Bone Broth Benefits: 62 Experts Weigh in on the Best Health Benefits

Bone Broth Benefits: 62 Experts Weigh in on the Best Health Benefits

You and just about the rest of the world by now have heard about bone broth & its potentially beneficial healing properties.

But how familiar are you with the actual benefits people are seeing with drinking bone broth?

Considering how popular this “new” food trend is becoming, and yet still how little we know about it – we decided to interview a panel of 62 experts on the merits of Bone Broth.

We asked each of the 62 Experts the following question:

What, based on your opinion/experience, is the #1 health benefit of drinking Bone Broth, and why?

We were looking for what each expert believes to be the top, most-convincing “Pro” in favor of consuming the food.

What follows is the ultimate resource for discovering the benefits of bone broth.

First, the hard-data (aggregated from all responses):

Top Bone Broth Benefits

  1. Heals Lining of Your Gut (Helps with “Leaky Gut”) – 25 votes
  2. High in Vitamins & Minerals – 22 votes
  3. Boosts Immune System – 13 votes
  4. Healthy Skin, Hair, Nails & Bones – 11 votes
  5. Supports Connective Tissues – 8 votes
  6. Reduces Inflammation – 7 votes
  7. Helps with Indigestion – 6 votes
  8. Workout Recovery – 3 votes
  9. Boosts Energy, Low Calories But Makes You Feel ‘Full’ – 2 votes each
  10. Protein Rich, Better Sleep, Boosts Hydration, Helpful During ‘That Time of the Month’, Clears Acne, Increases Body’s Production of Glutathione – 1 vote each

Interesting stuff.

Frankly, if you’ve read any amount of material on Bone Broth, you are likely already at least somewhat aware of the “Leaky Gut”-healing benefit. It’s not necessarily a surprise to see this “Pro” top the list.

However, a few other positives up there really stand out.

Now, lets get straight into each Expert’s response.

You can use the below quick-launch menu to find the Expert you want to learn from, or keep scrolling for the full content!

Top Benefits of Drinking & Consuming Bone Broth

Responses reported in the order in which they were received.

Serena Wolf – Domesticate ME

Serena Wolf

Response: I love drinking bone broth when I’m feeling under the weather.

Not only is it super comforting, but the broth’s high concentration of minerals helps your immune system fight whatever may be plaguing it.

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Alyssa Brantley – EverydayMaven

Alyssa Brantley

Response: Collagen!

Collagen is extremely important for healthy skin, hair, nails and bones. Bone Broth is an excellent source.

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Emily Laurence – Well+Good

Emily Laurence

Response: Bone broth is great for fighting inflammation and boosting respiratory health, so drink up if you feel a cold coming on.

My favorite way to have it is with a little bit of ginger, which helps with digestion.

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Holli Thompson – HolliThompson.com

Holli Thompson

Response: It’s a soothing, protein rich pick me up that’s high in vitamins and minerals.

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Marissa Vicario – Marissa’s Well-being and Helath

Marissa Vicario

Response: Bone broth offers immense digestive benefits.

The collagen in bone broth supports the lining of the gut to reduce inflammation.

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Ryan Andrews – Precision Nutrition

Ryan Andrews

Response: This is a tough question to answer. While there’s no solid evidence (that I know of) to back up the health claims made about bone broth, this doesn’t mean some of the health claims aren’t true.

We need to remember that food is extremely complex. There might be compounds in bone broth that have potential health benefits…or there might not.

Nutrition scientists are often tempted to try and identify which isolated compounds (e.g., collagen, gelatin, calcium, etc) create a certain outcome, but when we are overly focused on an isolated compound, we might be missing other lessons from the food as a whole (this is probably why the research behind collagen and gelatin supplements is extremely weak).

It’s also important to remember that believing something to be healthful can have quite the placebo effect.

Finally, while I don’t advocate that animal products make up a substantial portion of someone’s overall diet, if someone is going to include animal products, it makes sense from a food waste perspective to use the entire animal, including the bones.

