Did your mom ever refer to chicken soup as homemade penicillin?  Can food be medicine?  Many are taking note of the benefits of good nutrition these days, and bone broth may be a prime example of food as a healing and restorative tincture.  
Bone broth is what you get when you slow-cook bones in water.  My babcia (aka grandmother) and her grandmotherbefore her called it stock.  Chefs use it as a base for soups, gravies and sauces.  Anthropologists think humans have been making and drinking broth ever since fire was invented.  Most cultures make some form of bone broth.  The Japanese cook up tonkatsu, or pork broth, to use in ramen.  Adding vegetables can enhance its nutritional value but the broth itself, is purported to offer many health benefits.  Humans often drink broth for weight management as it fills you up with few calories.  Additionally, broth contains small amounts of the amino acid glycine which promotes relaxation and restorative sleep.  There are other ways bone broth helps not only us, but our pets besides providing great nutrition.

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Benefits of Bone Broth for Dogs & Cats

Joint Health

From gently cooking bones and connective tissues, glucosamine and nutrient dense collagen is absorbed into the broth water.  When your dog or cat consumes the broth, they absorb those nutrients benefitting their own joints and cartilage.

Gum & Dental Health

Bone broth can boost collagen production in both pets and people.  This helps periodontal health – the gums and ligaments – as well as strengthening the underlying bone that keeps teeth firmly in place.

Gut Health

80% of our pet’s immune system is housed in his gut. Bone broth can reduce inflammation and help restore the gut lining enhancing immunity. Healthy gut.  Healthier pet!

Liver Health

One nutrient in bone is glycine which is known for helping the liver to detox.  Eliminating toxins can keep your cat or dog’s liver functioning properly so that it can fight off the effects of stress, antibiotics, vaccines and parasites.

Urinary Tract Health

Cats, in particular, often need encouragement to drink.  Adding bone broth to their water just may make water more interesting and help them increase fluid intake reducing UTIs.

Skin & Coat Health

Gelatin extracted during the broth-making process is beneficial to both skin and coat health.  Packed with vitamins B and C, broth promotes collagen production and cell growth creating beautiful shiny canine and feline coats.

 

How to Make Bone Broth

Keep it simple.  Save the bones from your roasted chicken dinner (including legs and wings), or ask your butcher. Some say the most nutritious broths come from using a variety of bones:  marrow bones, oxtail, knuckles, feet and carcasses.  I know, I know for us vegetarians and vegans, this sounds hideous, but it is for your pet’s health.  I’m not requesting you make a batch for yourself.

Add the bones to a large pot, Dutch oven, crock-pot or insta-pot. Cover with filtered water and add 1 – 2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar which breaks down the collagen making it more abundant in the broth. You can add pet-friendly veggies for added nutrition:  carrots and greens for instance, but avoid garlic and onions.  Bring to a boil then simmer covered for 10-12 hours (reduced to about 1/3 or 1/2 the original amount of liquid).  Strain and use, keeping refrigerated or freeze.

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If it’s not in your wheelhouse to cook, give Bone Broth pawPairings a try.  The work is done for you and you can feel good that you are giving your pet quality ingredients, made in the USA.  They are a great way to add nutrition, boost your pet’s immunity and increase their energy without having you do more than a few keystrokes on your computer to order!  Even picky eaters love pawPairings which you can shake on top of your dog or cat’s regular food or make into a broth.  They come in both chicken and beef flavors and were developed by veterinarians and pet nutritionists.

How to Serve Bone Broth to Pets

How awesome to do something good for your dog or cat that is easy to shake on top of the food they already eat, and that they LOVE the taste of! Sprinkle dehydrated forms on food, make into a broth to add to kibble or lap up.  In warm weather, freeze into a nutritious popsicle treat!

 

And for my grandmother and her grandmother before her…according to New York Chef, Marco Canoro,  “Bone broth is essentially stock.” The confusion comes from the traditional definition for stock, which is thicker due to the collagen that seeps out of joints and bones during long-term cooking, and broth, which is thinner and is made with more actual meat (versus meat-stripped bones used for stock). The confusion comes from the fact that the current trend uses the word “broth” even though bone broth is essentially stock.

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