The Collagen Comeback: Why Bone Broth Belongs in Your Daily Routine

In today’s modern diet, we’ve lost touch with a critical piece of ancestral nutrition: collagen. Unlike our ancestors, who consumed the whole animal—bones, joints, skin, and connective tissues—most people today focus solely on muscle meats. As a result, our diets are sorely lacking in amino acids like glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, the building blocks of collagen. These nutrients once formed the backbone of traditional diets around the world, and bone broth was a staple in nearly every culture for good reason.

Bone broth is far more than a health trend—it’s a time-tested superfood that delivers targeted support for skin, joints, gut, and metabolic health. As we age, our bodies naturally produce less collagen, which contributes to signs of aging such as wrinkles, sagging skin, joint pain, and slower tissue repair. That’s why collagen has become such a sought-after supplement. But the truth is, consuming collagen-rich bone broth provides a natural, whole-food alternative that can support your body’s collagen production from the inside out.

So, what makes bone broth special?

Collagen is a structural protein found primarily in the skin, joints, and bones of animals. When these parts are slowly simmered over low heat, the collagen breaks down into gelatin, a bioavailable form rich in amino acids. The result is a nutrient-dense broth that becomes jiggly when cooled—a sign you’ve captured the good stuff. But collagen isn’t the only benefit. Bone broth also contains glutamine, an amino acid critical for gut lining repair, and glycosaminoglycans—long-chain carbohydrates that maintain the health of connective tissue, improve skin elasticity, support wound healing, and enhance joint mobility.

Each dietary protein source has a different amino acid profile. Muscle meat, while rich in essential amino acids for muscle building, lacks the high amounts of glycine found in collagen-rich tissues. Both are important, but most people today overconsume muscle meats and under-consume the amino acids that nourish connective tissues and the gut. Including bone broth regularly helps to balance this protein intake and support the systems most neglected in modern diets.

Health benefits of bone broth: 

Bone broth is rich in a unique set of amino acids—especially glycine—that have been shown to provide a wide range of health benefits:

• Supports gut health by strengthening the intestinal lining and reducing leaky gut ¹
• Improves skin appearance and elasticity, helping reduce fine lines and wrinkles ^{1, 2}
• Enhances joint health, reducing pain and the risk of injury ³
• Promotes stronger nails with increased growth and fewer breaks ⁴
• Encourages healthy hair growth and reduces brittleness
• Lowers systemic inflammation ^{5, 6, 7}
• Improves metabolic function by reducing cellular reductive stress ^{8, 9} – helping the body burn fuel more efficiently and enhancing mitochondrial performance
• Increases insulin sensitivity by improving mitochondrial health ¹⁰
• Reduces oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation ¹¹, lowering toxic byproducts like MDA and TBARS ^{12, 13} and enhancing glutathione production, protecting the cell from excess damage
• Improves sleep quality, with faster sleep onset and more time spent in deep, restorative sleep ^{14, 15}

While collagen and gelatin powders are convenient, bone broth goes beyond isolated nutrients. As a whole-food matrix, it delivers a broader spectrum of additional health-supportive compounds that powders do not provide, including:

• Glutamine – essential for repairing the gut lining and reducing intestinal permeability

• Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) – powerful polysaccharides that support joint health, skin elasticity, wound healing, and connective tissue integrity

• Bioavailable Minerals to support hydration and overall cellular function

These nutrients work synergistically to nourish and rebuild the gut, making bone broth one of the most effective, time-honored tools for healing from the inside out.

When it comes to gut repair and full-body support, bone broth reigns supreme.

Not All Broth is Created Equal

Here’s the thing: the quality of the bones used to make bone broth matters, and for two key reasons:

1. Toxin exposure
2. Collagen content

Bones act as a long-term storage site for minerals, and unfortunately, for toxins too. Heavy metals like lead, mercury, and cadmium, as well as certain pesticides, can accumulate in bone tissue over time. If the animal was raised in a polluted environment or fed a diet high in pesticide-laden grains (which happens in confinement buildings and feedlots), its bones may carry higher levels of these harmful substances.

That’s why sourcing is critical. Choosing bones from pasture-raised animals, those raised in clean environments and allowed to graze freely, greatly reduces the risk of toxin exposure. 

These animals are not only exposed to fewer chemicals, but they also move more, which naturally strengthens their bones and joints. This increased movement leads to bones with more connective tissue - and therefore higher collagen content - making broth from pasture-raised animals both cleaner and more nutrient-dense than broth from conventionally raised livestock.

Bone Broth Recipe

Looking to try making it yourself? Here’s a simple step-by-step video to guide you:

👉 Watch here

Key Ingredients:

• Bones: Choose collagen-rich options like knuckle bones where there are joints and a ton of connective tissue on the bones. If you don't have access to joints/knuckle bones and only have marrow bones/neck bones (which don't have as much collagen on them), I like to combine those with chicken feet or pig feet ('pig trotters') for extra collagen

Collagen rich bone broth requires collagen rich ingredients

• Apple Cider Vinegar: The acidity helps soften the bones and extract more collagen effectively 

• Unpeeled Onions: Onions not only give the broth a great taste, but the skins high levels of a health-promoting compound called quercetin, boosting anti-inflammatory properties (thank you to our friend Andra for this amazing tip!) Yes, that's right - keep the skins on!! You can filter those out when you bottle up your broth after cooking

• Your Choice of Produce and Herbs: Add flavor and beneficial compounds (I like adding carrots, celery, bay leaves, parsley and other herbs that I have on hand!)

• Water: Enough to fully submerge the bones

• Salt: Added at the end to make sure the final taste fits your liking!

The Method:

1. Place your bones, herbs, and produce in your cooking vessel of choice (pot, dutch oven, slow cooker, or pressure cooker)

2. Cover completely with water and add ~1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar for every 4 cups of water

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer

4. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours (or 2 hours in a pressure cooker)

5. Remove large bones and strain the broth

6. You can drink it right away, or store it for later use! When it has cooled slightly, transfer to glass containers and refrigerate overnight to let cool. Simply reheat, add salt to taste, and enjoy! 

Bone Broth, Ready to Go: Convenience Without Compromise

Homemade bone broth is a true labor of love. It requires hours of simmering, sourcing quality bones, straining, storing - and, of course, a whole lot of cleanup. It’s nourishing, but far from convenient.

That’s why we created Nourish Bone Broth - to deliver all the benefits of traditional, collagen-rich broth without the hassle. Same nourishment. No mess.

Our broth is made exclusively from bones of our pasture-raised animals - never from confinement animal feeding operations (CAFOs) or feedlots. These animals live outdoors, grazing freely and moving naturally, which strengthens their bones and connective tissues, increasing collagen content.

We simmer the bones low and slow for 6–8 hours—long enough to extract collagen and minerals, but not so long that a ton of histamines build up. 

Then we can it in glass - not plastic - to preserve purity and flavor, avoiding toxic microplastic chemicals leaching from packaging into the broth you consume.

The result? A deeply nourishing, flavorful broth your body will thank you for. Shelf-stable, ready when you are, and endlessly versatile. It’s a simple, powerful way to support your health - every single day.

Bone broth is more than food. It’s a return to wisdom, a way to nourish deeply, and a missing link in modern diets.