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Amie Valpone – The Healthy Apple

Amie Valpone

Response: It helped heal my gut! Love the collagen!

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Dai Manuel – Dai Manuel’s Blog

Dai Manuel

Response: Bone broth is rich in minerals that support immune function.

For me, that’s #1 being that I live with an autoimmune disease called Autoimmune Neutropenia (AIN).

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Victoria @ A Modern Homestead

Victoria Modern Homestead

Response: For me, the biggest health benefit of drinking bone broth has been the healing of my gut lining!

Leaky gut is a real issue that causes a myriad of health problems that people are facing every day, all without realizing the cause. By healing the gut, those issues disappear!

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Andrea Fabry – It Takes Time

Andrea Fabry

Response: Bone Broth has a tried and true history of health benefits.

With its easy absorb-ability, excellent taste, and rich concentration of nutrients, Bone Broth makes an excellent medicine.

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Tiffany McCauley – The Gracious Pantry

Tiffany McCauley

Response: It’s a great way to fill up, get some very beneficial nutrients and feel soothed and comforted all at the same time.

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Kate Doubler – Real Food RN

Kate Doubler

Response: Supporting all of the connective tissue in our bodies!

I notice an improvement in my recovery from workouts almost immediately!

I also notice that my hair, skin, and nails really benefit from bone broth. It even helps me sleep better at night.

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Krystal Kirton – Natural Fit Foodie

Krystal Kirton

Response: Bone broth is excellent for healing leaky gut.

Bone broth is easily digested and soothing to the digestive system. Gelatin helps restore and strengthen the gut lining.

After just one month of consuming bone broth daily, I have found that I can now tolerate small amounts of gluten and dairy.

I continue to drink bone broth for prolonged gut healing.

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Victoria Haneveer – VictoriaHaneveer.com

Victoria Haneveer

Response: The collagen, vitamins and minerals from the bones are incredibly beneficial for the body, helping it do its job and stay healthy.

Oh, and bone broth tastes amazing too!

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Lindsey Dietz – Today in Dietzville

Lindsey Dietz

Response: The healing and sealing of the gut wall.

Our gut health quite literally determines the health of our bodies overall. Bone broth is such a simple, frugal way to heal the gut, and that leads to a healthier person!

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Renee Groth – The Health Nut Mama

Renee Groth

Response: Heals leaky gut.

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Heather @ The Homesteading Hippy

Heather Homesteading Hippy

Response: Helps one feel full and nourished without a ton of calories.

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Mackenzie Ryan – Food Above Gold

Mackenzie Ryan

Response: Bone marrow is high in healthy fats which helps promote a “full” feeling for longer.

Not only are you hydrating yourself and in-taking lots of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids by drinking bone broth, but you’re actually helping to prevent overeating later.

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Trina Holden – KitchenWise

Trina Holden

Response: It’s like a healing balm for your insides, calming indigestion and offering nutrients in an easy to ingest and absorb form.

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Hayley Ryczek – Health Starts in the Kitchen

Hayley Ryczek

Response: Gut health (preventing or healing leaky gut).

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Maria Emmerich – KETOadapted

Maria Emmerich

Response: Lots of minerals and collagen which are healthy for many reasons.

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Teresa Earley – The Filled Lantern

Teresa Earley

Response: It promotes gut healing.

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Faith Gorsky – An Edible Mosaic

Faith Gorsky

Response: Bone broth is nutrient-dense, and rich in easily-absorbable minerals and collagen.

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Tracy Robinson – Essential Homestead

Tracy Robinson

Response: Gut health.

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Jamie Geller – Joy of Kosher

Jamie Geller

Response: Immune boosting. I have always loved a long slow cooking chicken soup when I’m feeling sick.

Not only does it remind me of my grandparents, but it really makes me feel better.

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Trisha Gilkerson – Intoxicated On Life

Trisha Gilkerson

Response: It’s hard to pick just one benefit, but my favorite is probably that bone broth improves gut health.

