Bone Broth- Calcium Rich or NOT?
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shuki_cotren
Posts: 328 Member
I have been eating paleo since July 2013. Today I tried to research how much calcium is in bone broth. ANY homemade bone broth. And you know what I found out? That there is just about ZERO research that says that bone broth is a good source of calcium. I pretty much found out that it could be as little as 1% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)... So much for thinking that I could stop feeling guilty about not eating dairy. Now I REALLY feel like it's hopeless to get enough calcium on this diet. Pretty much every website that was promoting bone broth is a paleo website... I thought the internet was better than that... what a biased search! I found 2 or 3 Paleohacks.com forum questions about the nutrient content of bone broth... the posts offered links to the best research users could find on the subject... but provided NO reason to believe that bone broth is a good source of calcium.
YES- bone broth contains a lot of good stuff...but the quantities of calcium? Give me one study that shows that bone broth is a good source of that!
Because I was lead to believe by numerous paleo sites that bone broth is the equivalent of a "super-food", I am now starting to question a lot of paleo stances on different things such as saturated fat- do I need to return the duck fat I just ordered from USWellnessmeats? UGH!
I just want a healthy, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY diet for my auto-immune disease, lupus. I thought "paleo" was the answer. Why can't the world just agree on something for a change? It would be way less confusing.
Here are the paleohacks websites I looked at:
http://paleohacks.com/questions/108017/what-is-the-nutrient-analysis-of-bone-broth.html
http://paleohacks.com/questions/118306/do-you-want-to-finally-know-the-nutritional-proper.html
YES- bone broth contains a lot of good stuff...but the quantities of calcium? Give me one study that shows that bone broth is a good source of that!
Because I was lead to believe by numerous paleo sites that bone broth is the equivalent of a "super-food", I am now starting to question a lot of paleo stances on different things such as saturated fat- do I need to return the duck fat I just ordered from USWellnessmeats? UGH!
I just want a healthy, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY diet for my auto-immune disease, lupus. I thought "paleo" was the answer. Why can't the world just agree on something for a change? It would be way less confusing.
Here are the paleohacks websites I looked at:
http://paleohacks.com/questions/108017/what-is-the-nutrient-analysis-of-bone-broth.html
http://paleohacks.com/questions/118306/do-you-want-to-finally-know-the-nutritional-proper.html
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Replies
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I can't speak too much for bone broth and calcium, though, Occam's Razor does suggest that there's at least some calcium in it, given that you cook the bones until they're soft, and it's calcium that makes them hard to begin with. The exact amount? I don't know off hand (and probably depends on the bones used, the concentration, cooking methods, recipe, etc.).
That said, if you're drinking bone broth in an effort to get calcium -- especially if you're only looking at a single source -- then I think you're going about it wrong.
First of all, there are a number of foods that are comparable to milk when it comes to calcium, especially when you eat a variety of them. Sardines, kale, and other dark greens, are great sources of calcium (sardines actually beat out milk), and pretty much everything in the Paleo diet has some amount of calcium in it. The individual items might not be a lot, but it adds up over the meal and day.
Second, it's also not just about calcium intake, but about calcium absorption, and about the intake and absorption of the supporting vitamins and mineral (specifically, D3 and Magnesium). Paleo doesn't have as many compounds that bind to the bone-supporting vitamins and minerals, so the body is free to absorb more.
Finally, bone broth is generally considered a "super food" for reasons other than its calcium content. Its claim to fame is joint and gut health support, due to its gelatin and glucosamine/condroitin content.
http://paleoleap.com/calcium/
https://whole9life.com/2012/02/what-about-calcium/
http://eatdrinkpaleo.com.au/paleo-diet-calcium-non-dairy-calcium-rich-foods/0 -
I made homemade broth Thursday night. I'm going to use it to make soup.0
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I agree with Dragonwolf.
If you want to get calcium exclusively, finely ground eggshells into powder is an option. Just add them to meals.
I would not debunk paleo that quickly.0 -
Mark Sisson discussed this recently on his site. He said that yes there is low amounts of calcium if you look at recent studies. But the studies done so far have not cooked or soak the bones for the required 24 hours (most were 9 hours I think). He goes on to say that bone broth is still an amazing source of gelatin and other nutrients. I still have mine every day.
Have a read http://www.marksdailyapple.com/bone-broth-nutrients-and-alternatives-to-agriculture/#axzz2yFAryZo80 -
I agree with Dragonwolf.
If you want to get calcium exclusively, finely ground eggshells into powder is an option. Just add them to meals.
I would not debunk paleo that quickly.
The incredible, completely edible egg... :laugh:
(But seriously, though, the things most people consider inedible, including eggshells and bones, are great concentrated sources of calcium, if you know how to consume them properly.)0 -
Westonaprice.org there are a bunch of well cited research articles about broth on this site including one titled soupstenance. I know I feel great when I take broth everyday.0
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One does not need to consume dairy to be healthy. In a diet that excludes grains and sugar and processed foods, calcium is less likely to be depleted and less need be consumed. There are natural sources of calcium other than dairy. I eat bone broth for all the minerals, gelatine and taste. I am having ZERO issues with lack of calcium.
If you are sold on that, as an adult human, you NEED pasteurized processed dairy then have it. But I wouldn't fool myself into thinking that I need it for the calcium. It's just one of many nutritional lies we have been led to believe.
Again, how do you FEEL on this lifestyle. I know one time you jumped on me because I merely suggested that medical tests don't really indicate our health. We can trust the body. But maybe you haven't had the amazing physical improvements that I have had to convince you? If you have improved your health vastly, then what's the problem?
