Bone broth is one of the best foods you can add to your diet if you are looking for natural ways to enhance your fertility. This is because bone broth is rich in many important nutrients that support hormone health and egg quality.
Bone broth has been used for centuries. In fact, Hippocrates recommended bone broth 2500 years ago because of its rich healing properties. The rich nutrient profile has not changed, but we have since come to understand what makes bone broth so powerful.
In this article, we will cover what makes bone broth a fertility superfood and the best ways to incorporate bone broth into your diet. Let’s dive in!
What is Bone Broth?
Bone broth is the liquid made by simmering animal bones, connective tissues, and vegetables/ herbs over a long period of time. The slow cooking process helps to extract the essential nutrients, minerals, and amino acids that make bone broth so powerful.
Bone broth simmers much longer than traditional broths and stocks. This extended cook time breaks down collagen into gelatin and draws minerals from the bones into the broth.
When cooled, a hardy bone broth will form a gel. This tells you that the collagen has fully gelatinized which is exactly what you are hoping for from bone broth!
People most commonly make bone broth using beef or chicken bones. Adding vinegar is essential to help draw out the minerals from the bones. And the added vegetables and herbs add flavor and more essential nutrients.
Though exact nutrient composition varies from batch to batch, 8 oz of bone broth typically contains 40-60 calories, 10 grams of protein, and almost no carbohydrate or fat.
What Makes Bone Broth A Fertility Superfood?
Bone broth is packed with nutrients. But what specifically makes bone broth so beneficial for fertility? There are a handful of key nutrients that are unique to bone broth that are worth highlighting.
Collagen, Gelatin, Glycine, & Glutamine
Collagen is a structural protein found in animal products. Collagen is transformed into gelatin during the long simmering process used to make bone broth. Glycine and glutamine are two of the main amino acids that make up gelatin.
So, when you hear that bone broth is a rich source of collagen, gelatin, glycine, or glutamine it is really one in the same as they all come from collagen as it is broken down in the cooking process.
The amino acids glycine and glutamine are extremely valuable because they are key ingredients for the body’s main antioxidant, glutathione. And in order to keep up with the body’s demands for glutathione, there must be sufficient amounts of glycine and glutamine coming in.
Glutathione (also known as the master antioxidant) is a main antioxidant that protects egg and sperm cells from oxidative damage. It also plays a key role in inflammation and the immune system (1).
Glycine and glutamine are also beneficial for gut health. In fact, these two amino acids have been shown to strengthen gut integrity (2). Gut health is important for fertility because it helps to better absorb nutrients, reduces inflammation, and helps to regulate estrogen levels.
Minerals
Bones are the most mineral dense part of the animal and the long simmering method used to make bone broth helps to extract those nutrients into the broth.
Bone broth is a rich source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, and copper. However, exact levels of the minerals vary from batch to batch so it is nearly impossible to say how much of each mineral you’ll get in a serving of bone broth.
Minerals are important for your fertility because they help direct hormone balance and support egg quality and implantation.
And unfortunately, a significant portion of women in the US are not meeting their daily requirements for many important minerals (3).
Since bone broth is a nutrient dense food source of many minerals, it can help to boost mineral consumption during preconception and pregnancy when meeting nutrient needs are especially important.
Best Ways to Incorporate Bone Broth for Fertility
Bone broth is an incredibly versatile and nutrient-dense addition to a fertility boosting diet. Whether you make it at home or purchase it from a store, here’s how to incorporate it into your routine.
Homemade Bone Broth
Making bone broth at home is extremely simple. And you also get to control the ingredients, extraction time, and how it is stored. Plus, it is way less expensive. In fact, you can make it for pennies on the dollar using scraps you’d otherwise throw out!
Here is a simple bone broth recipe to get you started. And just remember a few tips for best results:
- Use organic, pasture-raised bones, if available.
- Add a splash of apple cider vinegar to help extract the minerals.
- Don’t be afraid to add in extras like turmeric, ginger, or seaweed to boost the micronutrients.
- The longer you simmer, the more nutrients you’ll extract. Chicken bones will literally crumble between your fingers when complete. Larger beef bones may make 2 or more batches of broth.
- Using a pressure cooker will significantly speed up the process. Simmering bone broth on a stovetop takes 12-24 hours, but using a pressure cooker reduces the cooking time to just 2-4 hours.
- Cool the broth to less than 40°]F as quickly as possible (3). Broth is the ideal environment for bacteria to flourish and improper storage can make you sick.
- Freeze in ice cube trays so you can easily portion out what you need for recipes or single servings.
Store-Bought Bone Broth
While making bone broth is really quite simple, I get it isn’t possible for everyone. Luckily, high-quality bone broth is readily available for purchase at most supermarkets these days.
Here are a few things to look for when buying bone broth:
- Grass-fed/ pastured-raised and ideally organic to ensure the highest quality.
- Opt for shelf-stable glass jars over metal cans which may contain BPA.
- Read the ingredients list and avoid added preservatives or flavor enhancers.
Adding Bone Broth To Your Diet
By now I hope you can see the benefits of bone broth for fertility and are starting to think about how you might incorporate it into your diet. Here are a couple of ways to consider adding in bone broth:
- Sipping it warm: Drink a cup in the morning or evening.
- Adding it to recipes: Use it as a base for soups, stews, or casserole dishes.
- Cooking grains: Swap water for bone broth when preparing quinoa or rice.
Final Thoughts
People have used bone broth for millennials because of its rich nutrient profile and healing powers. Only recently have we started to understand exactly why bone broth is so beneficial, especially for women who are looking to optimize their fertility.
The long simmering process converts collagen into gelatin, which primarily consists of the amino acids glycine and glutamine. The body then uses these amino acids as building blocks for its main antioxidant, glutathione.
Regular consumption of bone broth supplies plenty of the raw materials to make glutathione which helps to protect egg and sperm quality. Additionally, these amino acids support gut health, which plays a crucial role in fertility.
You can make bone broth at home following a simple recipe or purchase ready-made bone broth from the supermarket. Either way, there are rich benefits to including this superfood in your fertility diet.