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Jordan Reasoner – SCD Lifestyle

Jordan Reasoner

Response: Homemade bone broth can help repair your gut and restore your healthy mucosal lining.

Not only that, but bone broth is full of collagen, gelatin, glycine, and proline.

Last but not least, bone broth also contains glutamine, an important fuel for intestinal cells that may help repair a leaky gut.

I drink 8-12 oz in a coffee mug every single morning and I’ve really found it helps, especially when I’m trying to manage heavy stress or running low on sleep.

Not only that, but it was the only thing that brought me back to life during my latest bout with the stomach flu.

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Elle Kirschenbaum – Only Taste Matters

Elle Kirschenbaum

Response: Boosts energy.

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Erin Vaughan & Octavia Klein – Revivalist Kitchen

Erin Vaughan & Octavia Klein

Response: The number one health benefit of drinking bone broth is that it is a delicious, digestion boosting superhero of a food.

We like to keep a little fat in our broth that keeps our systems running smoothly, while the salt and minerals in broth provide turbo-charged hydration.

PLUS the gelatin in a good bone broth helps to soothe workout induced aches and pains, while giving us softer skin, healthy nails and shiny, long hair.

For the ladies, ya’ll know that anything to make that time of the month even just a little bit easier is worth trying out and since we’ve added bone broth into our diets there is a lot less pain & suffering during our flow.

Clearly, it’s impossible for us to pick just one thing but if we had too, we would have to go with the digestive perks broth provides because we know that by optimizing our digestion we will have tons of energy and a happy, healthy gut.

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Denise Chiriboga – FitTritious

Denise Chiriboga

Response: The collagen that bone broth contains helps form and heal connective tissue.

This is very important in postpartum healing for moms who have just had a baby. After having a baby, tissues become stretched, such as the Linea Alba, which is the connective tissue that holds the right and left rectus abdominus walls together.

After months of having been stretched, the connective tissue is weak and needs to become taut again. The collagen in bone broth is helpful in strengthening and building this connective tissue again.

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Sharon Chen – DelishPlan

Sharon Chen

Response: The large amount of collagen in the beef bone broth has been a huge help to reduce the discomfort from my knee joints due to arthroscopic knee surgeries, especially on raining days.

I can barely feel any soreness, which was guaranteed before. Therefore, this is the #1 health benefit of drinking Bone Broth to me.

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Janette Fuschi – Culinary Ginger

Janette Fuschi

Response: Healing benefits and immune system support.

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Jess Williams – Health Jess

Jess Williams

Response: Bone Broth has been the ultimate food to heal leaky gut and clear my face of acne.

It helps heal the mucosal lining of the digestive track, allowing the digestive system to absorb the nutrients properly and discard the toxins.

The gut is often referred to as the second brain. Research shows that microbes found in the gut are able to communicate with the brain, and through this helps the brain to function or unfortunately cause dysfunction.

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Kelley Herring – Healing Gourmet

Kelley Herring

Response: Bone broth is rich in a wide variety of nutrients. And one of the most important of these is the amino acid glycine.

Glycine is essential when it comes to detoxification, because it is a starter compound for the production of glutathione – your body’s most powerful antioxidant and detoxifying agent.

The function of glutathione in the body is so diverse and so vital that more than 89,000 medical articles have been written about it! And bone broth is an excellent way to increase your body’s production of this vital compound.

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David Jockers – DrJockers.com

David Jockers

Response: It reduces inflammation and helps to support digestive health.

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Angela Roberts – Spinach Tiger

Angela Roberts

Response: Healing Gut.

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Vivica Menegaz – The Nourised Caveman

Vivica Menegaz

Response: Broth adds important minerals and electrolytes to the diet, in addition to other beneficial nutrients like glucosamine, gelatin, and collagen.

It is also a great source of anti inflammatory amino acids, like proline and glycine. It is very helpful when detoxing, and a great source of easily absorbable fluids for the body.

