The Bone broth diet is a new weight loss trend that has garnered a lot of attention since it was first written by naturopathic doctor Kellyann Petrucci in her book, The Bone Broth Diet.
It makes bold claims: In 21 days, the bone broth diet will help you lose up to 15 pounds, 4 inches, and clear up your wrinkles. While scientific research on this is still being conducted, the diet has gone viral, and several A-list celebrities as well as the everyday person have seen varying degrees of success.
We've decided to research all you need to know about the bone broth diet, from how it works to how to follow it successfully. By the end of this article, you will know for sure whether a bone broth cleanse will suit you and your lifestyle!
'The clear liquid boasts a range of health benefits, including lots of protein, and can be a great base for stews, risottos, and soups.'
What Is Bone Broth?
You may have heard of the bone broth diet before, but you may not actually know what bone broth is! Bone broth is similar to stock in appearance and taste and is made by simmering animal bones and joints in water. Though alike to stock, bone broth is simmered for much longer, expelling as many nutrients as possible. The clear liquid boasts a range of health benefits, including lots of protein, and can be a great base for stews, risottos, and soups.
Health Benefits Of Bone Broth:
- It’s a powerful immune system booster.
- Rich in nutrients (including calcium, sulfur, and phosphorus).
- Bone broth is full of collagen and gelatin, which nourish the gut, skin, and joints.
- Helps to maintain blood sugar control.
- Marrow and amino acids help brain health and development.
- Helps skin health.
What Is The Bone Broth Diet?
The bone broth cleanse is a 21-day diet plan that blends the key elements of the paleo diet with intermittent fasting. Consuming bone broth as part of a diet was popularized by doctor Kellyann Petrucci in her book called 'The Bone Broth Diet.'
The general basis of the bone broth diet follows 5 days of eating only selected paleo foods, followed by 2 days of fasting with only bone broth allowed. The selected 5-day paleo foods are supposed to reflect low-carb paleo-style meals, including chicken, fish, non starchy vegetables, healthy fats, and bone broth.
For the two-day fast that follows, only bone broth can be eaten. This may sound difficult at first, but the bone broth fast allows you to consume the broth liquid in large quantities. In fact, it is recommended that you drink bone broth an average of 6 times a day, split between 3 meals and two to three snacks a day. It is important to note that it is not necessary to do the bone broth fast for two days consecutively. So, feel free to change up your fast days if you have a busy day ahead.
Fasting Days:
In order to successfully follow the diet during the bone broth fasting period, you will need to consume between 300 to 500 calories per day. During this time, the general goal is to load up on bone broth whilst minimizing calories. Drinking bone broth on an empty stomach will help your body to further absorb key nutrients and can also help to improve your gut health. The bone broth can be consumed six times a day in one cup portions of 8 ounces, and it can be consumed alongside plenty of other fluids.
Non-Fasting Days:
During non-fasting days, you will need to follow the paleo lifestyle. This includes prioritizing healthy fats, proteins, and fruits! It is recommended that you limit your consumption of carbohydrates and avoid starchy vegetables in order to promote fat burning.
Intermittent fasting needs to be followed during the five days. This roughly translates to eating during an 8-hour window and fasting for the remaining 16.
Foods To Eat On The Diet:
We have outlined a list of essential foods that you can safely indulge in during the bone broth diet. These include:
- Chicken: preferably free-range chicken meat!
- Beef: pasture-raised beef is best.
- Apples: organic fruits will provide better nutrients.
- Berries: a sweet healthy treat for natural sugars and antioxidants.
- Ghee (clarified butter): Find butter from pasture-raised animals.
- Avocado: a healthy source of essential fat!
- Shrimp: A great protein full of collagen.
These solid foods can be purchased at most health food stores. When you are not on the bone broth fast period, it is important to stick to minimally processed foods, avoiding refined sugar and carbohydrates.
After fasting on broth for a day or two, you may start to feel hungry so it's important to reinstate healthy eating habits to help raise your energy levels. The nutrients found in the above list of whole foods, will aid your digestive function, maintain your insulin levels and increase your body's joint health.
