The interest in bone broth has been long and ongoing because of its collagen content. Collagen is a protein that forms the structure of our bodies. Bone broth is especially known for its role in youthful-looking skin and bone and joint health.
Your body, however, doesn’t take the collagen from a food and force your bones or skin cells to helplessly suck it up. When you eat protein like collagen, the body’s job is to break it apart. That’s what the digestive process does; it breaks apart your food into the tools you, as a unique individual, needs to function.
The protein collagen is split into the various amino acids that originally united to create collagen. These amino acids are then reassembled into whatever type of protein your body needs at that time.
If you are considering drinking bone broth, go for it. It’s not a magic potion, but it is adequate as a recovery and hydration source after a good workout; it rehydrates and provides electrolytes, although mostly as sodium. It’s also a comforting, warm drink on a cold day, or when you are ill and have no appetite. But avoid attributing any “too good to be true” merits to bone broth – or any food, for that matter. The key to good health (including skin health) is the combination of a wide variety of foods.
Many foods play a role in skin health.
Here is just a partial list:
Fish: omega-3 fatty acids boost cell protection and assist in collagen’s support of skin structure.
Red vegetables: lycopene protects skin from damage, so it can absorb more collagen.
Oysters offer zinc, essential to the collagen-building process, and also provide many other vitamins and minerals to boost skin health.
Dark green vegetables are rich in antioxidants like vitamin C to boost collagen production.
Citrus fruits are also rich in antioxidants like vitamin C to help amino acids convert to collagen. They also help neutralize free radicals (normal daily waste products) that may attack and break down collagen and elastin in the skin.
Orange vegetables are rich in vitamin A to restore and regenerate damaged collagen.
Berries protect skin from damage thereby increasing collagen levels.
Soy offers a plant hormone (genistein) that acts as an antioxidant to promote collagen production.
Protein: found in seafood, meats, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds and legumes offers the amino acids lysine and proline (and others) to support your body’s natural collagen production, ensuring skin health.
Garlic and any kind of onion, the allium family: onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek and chives offer sulphur, as well as lipoic acid and taurine to help rebuild damaged collagen fibres.
Avoid limiting your food choices to only the above foods. These are just the foods so far identified as having properties to assist in skin health. There are hundreds more yet to discover. It’s safe to say ALL whole foods will boost skin health. Therefore, choose from a wide variety of foods to be sure you are getting everything we know of (and have yet to discover) to keep your skin and YOU healthy.
Too many of us have major or minor health issues. That’s a pretty good indication we’re probably not eating properly. Focusing on any one food, like bone broth, isn’t going to fix that – or tighten up loose skin.
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Eve Lees has been active in the health & fitness industry since 1979. Currently, she is a Freelance Health Writer for several publication and speaks to business and private groups on various health topics.