Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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More specifically, any peer-reviewed studies showing that bone broth does all the things it is claimed to do? I've seen a lot of anecdotal evidence, people saying they were cured by it, etc, but I've not see anyone point to serious evidence in the form of controlled trials.

If anyone has some I'd be appreciative. Anecdotal evidence doesn't prove anything, so please don't respond with mere personal experience. It's no more useful than a person saying prayer to the spaghetti god caused them to lose weight.

flag	asked Jul 20 at 23:44 Dualhammers 618●2●13

	You have tendonitis? Why not just try it? (or some of the consituent parts if u cant be bother boiling bones?) – Jamie Jul 21 at 2:59
	I am trying it, but tendonitis can heal on its own and it going away wouldn't necessarily be proof. – Dualhammers Jul 21 at 10:02
	@Dualhammers....great question. I also like to see real studies, rather than anecdotal evidence. – RaiseFitness Jul 22 at 16:26

Lady_Arwen · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-21 14:45:53Z UTC

http://blog.lef.org/2012/01/chicken-broth-painful-joints.html From this blog:

This is where cartilage comes into play. It’s the perfect substance for smooth, near friction-free motion. Cartilage is mainly comprised of type-2 collagen, the primary protein found in your in your joints, along with water and other small molecules.

With age, wear-and-tear on your joints erodes the cartilage, exposes collagen and narrows the joint space. The exposed collagen is attacked by your immune system leading to high levels of inflammation. The process just described is what doctors call osteoarthritis — the age-related degradation of joint cartilage and bone. A similar process occurs in rheumatoid arthritis as well.

Chicken Broth is NOT an Old Wives Tale

Despite the fact that half of all prescriptions for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as ibuprofen are written for osteoarthritis, those drugs do nothing more than transiently blunt the pain. They have no long-term impact on the disease itself.1

In the year 2000, scientists discovered that chicken soup actually inhibited the attraction of immune system cells called neutrophils to the site of inflammation. 2

Overall, this eases inflammation and inhibits cartilage destruction. With additional studies, the researchers were surprised to find out that it wasn’t the vegetables in chicken soup that provided benefit, but it was actually the broth. So what’s providing the benefit in the broth? Collagen. Let us explain.

Collagen Creates Immune Tolerance

Ingesting chicken collagen diminishes the immune attack against exposed collagen in your joints. Immunologists call this “immune tolerance.” We think that’s pretty cool.

Researchers at Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston have studied oral type-2 collagen in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. In one study of 60 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis, a decrease in the number of swollen and tender joints was found in subjects who supplemented with type-2 collagen.3

Still more remarkably, 14% of those patients taking collagen achieved complete remission of the disease, an unusual finding for any form of treatment. Similar results were obtained in a much larger trial of 274 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.4

The Harvard group also studied patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Ten patients supplemented with type-2 collagen for 12 weeks.5 Eight patients responded to treatment, experiencing average significant reduction in swollen and tender joints. Importantly, no serious adverse events were reported.

Collagen Eases Pain Better than Traditional Supplements Other studies have shown that oral type-2 collagen is superior to the combination of chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate.6,7 Also interesting, however, are findings that show combining oral collagen with glucosamine and chondroitin is the best approach for reducing pain and increasing joint function.6,7

References 1. Int J Med Sci. 2009;6(6):312-21.

Chest. 2000 Oct;118(4):1150-7.
Science. 1993 Sep 24;261(5129):1727-30.
Arthritis Rheum. 1998 Feb;41(2):290-7.
Arthritis Rheum. 1996 Apr;39(4):623-8.
J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2009 Dec;32(6):577-84.
Int J Clin Pharmacol Res. 2002;22(3-4):101-10.

JayJay · Answer 2 · 2012-07-21 02:15:08Z UTC

Your question kind of sucks. If you read much research you realize that they tend to break things down in a reductionist pattern. So rather than asking about bone broth do some google sholar on the constituents that make up bone broth like glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), chondroitin sulfate, keratin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid, glycine, proline, collagen, gelatin, and the various minerals. I'm not going to waste time doing this for you.

Once you find all the positive studies in relation to the above you can make some logical assumptions as to what combining all of these constituents into one place and ingesting them in a matter congruent with our heritage does for us. My assumption is that they work in synergistic manner where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts to improve health.

ThinnerStrength · Answer 3 · 2012-07-20 23:59:27Z UTC

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I hear you on the anecdotal issue. But the reality is that pharma companies can invest 300M in randomized controlled trials, peer reviewed studies.

