Bone Broth Drinks Can Heal Your Gut to Boost Weight Loss: Top Doc Shares 3 Recipes
You’re not alone if you’ve ever felt underestimated, overlooked or viewed as less powerful than you really are. The same thing has happened to bone broth… the food that is now being lauded as “liquid gold” for its ability to repair a damaged gut, speed weight loss and transform our health. Talk about an unsung superfood: People are now flocking to use bone broth for weight loss. “The biggest reason we should care about bone broth is that it pulls so many levers in women’s health. It should not be ignored,” says naturopathic physician Kellyann Petrucci, MS, ND. “Bone broth helps women become slimmer, younger and healthier faster.” Keep reading to see how you can enjoy the type of “glow up” that bone broth is having now.
Bone broth basics
Bone broth seems deceptively simple. It’s made from simmering animal bones (like a chicken carcass leftover from dinner) for about 24 hours. This is long enough for the bones — and all the minerals and collagen they hold — to dissolve. By all accounts, the remaining mixture doesn’t look like much. But it is deeply beneficial, especially for our gut. And that makes weight loss easier.
Bone broth supports gut health
“I believe that having a healthy gut is truly one of the biggest and most powerful secrets to weight loss,” says Dr. Kellyann. The broth simultaneously soothes and supports damaged gut lining, similar to how aloe vera jelly helps sunburned skin, she explains. Animal studies show that bone broth alleviates inflammation in the gut and repairs a leaky gut that can trigger illness and unwanted weight gain. In a 2022 study on women, dietitians reported collagen “heals gut lining.” (Learn how leaky gut Is now an epidemic.)
How bone broth popularity has grown
Decades ago, Dr. Kellyann read how Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing, used to bring bone broth to hospitals to encourage patients to welcome healing into their bodies. “That was one of the paragraphs that changed my life and my career. I realized this stuff must support the gut,” recalls Dr. Kellyann. “Never in a million years did I know what bone broth was going to do for weight loss, for skin, for immunity, for blood sugar and everything else.”
Inspired, Dr. Kellyann started using this superfood herself and with patients. Since then, she’s written books, appeared on TV and created products — and hasn’t stopped talking about the beneficial properties of bone broth. Grocery stores now devote entire sections to it.
Bone broth speeds weight loss
How does bone broth make a difference in our health and weight? For starters, when the gut is repaired, metabolism soars — a phenomenon Dr. Kellyann calls “slim-gestion” or “getting slim, through digestion.” In fact there’s proof of its metabolism-enhancing powers: In one study, people who took collagen (the main ingredient in bone broth) lost 12 times more fat than those who didn’t supplement — without dieting!
“Whenever you have deep nutrition and you have low calories, that’s always a win,” says Dr. Kellyann. And the fact that a serving of bone broth contains up to 16 grams of slimming protein, with no fat or carbs, plays a big role in its weight-loss powers. Gelatin is known to be 40% more satisfying than other protein sources. And research shows that the more protein you eat, the higher your metabolism. In short, says Dr. Kellyann: “Bone broth helps you become a natural fat burner.”
Weight loss results from bone broth
Dr. Kellyann sees women drop up to 15 pounds — and 4 inches — in 21 days on her dedicated plan, The Bone Broth Diet. Actress Sherri Shepherd, a Dr. Kellyann brand ambassador (she lost 30 pounds!), says, “When you make healthy choices, like when you’re drinking bone broth, you can definitely feel it the next day. If you take control of your health, you get the effects immediately.”
More encouragement to try bone broth
“It’s never too late to take control of your gut health, and it takes less time than you think,” says Dr. Kellyann. And Gut-health expert Vincent Pedre, MD, author of The GutSMART Protocol, confirms the gut lining can start to renew itself in a matter of days or weeks.
Bonus benefits of drinking bone broth for weight loss
There’s no limit to the health benefits that come from repairing the gut. Dr. Kellyann says, “Almost everything that we try to do with our body, guess who’s in charge? The gut!” Here are a few side benefits...
Bone broth improves hormone regulation. Some 35 out of 50 hormones in the body are absorbed in the gut, making bone broth a superstar food during menopause.
Bone broth boosts mood. Around 95% of our “happy hormone” serotonin is made in the gut.
Bone broth strengthens everyday immunity. Up to 80% of our immune cells reside in the gut.
Bone broth reduces pain. Compounds in this broth can also reduce pain by 43%, finds a European study. Christina Davidson, shares, “I swear by unflavored gelatin healing a lingering injury in my hip. It’s basically a concentration of the good stuff in bone broth.”
Bone broth improves sleep. That’s thanks to the amino acid glycine. Dr. Kellyann says, “It’s the greatest oxymoron in nutrition. It relaxes you so you can sleep, but when you want energy, it gives you more energy.”
Bone broth restores youthful skin
There’s no denying that bone broth helps women look youthful. How? When repair happens deep inside the gut, it leads to benefits that can be seen on the surface. Production of skin-firming collagen begins to wane as early as age 18. As a result, over time we develop wrinkles and sagging skin. But bone broth is the best whole-food source of collagen on the planet.
“When we replenish collagen, we end up turning back the clock and we increase the elasticity in our skin,” says Dr. Kellyann. “We see the reduction or flattening of those wrinkles.” This all relates to what doctors now call the “gut-skin axis,” or the two-way relationship between our gut microbiome and skin health.
