Besides being incredibly nutritious, bone broth provides minerals and vitamins, collagen, gelatin, and protein to the body, nourishes the immune and nervous systems, and benefits the joints, bones, and gut.

These benefits can be directed by herbal medicine to whatever are of the body needs them most. Nutritional therapists trained in Chinese dietary practices believe food ought to be pleasurable and should be an important foundation for wellness and health.

This article will talk about the traditional practice of using herbs in soups and broth to attain different therapeutic objectives, whether basic nourishment or specific clinical results. We will deal with the healing powers of traditional Western culinary spices and herbs, and we draw from East Asian dietary therapies, a fascinating tradition that intersects herbal therapy and traditional food medicine.

Digestion & Absorption of Bone Broth

Integrating various aromatic ingredients into your curative bone broth is an excellent way to support vitality and increase one’s therapeutic goals. Culinary spices such as basil, anise, turmeric, fennel, cumin, cinnamon, and ginger are can be stimulating and spicy to the digestive juices. A lot of these spices also possess anti-microbial qualities that reduce carminative and anti-spasmodic actions and kill undesirable bacteria that in turn relieve the gastrointestinal tract of gas and pain.

The following are some recommendations to take make use of the healing action of culinary herbs:

Purchase whole seeds: Use a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle to crush black pepper, fennel, cumin, and coriander, cumin, fennel, and black pepper. Using powdered herbs will amplify the potency and flavor of your food.

Stimulating by smell: The use of fresh herbs and whole seeds increases the first stage of digestion, olfactory stimulation. Adding herbs to an already prepared bone broth, is an easy way to increase the broth’s healing quality and sets of a cascade of digestive functions that optimizes the use of nutrient from this rich medicinal food. This is a fantastic way to ensure the absorption of all the important healthy fats, collagen, and nutrients.

Grow and harvest in your garden: Freshness is an important aspect of Chinese nutritional therapy. You can get the most out of these wonderful medicinals when you have oregano, rosemary, thyme, and parsley that can be picked moments before preparing a recipe, and of course, we should never forget the added benefits of tending to a small garden. You can easily grow practically every culinary herb in various climates and cities.

Vitamins and Minerals in Bone Broth
While bone broth is highly touted as a great supplement for the health of the bones, the reality is that one cup of milk has more calcium than one cup of broth. Nonetheless, eating a wide range of animal and plant sources of nutrients and minerals can be also a good approach to health.

Listed below are some of the great ways herbal medicine can increase the medicinal properties of broth especially to the bones:

Include healing herbs that have been traditionally used to promote the health of the bones. If you’re preparing your own bone broth, add these herbs along the rest of your recipe and cook. You can also put them in a mesh bag or cheesecloth and allow them simmer to for 20 minutes before including it into your chili, risotto, soup, or other meal. Add a tablespoon of any mixture of these herbs, which are replete with minerals and vitamins. You can use red clover blossom/leaf, oat straw, alfalfa leaf, dandelion leaf, horsetail, and stinging nettle leaf to add into the broth.

Add dairy to dark leafy greens to boost the calcium and mineral content of the broth.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM is aware of the very close relationship of the kidneys to the liver and the nourishment of the bones and tendons by these organs. This can include ligaments as well as fascia and other connective tissue. Bone broth nourishes these systems which can help increase flexibility and bone strength, repair tissues, and provide comfort to the body. If your goal is to maintain the health of your joints and bones, you can include Chinese medicinals into your bone broth that can help strengthen the kidneys and liver. One East Asian traditional recipe uses xu duan (teasel root) and du shong (eucommia bark), two very useful herbs that can supplement the kidney and liver and protect the lumbar area from weakness and backache.

Cooking with stocks and broths is a great way to affect the mood in subtle and profound ways and to provide support to the nervous system. Minerals and fats present in bones and meat provide nourishment to the nervous system while spices and herbs relax and uplift, improving the emotions, mind, and mood of a person.

Most patients of dietary therapists have very little desire to consume food. Using vegetables and aromatized herbs can stimulate their appetite and change their mood. This is a very good way to inculcate good eating habits into these patients and to engage their senses.

Some patients suffering from depression and anxiety are provided ways to explore the connections and skills they have to experience happiness. Therapists commonly use food to stimulate these people and help create bridges to wellness through soma and psyche. They attempt to break down barriers to self care via cooking and create reliable and simple recipes. The therapists also look for ways to promote connection and fellowship through sharing of food in order to enhance the mood of the patient. Medicinal soups can be an effective way to work with both of these treatment objectives.

Because of the easy absorption and concentration of healthy fats, protein, and minerals, eating bone broth can bring the feeling of being completely nourished, promoting feelings of security and safety that can help calm the nervous system.

Saffron is an herb that one can include in a bouquet garni to boost the nerve soothing and mood enhancing properties of bone broth:

Saffron is a powerful herb that facilitates euphoria and promotes joy. It comes from the reproductive areas of the Crocus flower. In recent years, it has become a wildly popular nutraceutical and can be purchased in tincture or capsule form. While it is seldom used by clinical herbalists saffron is commonly included in medicinal soups such as Moroccan tagines, risotto, paella, and bouillabaisse.

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