Who is going to fund studies of boiled bones?

answered Jul 20 at 23:59

ThinnerStrength
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Here is a review from your peers! nutritiondata.self.com/facts/recipe/2422683/2 – ThinnerStrength Jul 21 at 3:06

That isn't a review it is a data table, and it isn't pertinent to the question. – Dualhammers Jul 21 at 10:03

@ThinnerStrength Not only pharma companies fund trials - we have tons of pure research universities. I am sure it is a long short, but I imagined if any group of people is obsessive enough to have found some buried article on the subject it would be the people at Paleohacks. – Dualhammers Jul 21 at 10:08

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I hear you loud and clear Dualhammers, but where do the universities get their funding? Wealthy indiiduals and corporations. If you fund the Dualhammers chair of biochemistry you could stipulate you want research in bone marrow. Unfortunately what we have are mostly Arm&Hammer Baking Soda chairs. – ThinnerStrength Jul 21 at 15:29

MiMintzer · Answer 4 · 2012-07-21 00:03:26Z UTC

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Even if studies showed bone broth to be beneficial it may still not work for you. If it does work for you, then who cares about the studies?

answered Jul 21 at 0:03

MiMintzer
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It could be placebo. I'm not saying placebo is bad, but I'd rather it not cost time or money. – ZombieApocalypseKitten Jul 21 at 1:35

Exactly what ZombieApocalypseKitten said. I could play video games until my tendinitis is healed and have the same level of evidence that video games healed my condition. Two things happening concurrently isn't proof, especially with a system as complex as the human body. – Dualhammers Jul 21 at 10:10

LiveFabuLESS · Answer 5 · 2012-07-21 03:14:57Z UTC

Unlike expensive-- and potentially dangerous-- meds, bone broth costs next to nothing to make (some butchers will give you bones for free-- or you can often purchase them for $2-3/lb, even for grassfed)-- and it takes almost no (active) time to make.

It costs little money, takes almost no time, has few (if any) potential side effects, and tastes damn good-- really, what do you have to lose? At worst, you'll have a tasty and inexpensive meal-- at best, you'll have an inexpensive 'cure'.

julianne · Answer 6 · 2012-07-21 00:55:41Z UTC

There are a couple of studies linked to in this article. I imagine most studies would use extracts derived from bone cartilage etc rather than the broth itself. Not ideal - but it would show that an active ingredient in joint tissue works. http://myhealingkitchen.com/medical-conditions/arthritis/arthritis-make-it-better/toss-the-glucosamine-bone-broth-is-more-effective/

aseafish · Answer 7 · 2012-07-21 01:02:02Z UTC

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I love science. Still, I am not naive enough, especially in light of all the falsified studies coming out of the woodwork as of late, to believe that a study makes it so. Personally, I hold more stock in the anecdotal evidence.

answered Jul 21 at 1:02

aseafish
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Then I have some crystals to sell you; they cured my aids. – Dualhammers Jul 21 at 10:12

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Just a reminder, scientists and labs brought us frankenfood. Better living through science and all that. – aseafish Jul 21 at 12:16

AmandaLP · Answer 8 · 2012-07-21 02:49:49Z UTC

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Bone Broth heals bones in rabbits: http://medicinemosul.uomosul.edu.iq/files/pages/page_1988246.pdf#page=48

answered Jul 21 at 2:49

AmandaLP
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ThinnerStrength · Answer 9 · 2012-07-22 16:11:37Z UTC

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BONE AND VEGETABLE BROTH BY R. A. McCANCE, W. SHELDON AND E. M. WIDDOWSON. (From the Biochemical and Children's Departments, King's College Hospital, London.)

http://adc.bmj.com/content/9/52/251

answered Jul 22 at 16:11

ThinnerStrength
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Diana · Answer 10 · 2013-04-27 11:27:04Z UTC

Bone broth is quite easy to make if you purchase a slow cooker, aka large crock pot. I use a 7 qt pot and make a great batch overnight. The slow nonboil method is better for preserving the broth integrity, exhibited by the "gel" it produces. I take a quart per day and it does wonders for my health and digestion. I find it to be very anti inflammatory. It also increases protein absorption. I'm hooked.

tanukicons · Answer 11 · 2012-07-21 03:15:35Z UTC

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My take on it is, try it for a few days/weeks/a month and see if it makes a difference for you. The best type of study, imo

answered Jul 21 at 3:15

tanukicons
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Any studies showing bone broth works?

11 Answers