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Michelle Smith – The Whole Smiths

Michelle Smith

Response: When I’m drinking bone broth, it always keeps me from getting sick!

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Marcy Crabtree – Ben And Me

Marcy Crabtree

Response: One of the main reasons I make and drink bone broth regularly is because it is so nutritious.

It is full of minerals, including magnesium and calcium, and the fat content in the broth helps our bodies absorb these minerals.

It’s also full of collagen and gelatin which are good for skin, hair, and joints.

Add to that the immunity boosting properties of a good cup of broth and it’s no wonder Grandma’s homemade chicken soup cured everything.

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Erica Winn – Real Simple Good

Erica Winn

Response: Bone broth provides the nutritional synergy to calm an overactive immune system while supplying the body with raw materials to rebuild stronger and healthier cells.

Plus, it tastes yummy, and feels kind of ritualistic. I love a warm beverage in the morning while I sit at my computer and work. And there’s no better way to start your day than with a warm mug full of power nutrients and superfood.

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Brianne Grogan – FumFusionFitness

Brianne Grogan

Response: I can’t choose just one… I’ve gotta choose three:

Healthy joints, youthful skin, and it’s so healing for a leaky, inflamed gut!

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Craig Fear – Fearless Eating

Craig Fear

Response: Bone broth helps soothe intestinal inflammation and can thus help a wide variety of digestive issues including heartburn, GERD and IBS.

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Steph Gaudreau – Stupid Easy Paleo

Steph Gaudreau

Response: It’s rich in gut- and joint-soothing gelatin!

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Lina Calin – Strictly Delicious

Lina CAlin

Response: It contains easy-to-absorb vitamins and minerals that are difficult to get naturally in a diet from other parts of an animal.

And, although it’s not really a vitamin, my body benefits so much from the natural collagen that aids healthy digestions, hair skin, and nails!

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Kelly Liston & Tamara Mannelly – Oh Lardy

Kelly Liston

Response: Gut health and healing.

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Chrissa Benson – Physical Kitchness

Chrissa Benson

Response: Immunity powers!

I always make, then store bone broth in my freezer. So, whenever I feel a sniffle or cough coming on, I simply thaw out my immunity-boosting broth and drink up all those vitamins and minerals!

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Sandra Shaffer – The Foodie Affair

Sandra Shaffer

Response: Bone Broth is full of vitamins and minerals that can help support the immune system.

During the winter months this extra boost is just what my body needs to keep colds and the flu at bay.

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Linda Spiker – The Organic Kitchen

Linda Spiker

Response: I love the belly healing benefits of gelatin, not to mention what it does for the skin!

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Erin Lynch – Platings And Pairings

Erin Lynch

Response: I love that bone broth is full of healthy nutrients and COLLAGEN!

It’s great for the skin – Plumping it up, reducing wrinkles and helping it glow!

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Camille Macres – Camille’s Paleo Kitchen

Camille Macres

Response: We all know at this point that bone broth is amazing for gut and joint health, but the thing that puts it to the top of my list is is the instant surge of energy and aliveness I feel when I drink it.

I don’t know what is responsible for that feeling, but I’ll take it!

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Tara Buss – We Got Real

Tara Buss

Response: I have found bone broth to be very beneficial for optimal gut, skin, and join health. It’s an economical way to get collagen and nutrients into the diet.

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Renee @ Raising Generation Nourished

Renee Nourished

Response: Bone broth is rich in minerals that our bodies desperately need to function properly.

Additionally, the process of making the bone broth pulls the naturally occurring gelatin from the bones, aiding in gut health.

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Maryea Flaherty – Happy Healthy Mama

Maryea Flaherty

Response: The #1 health benefit is the boost to your immune system.

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Elise New – Frugal Farm Wife

Elise New

Response: Bone broth is a gift to those of us in food-allergy families, in part because the gelatin in bone broth helps seal holes in the intestine, which helps ease gut-health related issues (such as chronic diarrhea, constipation, and even some food intolerances).