If you haven't had improvement in your health and you have followed Paleo faithfully, then move on to something better… if something better exists. Or better yet, tweak Paleo to fit your specific health issues. I can't imagine that a diet full of commercial dairy would be more beneficial but to each their own.
There's a TON on conflicting nutritional information; that's nothing new. That's why using real-life personal experience and trial and error and trusting in one's body is the only way to figure all out.
PS. I cook my bone broth for 36-48 hours.0 -
I was wondering if I could cook my broth longer!
I remember the first time I made it I accidentally left it running overnight, then while I was at work the next day because I was lazy, but the broth was very gelatinous.
At first that freaked me out, but then I read that is good and means it's loaded with nutrients.
Can I leave it in the crock pot on high for 20 hours?0 -
I was wondering if I could cook my broth longer!
I remember the first time I made it I accidentally left it running overnight, then while I was at work the next day because I was lazy, but the broth was very gelatinous.
At first that freaked me out, but then I read that is good and means it's loaded with nutrients.
Can I leave it in the crock pot on high for 20 hours?
My pork bone broth turns out gelatinous but the others don't. I usually do mine for 48 hours on low with a dash of apple cider vinegar. I don't know how it would do on high; I can't imagine it being a problem. The longer the better in my mind, but I've just always used the low setting on the crockpot.0 -
Thank you for your replies. I would not stop eating paleo just because of bone broth... when I wrote the post I was mostly just upset that the paleo media wrongly convinced me of something that just wasn't true. That may have been partially my own fault. You see, I have put a lot of faith in certain websites like www.chriskresser.com and www.marksdailyapple.com.... Yet there were no numbers to back up that it's a good source of calcium. I know one would think bones=calcium, but then why do we have numbers for the bone broth that was prepared lower-quality (1% calcium RDA) than what we would do in our own homes...and NO numbers for the good quality stuff? It just frustrates me. I don't want to live my life by what "sounds good" on the internet. Sometimes I get frustrated when I want to research WHY something is the way it is in the paleo lifestyle, and then the only websites I can bring up in a search engine are paleo bloggers, paleo forums, and the two websites mentioned above. And when I try to look for paleo doctors or Ph.Ds I come up with almost none that write on these websites.
I am eating TONS better on the paleo diet than the SAD. I am going to continue to eat "paleo" for the forseeable future. However, it's been 9 months now since I've started. I've felt great, lost 40-50 lbs since becoming paleo. I know I owe that all to the paleo lifestyle. But now it's come to the point where I want my family to also eat like me... I can't help but over-research and over-analyse now that I am considering eliminating so many foods that are considered healthy from my 1.5 year old and my husband's diets.
I will probably keep my daughter primal for the forseeable future. All I would have to do for that is change out her travel-snacks like cheerios and Gerber biscuits/cookies. My husband is eating primal now but I worry about him getting enough calories, so I started buying sacks of white potatoes to have on the side, and making him paleo baked goods.
I love the idea of eating "whole foods" and cutting out foods that cause inflammation in my body that could lead to my lupus symptoms. But the controversial things like getting enough calcium, eating too much protein, eating too much saturated fat, etc. has me a little worried as I start applying it to my whole family. I guess in life you can't always be certain about everything, and you just have to do what you think is best for you and your family.0 -
Shuki_cotren don't stress it too much. Yes the lack of info on bone broth and a few other paleo things is super annoying (I love researching too) but don't let it take away from all the health improvements you have had. I think you should take a step back and look at the bigger picture, amazing weight lose and keeping your lupus symptoms at bay. Maybe read something other that internet blogs/forums get your self some books like Grain Brain, Wheat Belly etc. they all reference real studies. So all backed up by fact.
As far as the family goes they are/will be fine, again read the books to make yourself feel better. I have converted 6 of my family members and my bf. They have ALL had dramatic health improvements with lots of fat, protein and "lack of calcium" and they all feel better than ever. And one of them had serious life threatening health issue that have been basically resolved because of the diet.
Just keep on keeping on :flowerforyou:0 -
Regarding the saturated fat issue -- that's actually only "controversial," because the media and politics have kept it so. If the science ruled, then it wouldn't even be a question anymore and we'd be back to eating lard and butter, and rejecting margarine like they used to. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of studies that have confirmed that saturated fat does not have the effects we've been led to believe they had (seriously, there's hardly any more conclusive data when you throw out the heavily-biased stuff than "there is no correlation between total cholesterol and heart attacks" and "there is no correlation between heart attacks and saturated fat intake" -- how can anyone in their right mind then come to the conclusion that eating saturated fat causes hearth disease?). And anyone who wants to criticize sample numbers needs to familiarize themselves with the Framingham Heart Study.
I highly recommend checking out this video by Dr. Peter Attia on the history of fat and dietary guidelines - http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/how-did-we-come-to-believe-saturated-fat-and-cholesterol-are-bad-for-us
I don't know what you're hearing about "eating too much protein," but here's what I know:
1. High protein intake in the absence (or nearly so) of fat and/or carbs is very, very bad and will ultimately result in protein poisoning, also known as "rabbit starvation."
2. Given adequate fat and/or carb intake, the threshold for "too much protein" is quite high, if it exists at all in healthy individuals. We're talking in excess of 2g/lb of bodyweight for the most part, and at that point, you're likely either overeating or starting to get into "not enough fat/carbs" territory. In either of these cases, you've got other problems than your protein intake itself.
3. The evidence is quite weak that "excess protein intake" (whatever that actually means; and given the stupidly low RDA for protein, I'd venture to guess that "excess" isn't a very high bar in most cases) leads to kidney issues in people who don't already have kidney issues. One study mentioned that various acid levels were elevated in the study, making the participants at higher risk for kidney stones, but none of the participants actually developed any. http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/2/1/250
