Immunity

Explore the benefits of collagen for immunity

Traditionally when you were sick, your mum gave you chicken soup! Turns out, there is science to back this up. Several studies found that chicken soup actually can ease symptoms of upper respiratory infections in people with a cold! Since chicken soup is made with pieces of chicken including bones, it contains some healing amino acids and minerals just like bone broth. The longer it cooked for the higher the concentration of these nutrients. And, those easy-to-absorb nutrients can fight off inflammation in the body!

By fighting off inflammation in the upper respiratory tract, bone broth can help us recover more quickly when we’re sick. Researchers believe the amino acids in broths and stocks, like arginine, cysteine, and glutamine, can help reduce inflammation and boost our immunity. In foods and our bodies, amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. And proteins play a crucial role in numerous bodily functions and maintaining our health.

When we’re sick or stressed, our bodies don’t produce those non-essential amino acids as well. And that’s when we need those amino acids the most, to help us heal! But chicken soup, especially longer-simmering bone broths, can help compensate for the lack. So, the amino acids and anti-inflammatory bone broth benefits make it a powerful immune-system booster and it may help to shorten and prevent colds and some illnesses.

Why choose Nutraviva Bone Broth?

Nutraviva Beef Bone Broth powders contain types I, II and III collagen which assist in the efficacy and bioavailability of the amino acids. Our bone broth powders are made from all-natural ingredients with no preservatives or artificial flavours added, so you can be sure you are getting the healthiest and best-tasting broth available.

Our beef bones are specially selected to be rich in red and white stem cells and a low temperature cooking process is used to draw out the collagen, marrow and other healing elements including amino acids, vitamins and minerals. This helps maximize the absorption of flavour, nutrients and goodness into our broths.

Traditionally, soup is made with meat, vegetables, herbs and just a few bones, it is simmered for a short time (1-2 hours), and is rich in protein and the nutrients are largely dependent upon eating the ingredients. Then, there’s stock, which is made from bones with a bit of meat left on them and is simmered longer (6-8 hours). And, that longer simmer allows more healthy minerals and some gelatin to seep into the stock.

Finally, bone broth is similar to stock, except that it is simmered much longer- usually 24 hours or more! This longer simmering period means most of the gelatin, nutrients, amino acids, and minerals seep out of the bones and into the bone broth. Thus, why some bone-broth lovers call it ‘nature’s multivitamin.’ If that sounds like too much work for you, there are plenty of bone broth varieties available on offer from liquid, pastes and bone broth powders.

Benefits of Amino Acids

The health benefits of bone broth come from its really long simmering time. First, bone broth is low in calories (it’s just a broth, after all), but high in protein and minerals. Just 1 cup has around 10 grams of protein which comes from nearly 20 different essential and non-essential amino acids that leach into the broth. These amino acids help heal and protect our bodies in all sorts of ways, and bone broth has a lot of them. Plus, the calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and many other essential minerals help flush out toxins and reduce inflammation in our bodies. Many of us don’t get enough of these minerals from other foods, so bone broth can be a good source. And, combined with the many amino acids, these minerals can help speed up some of our body’s healing processes.

Nutrient dense & bioavailable

Importantly, the minerals and amino acids in bone broth are highly bioavailable nutrients—meaning they come in an easy-to-digest form. It can be difficult for the body to digest proteins or absorb certain minerals. So, even when we consume foods with healthy nutrients, our bodies don’t always absorb all of them. This is especially true for people with gut or digestive issues, like leaky gut, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

There are many health benefits to supplementing with collagen, outlined in our collagen facts pages below.