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Jessie Shafer – Delicious Living

Jessie Shafer

Response: The collagen for joint, skin, hair and nail health.

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Amanda Torres – The Curious Coconut

Amanda Torres

Response: To be clear, I never got into the whole pour-it-in-a-mug-and-drink-it-like-coffee trend.

But, I absolutely adore making super simple soups with broth, which accomplishes the same goal but tastes better to me.

These soups can really be as simple as a few slices of onion, maybe some carrot and celery, a sliced radish, and some kind of herb simmered for a few minutes to flavor the broth.

I am a huge fan of Traditional Chinese Medicine and have been advised by all of the doctors I’ve seen over the years that homemade bone broth is an ultra-healing food according to this ancient medicine.

It’s extremely easy to digest and assimilate, and an ideal food for those with weak digestive systems. I certainly relied on it heavily when I was undergoing a protocol to heal leaky gut syndrome.

Bone broth is especially healthy in the winter, when it is time to support our “water” element with soup-like foods according to Chinese medical theory.

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Eliza De La Portilla – The Tattooed Homestead

Eliza De La Portilla

Response: Bone broth is rich in vitamins, minerals and healing compounds like collagen.

It also helps support the body and strengthen the immune system.

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Hilah Johnson – Hilah Cooking

Hilah Johnson

Response: Bone broth is a good source of calcium and other minerals.

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Dr. Karen Lee – DrKarenSLee.com

Dr. Karen Lee

Response: Bone broth is a vital component of gut healing protocol for those with leaky gut, but also for those who want to maintain or improve their health.

It’s important to use bone with marrow and joints for the most benefit, but also use bones from grass-fed cows or pastured pigs and chicken.

Bones are rich in minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorus – all of which we need for our own bone health. Plus, adding joints with cartilage to the broth adds collagen, which is also rich in Glycine (necessary for DNA and RNA synthesis) and Proline (necessary for reversing atherosclerosis).

It also has Chondroitin Sulfate and Hyaluronic Acid that are beneficial for joint and skin health.

With all the processed foods most Americans are eating on the Standard American Diet (SAD) with artificial colors, artificial flavorings, GMO, and pesticide ridden foods, repairing our cells with bone broth should be part of every day routine.

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Jessica DeMay – Jay’s Baking Me Crazy

Jessica Demay

Response: Gut healing and reduction of inflammation of the intestines

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Jennifer Burcke – 1840 Farm

Jennifer Burcke

Response: I love transforming what used to be thrown away into a broth full of healthy calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, collagen, and a host of other nutritious minerals to serve at our family table.

It adds such amazing color, depth of flavor, and healthy nutrition to my favorite recipes.

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Dr. Kellyann Petrucci – DrKellyAnn.com

Dr. Kellyann Petrucci

Response: Bone broth heals the gut.

This gelatin rich broth heals your gut and beautifies your body like nobody’s business!

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A huge thank you to every expert who contributed to this project.

Your efforts will serve to help many in the coming weeks, months & years in their search to find constructive information on consuming Bone Broth.

Once again, here are the aggregated results (as voted on by our 62+ contributors):

Top Bone Broth Benefits

  1. Heals Lining of Your Gut (Helps with “Leaky Gut”) – 25 votes
  2. High in Vitamins & Minerals – 22 votes
  3. Boosts Immune System – 13 votes
  4. Healthy Skin, Hair, Nails & Bones – 11 votes
  5. Supports Connective Tissues – 8 votes
  6. Reduces Inflammation – 7 votes
  7. Helps with Indigestion – 6 votes
  8. Workout Recovery – 3 votes
  9. Boosts Energy, Low Calories But Makes You Feel ‘Full’ – 2 votes each
  10. Protein Rich, Better Sleep, Boosts Hydration, Helpful During ‘That Time of the Month’, Clears Acne, Increases Body’s Production of Glutathione – 1 vote each

What other Bone Broth benefits are you aware of? Is there anything the experts missed?

Continue the discussion in the comments below.

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