Holistic plastic surgeon Anthony Youn, MD, has amassed 8.4 million TikTok followers who want to look and feel their best without going under the knife. The Younger for Life author says, “Bone broth is a powerful way to accomplish two things: add collagen to your diet and soothe your microbiome.” His buzzword is “autojuvenation,” which he defines as using “simple methods for encouraging your body to rejuvenate itself, so that rejuvenation becomes almost automatic.” No wonder women report that as soon as they repair their gut with bone broth, they see rosacea and other skin ailments calm.
Related: Collagen for Women: Adding a Little To Your Smoothie May Make Skin Look Younger
Ready to try bone broth for yourself for weight loss?
It’s easy to get started. To do: Drink 2 servings of bone broth daily for 21 days. You can use homemade broth, store-bought liquid or Dr. Kellyann’s convenient powder packets mixed with 8 oz. to 12 oz. of water. She also has recipe advice for making vegan bone broth (made from slimming plant sources like pea protein) for women avoiding meat products, and for pescatarians she has a recipe for fish bone broth.
Follow these tips to see even faster results
Timing your bone broth. There are no rules on when to drink bone broth. But if you practice intermittent fasting, which Dr. Kellyann recommends, you can enjoy bone broth when you wake up without breaking your fast.
Enjoy fat-burning foods. When you eat, reach for “DKA” (Dr. Kellyann–approved) foods. Consider paleo-friendly ingredients such as lean meats, nonstarchy vegetables like broccoli, healthy fats like avocado, gut-supporting fermented foods like sauerkraut, and low-sugar fruits like berries. Aim to limit or avoid refined sugar and carbs.
Try a cooking shortcut. If you want homemade bone broth, you don’t have to tend a stove for 24 hours. Women are hacking the recipe by preparing it in a pressure cooker in around 2 hours. To do: In an Instant Pot, add 2 lbs. organic chicken scraps and bones with 1 Tbs. salt, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped celery stalks, 2 chopped carrots and enough water to cover the ingredients by 1 inch. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar to draw nutrients out of the bones. Lock the lid and cook for 2 hours (3 hours if using beef bones). Cool and strain the broth and store in the fridge or freezer. To retain the most nutrients, reheat on a stove before drinking, rather than nuking in the microwave. (Click through for easy Instant Pot cooking advice.)
Consider a supplement. If you want to take collagen pills instead of sipping broth, look for hydrolyzed bovine collagen, which has been broken into smaller components (called peptides) that the gut can easily absorb.
Hormones out of whack? Try this. Bone broth helps stabilize hormones, but if you need extra help, consider Dr. Kellyann &ME Peri + Menopause capsules ($69 for a one-month supply). (Drew Barrymore is a big fan!) They contain Korean thistle and thyme, which calm the stress caused by hormone flux. Dr. Kellyann says, “It has an immediate effect—something I rarely see in a supplement.”
3 tasty ways to sneak bone broth into your day
In a blender, puree 1 cup bone broth, 1 cup chilled honeydew melon, half an English cucumber (peeled and seeded), ? cup lime juice and 3 Tbs. fresh cilantro. Fill 2 tall glasses with ice. Pour 1 oz. grain-free alcohol (like potato vodka) in each. Add cocktail mix and stir.
2. Pizza sauce
In a sauce pan, heat 2 cups bone broth, 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste, 2 Tbs. avocado oil, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. dried basil, 2 minced garlic cloves and a dash of salt and pepper. Heat for 10 min. Spread over cauliflower crust, top and bake.
Microwave ? cup coconut oil and ? cup sunflower seed butter for 30 seconds. Stir in 1 scoop of Dr. Kellyann’s Vanilla Bone Broth Protein Powder and a dash of sea salt. Pour into silicon-lined mini muffin tins or round candy molds and freeze.
Bone broth drinks success story: Kristen Sellas, 53
Sleepless nights and constant stress had become a way of life for Kristen Sellas as she was widowed at age 36 and continued to raise her three sons, all whom had inherited the same life-threatening genetic disorder. She shares, “When two of my boys were scheduled for open heart surgery, a day apart from each other, my weight really began to skyrocket.” Back then, fleeting weight loss was something Kristen only focused on “for special occasions” as she struggled to consistently prioritize her own health.
Then, while recovering from an injury, this busy mom came across Dr. Kellyann’s advice online. Kristen sipped the broth mid-morning and again in the evening. With her demanding work schedule, she didn’t have much time for healthy food prep. But she found, “The convenience of Dr. Kellyann’s dehydrated bone broth packets was the key to my success.”
Kristen lost 12 pounds the first month
And she went on to shed 100+ pounds within a year, without any plateaus!
She shares, “Honestly, before the bone broth diet, I didn’t perceive that I had any specific gut health issues. I thought that being stressed out, overweight, exhausted and having a lackluster complexion was just my lot in life now that I was in my 50s” She adds, “Since then, I now know that bone broth has significantly improved my gut health. My digestion runs like clockwork and my energy levels have soared - I feel like I’ve turned back the clock 15 years!”
Two years later, Kristen still uses bone broth. “I don’t see myself ever doing anything different. It gives me great skin, better sleep and mental clarity.” She adds, “I got a second chance at living my best life.” That means: “Now, I treat every day as a special occasion!”
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, First for Women.
Click through for more benefits of bone broth:
Halle Berry Credits Bone Broth Recipe for Her Ever-Youthful Look
Dr. Axe’s Bone Broth Fast: Lose Up to 21 Pounds in 10 Days Without Feeling Hungry
This Warming Winter Drink Improves Sleep, Speeds Weight Loss, and Eases Joint Pain
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