New research indicates that drinking bone broth could be beneficial for your heart.
Bone broth is typically made by cooking the bones of an animal in vinegar in order to release the nutrients found in the bones and connective tissue. Some experts have claimed that bone broth can improve sleep, reduce inflammation, improve joint function and boost your skin’s health. But because the collagen consumed through bone broth is broken down in the digestive system, it seems hard to believe that it could help the skin or joints.
With this in mind, researchers set out to study the health effects of bone broth, particularly the amino acids and peptides produced as the bone and connective tissue break down.
The study on bone broth and heart health
The research team looked at whether broth made from ham bones could be beneficial to the human heart.
They simulated cooking, as well as human digestion, and then looked at the peptides that were produced to see if they could block four certain enzymes associated with heart disease. You may recognize one of the enzymes—ACE-1—from the ACE-1 inhibitors that are given to patients to treat high blood pressure and inflammation-based heart disease.
The findings
The scientists were excited to find that the peptides produced by the broken-down ingredients in the bone broth did, in fact, block the enzymes related to heart disease.
Although the peptides were created under simulated conditions, the results seem to point to heart-health benefits in bone broth.
“These results suggest that dry-cured ham bones [used in] stews and broths could have a positive impact on cardiovascular health,” say the researchers, “and a possible reduction of high blood pressure for consumers.”
While experts agree that more research is needed, it can’t hurt to drink some bone broth.
The results of the study were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
