Bone Broth Benefits: Why Souping Is the New Juicing

These days, “souping” has become a hot term in the wellness world. Many health and fitness fanatics are substituting certain meals for easy-to-digest liquid-based options. Bone broth soups are one of the best choices you can make in this realm. Not only are they filling, but bone broth is also packed with vitamins and minerals (vitamin C, vitamin A, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, potassium, collagen, glutamine) to help your muscles recover after tough workouts and to leave your body feeling satisfied and restored.

There are more than 19 easy-to-absorb essential and nonessential amino acids in bone broth: the building blocks of proteins. Amino acids have numerous metabolic roles, including building and repairing muscle tissue, supporting bone mineral density, boosting nutrient absorption and synthesis, and maintaining muscle and connective tissue health.

A 2011 study published in the International Journal of Rheumatology found that a combination of chondroitin sulfate, omega-3 fatty acids and glucosamine — all found in bone broth — were highly effective at reducing inflammation. With naturally occurring minerals like potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus to restore electrolytes, as well as the addition of sodium, bone broth makes a killer post-run recovery drink.

Here are six ways bone broth–based soups can help you nourish your body, recover from workouts and burn fat at the same time.

1. Slow Down: Compared to many other foods, warm soups encourage you to eat slower, simply because of their texture and temperature. Remember, it takes almost 30 minutes for your brain to register that your stomach is full. Slowly sipping on a delicious soup can help you keep your pace in check.
2. Feel Full. “Binding water into food makes your stomach stay fuller for longer,” says Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State. And if you feel full, you’re less likely to overeat. One study published in Obesity tracked weight loss in a group of people who ate soup for a snack versus another that ate chips and pretzels. The snack calories as well as daily total calories were the same, but the soup group lost 50 percent more weight.
3. Eat Mindfully. Bone broth–based soups require a proper setting, so to speak. You need a bowl or a cup, maybe a spoon, and some general awareness of where and how the soup will make its way into your mouth so that you don’t spill all over yourself. When it comes to many other foods — take sandwiches, for example — you are far more likely to eat quickly, chew less, take fewer breathes between bites and potentially overeat.
4. Get a Caloric Bang for Your Buck. Bone broth soups are high in nutrients while low in fat and calories. A 16-ounce bottle of BRU Broth contains 120 calories or less, making it a perfect option for those wanting quality nutrition without tacking on a ton of calories. Depending on your preference and nutritional needs, you can create super-light concoctions or bulk them up for more energy.
5. Warm Up From the Inside Out. Bone broth soups are nourishing in colder seasons. In late fall, winter and early spring, is your body craving a cold, raw green juice or a warm, nutrient-dense soup? Research shows a direct connection between drinking hot beverages and mental and physical well-being. Consider substituting broth soups for salads and smoothies during the colder months, and notice how much more comfortable and satisfied you feel during and in between meals.
6. Improve Your Diet, Release Fat. Bone broth soups can serve as an ideal steppingstone to a healthier diet. This goes hand in hand with becoming a more mindful eater. Broth-based soups are easy to digest, and they also can help detoxify the gut and liver and can even release fat stores in the body.Collagen is important for the maintenance of artery walls and shedding fat from accumulating there. Proline (an amino acid) helps to disintegrate plaque deposits as repairs are being made along the walls. Magnesium promotes a healthy heart rhythm, which is essential for blood flowing freely. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps create collagen fibers. All these nutrients are found in bone broth. Think about it, the less fat you have in your body, especially in the arteries crucial to keeping you healthy and alive, not only helps you look and feel better but also can help ward off heart disease.

Looking to shift from juice to broth? Soo-Ah Landa, founder of BRU Broth, has merged the best of bone broth and fresh-pressed juice to create six flavors of the world’s first heat-and-sip, organic, cold-pressed bone broth beverage. Combine the protein of bone broth with the vitamins of fresh-pressed vegetable and root juices for a total nutrient boost.