For foods that incorporate bone broth within them, check out Proper Good's bone broth cleanse pack!
Foods To Avoid On The Diet:
The general food that you will need to avoid during the diet to optimize how quickly you burn fat include:
- Grains: Grains, like oats and wheat, can expand in your stomach causing bloating.
- Legumes: Soy products and beans should be avoided.
- Refined and Saturated fats: Eating these will reduce how much fat your body burns.
- Sugar: Avoid sugars such as honey, maple syrup, and standard table sugar.
- Beverages other than water and bone broth: These may contain artificial sweeteners.
- Dairy Products: Avoid most dairy products with the exception of Ghee!
These foods will make it extremely difficult for your body to burn fat - limiting the success of the bone broth diet. Indulging in these food sources will also make your body retain excess water weight, making you appear heavier due to bloating.
Why You Should Do The Bone Broth Diet
There are many reasons and benefits behind doing the bone broth diet. These benefits may vary from person to person, but we have highlighted the generally positive outcomes here:
Weight Loss
The diet encourages your body to burn fat within just a few days of following the bone broth meal schedule! The low-calorie bone broth fast mixed with a lack of refined sugars enables the digestive system to thrive, expelling excess water weight as well as burning stubborn body fat.
Anti-aging
Grass-fed animal bone broth is filled with collagen - a vital protein required for keeping the skin looking plump and youthful. Simmering bones (grass-fed bones are best) with connective tissue and joints, will help to release the collagen from the bones. Drinking this on a liquid diet will repair your skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Anti Inflammatory
The bone broth diet focuses on inflammatory foods, calming your body by reducing the amount of added sugars in your diet. As a result, this diet can help to reduce insulin levels and regulate your blood sugar through the increase of protein and trace minerals content in each meal. In turn, this will cause great gut healing, helping your body to stay healthy!
Recipes On The Bone Broth Diet
For some delicious recipes that are bone broth diet-friendly, take a look at these listed below.
Alternatively, if you have any allergens or are already thriving on a keto diet, Proper Good offers dairy free, low sodium, and gluten free bone broth soup packs, as well as keto-friendly broths!
French Onion Soup
This warmingly delicious french onion soup is freezer friendly, so it's great if you prefer to prepare meals in advance! The soup uses a basis of organic beef bone broth and uses garlic and onion to flavor. It is quick and easy to make, making it a convenient recipe for the bone broth diet.
Chicken Soup
Chicken soup is a classic hearty meal that is as cozy as it is delicious. This recipe is sure to boost your immune system due to its nutritious qualities and anti-inflammatory properties. Using a base of organic chicken broth, you just need to add the vegetables, meat, and seasoning before leaving to cook for 4 to 5 hours. Try turkey bone broth to try something new!
Quinoa Salad bowl
If you are sick of drinking bone broth in liquid form, this quinoa salad bowl is the recipe for you! Change the Butternut Squash Soup for one of our bone broth pouches, the quinoa absorbs the bone broth making a beautifully textured topping for your salad. This simple recipe can be served immediately or placed in the refrigerator until lunchtime!
Overnight Oats
Bone broth recipes are not just for lunch or dinner! These overnight oats use the subtle flavor of chicken bone broth to prevent a savory tasting dish, and just like the quinoa salad bowl, the broth is absorbed into the oats. Adding a touch of cinnamon to the overnight oats will help to keep them sweet, making it a healthy treat for breakfast time.
Conclusion
In summary, the bone broth diet is one of the most popular current weight-loss diets and is relatively straightforward to successfully follow. For a few days, you will need to eat in line with the paleo diet whilst practicing intermittent fasting, before beginning the broth fast. You will lose weight due to the restricted calories and carbohydrate content, as well as through replenishing your digestive system via healthy food and protein-filled bone broth.
Proper Good offers a range of bone broth-based liquids and soups to choose from at affordable prices. The packs are a cupboard and travel friendly, and can be cooked in under 2 minutes. For convenient and healthy bone broth meals, try Proper Good today!
