Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hello everyone,

Lately I've been trying to do some research into chicken and beef broth, but there seems to be very little documentation on their nutritional content. I consume a lot of this because I am more susceptible to joint problems than average, but I want to make sure that I'm not disrupting any mineral balances.

Specifically, I'm interested in determining the amounts of calcium, magnesium, glucosamine, chondritin, hyaluronic acid, collagen, gelatin, and other relevant nutrients present in average servings of chicken and beef broths prepared with pastured animals according to the method advocated by Sally Fallon (soaked in vinegar and water and simmered for several hours--24 for chicken, 72 for beef).

There does not seem to be much literature on this topic. I did see an uncited reference to one study that supposedly only found ~90g of calcium in one serving of chicken broth, but I have a feeling that this was not done according to Sally Fallon's method. After I make chicken broth in this way, the bones seem to be quite depleted of whatever contents they once had--much more so than a tenth of a gram would seem to indicate. In addition, since I break up the bones as the broth cooks (providing greater surface area from which to leach nutrients), some inevitably get ground into powder, which I do not remove from the broth. Although there are nutrient profiles of various broths on http://www.nutritiondata.self.com (originally from the USDA, I believe), these almost certainly were not prepared with vinegar over the course of 1-3 days.

I understand, of course, that there will be many variances depending on the lifestyle of the animal, the type of bones used, and so forth--but surely an average could be calculated. I am going to assume at this point that the research has not been done completely, which leads to my next question--how could we, the paleo/primal/etc community get it done? I have a feeling that a great many people in this community would be interested in the results of such an analysis.

My question for you is: does anyone have access or know anyone who has access to a nutritional lab that will analyze broth for us? If so, would it cost a lot of money? Or does anyone know how one might be able to do such a thing by oneself? What methods are used in nutrient content analysis?

edited Apr 30 2012 at 13:23

Lady_Arwen
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asked Feb 6 2012 at 17:45

Curt
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If a lab is willing to do this, I'm willing to donate. – Bruno Feb 6 2012 at 17:49

sarah ann asked about this too: paleohacks.com/questions/3917/… but I think we're getting more connective tissue support from broth than mineral. – Nance Feb 6 2012 at 17:52

I just found a lab that does nutritional analysis for food products: brookerlaboratories.com It's not too expensive, but I'm going to contact them to see how thorough their analyses are and update everyone on what I find out. – Curt Feb 6 2012 at 18:44

Sweet, thanks Curt. – kilton Feb 6 2012 at 18:47

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Argh. So far the labs I've contacted do not test all of the substances I mentioned. I did find one that tests for protein, fat, cals, carbs, calcium, sodium, iron, and vit C--but this one costs a hefty $650 per item. I would assume that's beyond what we collectively have the desire to muster, although if I'm wrong let me know. I will continue looking. – Curt Feb 21 2012 at 5:28

show 8 more comments

Derek · Answer 1 · 2012-05-05 21:55:41Z UTC

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Here's one, showing it's not all the primal/paleo community thinks it is.

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

answered May 5 2012 at 21:55

Derek
21●1

Thanks, Derek. It would indeed appear that bone broth has little to offer in terms of minerals and vitamins. However, I did expect that much, and primarily use other sources for those nutrients. What I am more interested in, and what nobody seems to have researched, is the levels of joint-relevant nutrients like hyaluronic acid, etc. Unfortunately, it also seems that there are not many labs that are even set up to conduct such an analysis. – Curt May 6 2012 at 5:09

Jimbomack · Answer 2 · 2012-02-09 08:33:31Z UTC

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I think you meant 90mg?

"90g of calcium in one serving of chicken broth"

answered Feb 9 2012 at 8:33

Jimbomack
11●1

Ah, yes, I did mean that. I mistyped, sorry. – Curt Feb 9 2012 at 15:07

Aglaee the Paleo RD · Answer 3 · 2012-02-18 04:31:30Z UTC

I am very interested in this topic. I have contacted the Weston A. Price Foundation to see if they had any data on this, without any success. I think this is something that the Paleo community should invest in. In any case, it is certain that the minerals available in bone broth are highly bio-available.

Here are 2 very interesting articles on bone broth:

Pinwheel · Answer 4 · 2012-07-22 04:28:45Z UTC

There are many articles on the internet that says bone broth contains glucosamine which can increase hyaluronic acid in joints and skin, thus aiding in joint and skin care. But there are not so many scholarly studies about this; in fact, I have failed to find a single one that touches on this subject. Personally, I am interested to find studies about how much glucosamine/hyaluronic acid is contained in animal bones, and if this glucosamine/HA content is significant to show positive results in a few broths. I am doing a research on chicken bones' effectiveness in reducing wrinkles, although it's only library research I'm doing. It is fact that hyaluronic acid reduces wrinkles by increasing hydration in the skin. Dermatology clinics have HA injections available; according to one site, applying cosmetic products with HA topically is not effective since HA is collagen and there is little penetration into the skin. And there was also this study that proves that glucosamine increases hyaluronic acid production in human synovium tissue (cartilage). Most of the time it's the joints that glucosamine is concerned with.

Here is an article about bone stock. It's an interesting read: "Cooking with Bones" from Mark's Daily Apple.

"Divining the nutritional details of traditional foods like bone stock and bone marrow is difficult, if not impossible altogether. We know stock contains gelatin, calcium, phosphate, magnesium, glucosamine, chondroitin, and other trace minerals, but what are the numbers? We’re a numbers generation; we expect to have accurate info at the tips of our fingers at all times, but that’s unrealistic. Bone composition isn’t set in stone. What the animal ate, how it lived, where it lived, the mineral content of whatever it ate, the nutrient density of whatever it ate – these all factor into the composition and content of the bones, joints, and cartilage. The nutrition facts of commercial bone meal marketed as a calcium supplement gives us a general idea of the mineral content (900 mg calcium, 360 mg phosphorus, 9 mg magnesium per serving) of bone stock. That stuff comes from powdered “cattle raised in the United States,” which undoubtedly means corn-fed, nutritionally-deficient cows. We don’t know exactly how an animal’s diet affects its bone composition, but we know that it matters. Diet plays a huge role in everything, and I’d bet that grass-fed (again, as always) results in better, more nutritious stock. Regardless of the numbers, bone stock is good for you, damn good, and being somewhat in the dark about the precise nutrient count shouldn’t dissuade you from making and using your own bone stock on a regular basis."

Quoted from that article. Sorry for the long post!

Healthy eating to you all!

What is the nutrient analysis of bone broth?

4 Answers