily calcium or magnesium target on its own.
So why do I still recommend it?
As a practitioner trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as functional medicine, I have learned to respect the plain common sense in some very old ideas. In TCM theory, your bones, marrow, and brain are where you store your body’s deep reserves — both the activating (Yang) and restoring (Yin) processes — along with the flexible protein found in every cup of broth.
Picture yourself as a city planner whose job is to repair the city — the city being your body. What would happen if, twice a day for months, you received a small, steady delivery of restoration materials in exactly the proportions your most important structures need? Not a flood, just a reliable trickle in the right ratio. Over weeks, that quiet resupply is where the value lives. This is the kind of patient, tissue-level rebuilding I lean on in Phase Two: Reset and Rebuild, where the goal is repair rather than a quick fix.
Many of my patients tell me they notice improvements in comfort, mobility, energy, cognition, and sleep after a few weeks of regular broth. I share that as encouragement, not as a promise — every body and timeline is different. When I am feeling depleted myself, I will take a good multi-mineral and trace-mineral supplement, with a little vitamin C, alongside my bowl of broth.
Broth Also Provides Collagen — the Most Important Protein in Your Body
Roughly one-quarter of your body’s protein is collagen, and it keeps your bones strong, resilient, and able to absorb the impact of sport and falls.
People with brittle bones often focus only on minerals — the substances that make bone hard, but also more brittle. Without enough collagen (and enough vitamin D and vitamin C), those minerals cannot be deposited properly into your “bank account” bones. Think of collagen as the frame and lumber of a house, and the minerals as the drywall, doors, and finishing touches. You need the frame first.
Collagen is what makes a good broth turn thick and jelly-like when it cools. It is often called gelatin, and it has been used as a tonic in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. A century ago, gelatin was all the rage in “new” healthy eating; it helps many people digest meats, legumes, and starchy foods. (One caution: some modern gelatin preparations contain MSG, so read the label.)
Cartilage: The Quiet Star of a Good Broth
The last element — and in some ways the most important — is dissolved cartilage. Cartilage is built from intricate structures called glycosaminoglycans, or GAGs. One of my favourites is N-acetyl-glucosamine, or NAG, which has two important jobs.
First, it is essential for your joints to heal, especially from chronic inflammation. Second, it is a primary building block of your mucous membrane — the lining that keeps you from digesting yourself. We are made of meat, more or less, yet we do not digest ourselves, because a mucous-like film coats and protects the stomach and intestines. (Cartilage is exactly what dogs love about a good bone.)
Cook a broth long enough for the cartilage to fully dissolve, and something almost magical happens: the surface tension of the broth drops below that of your mucous membrane, making the broth — and the rest of your meal — remarkably easy to absorb.
The Amino Acids That Do the Work
The deepest gift of broth is its amino acids, drawn largely from collagen:
- Glycine helps build blood cells, supports the heart, and forms DNA and RNA. It helps your liver make bile, is a component of glutathione (one of your strongest antioxidants), steadies blood sugar when you are hungry, and is calming enough to support good sleep.
- Arginine helps release nitric oxide, which improves circulation in the body and brain, supports healthy blood pressure, and speeds wound healing by increasing collagen deposition in the skin.
- Glutamine supports your immune and digestive systems during illness and healing, and research points to its role in preventing and healing the leaky gut.
- Proline has been studied for supporting memory and mood.
Your mucous membrane has a profound impact on your whole health. A strong, well-fed membrane — working with your lymphatic system — carries a large share of your immune system’s daily effort, helping keep unwelcome chemicals, parasites, and microbes out of your bloodstream. When that barrier breaks down, you become vulnerable to the leaky gut, one of the suggested triggers of Autoimmune dysfunction. Feeding that membrane well is a big reason broth sits so comfortably inside the Epi-AIP.
Recipe: Boosted Bone Broth
When I cannot buy good broth locally or make a fresh batch, this is my go-to — a quick way to boost a plain broth into something deeply nourishing. It is my travelling recipe, and my between-batches recipe.
Ingredients (makes 2 portions)
- 2 cups homemade or store-bought broth
- 2 Tbsp wakame kelp
- 1/2 lemon — juice squeezed in, and the peel added
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp beef gelatin
- 1 Tbsp hydrolyzed collagen
- 1 tsp L-glutamine
- 1 tsp N-A-G (N-acetyl-glucosamine)
Method
- Bring the broth to a gentle simmer.
- Add the lemon juice and peel, the wakame kelp, and the beef gelatin.
- Simmer for about 3 minutes, then season to taste with the sea salt.
- Stirring constantly, whisk in the hydrolyzed collagen, L-glutamine, and N-A-G until fully dissolved.
- Pour into a bowl and enjoy some traditional slurping.
A gentle note: long-simmered broths, and broths that have been stored or reheated, can be higher in histamine. If you are histamine-sensitive, favour shorter cooks and fresher batches, cool and freeze promptly, and see how your body responds.
A Pot on the Stove
So there you have it — a few of the reasons your grandmothers, and your ancestors’ grandmothers, almost always kept a pot going and used every part of the animals they harvested. Daily bowls or mugs of broth have quietly become a movement for healing, longevity, and healthy skin.
None of this replaces the care of your own physician, and broth is not a cure. It is simply good, honest food that gives your body the raw materials to repair itself. Enjoy your bone broth, share it with some anti-inflammatory meals, and — as always — listen to your body.
▶ Explore the First Pillar: Good Food and Nutrition
▶ CTA: Book an Initial Consultation
The information on this website is provided for general educational purposes. It is not a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis, emergency assessment, or treatment from your physician or another qualified healthcare professional.
