Have you heard about bone broth and wondered what the fuss is all about? Why is it good for you and how to make it?
Well, wonder no more!

Our esteemed & experienced Traditional Chinese Medicine therapist Petra Schirra explains us simply the main benefits of bone broth specifically from a TCM perspective. And because we know you'll want to give it a try after you read all the goodness about it, we're sharing with you below our very own home recipe!

Many cultures all over the world know about the amazing benefits of bone broths. When cooking bones for a long time we extract minerals, gelatin, chondroitin and glucosamine’s. The gelatins in particular are very healing to the lining of the gut and therefore can help with all kinds of digestive disorders, from heartburn to Crohn’s disease.

From the perspective of Chinese Medicine bone broths tone up Spleen Qi. Spleen Qi is our digestive power, meaning how much nutrients we extract from our food. The more nutrients we can absorb the healthier we are, and the more energy we have. Our digestive power and our immune system are closely linked. By strengthening your digestion we also strengthen the defensive functions in your body.

Since bone broths also contain a lot of different minerals it builds healthy bones and cartilage and can help with joint pain, osteoporosis and facilitate healing from injuries.

In Chinese medicine minerals nourish blood and yin. Yin are all the fluids in our body and blood is an extension of yin. The blood in our bodies nourishes the Qi, our vital energy.  When we are blood deficient our vital energy declines. When our vital energy declines our blood becomes stagnant. Blood gets depleted through overwork, stress, too much exercise and too much mental stimulation as in studying for many hours.

The minerals and bone broth also strengthen our kidneys. The kidneys’ function is to store the essence. Essence is also found in the bones, marrow and brain. When we deplete our essence by burning the candle at both ends we literally pull the rug out from under our feet. You can replenish your body with bone broth to help heal and replenish your essence.

[©Illustrations by L. Squires]

You can enrich a bone broth in various ways:

- Add ginger and scallions when you feel like you are coming down with a cold. Scallions should only be cooked for about three minutes. Therefore add them at the end, when you are ready to eat your broth.
- Add goji berries to help tone up your blood and essence. This is good after a heavy period, after birth or after any kind of illness.
- Add cinnamon, fennel and star anise to improve your digestive function and when your energy is low.

// RECIPE // (thank you G.)
We recommend getting the bones from your local butcher and getting organic ones since bones tend to store pesticides and other chemicals such as antibiotics.
The recipe below is meat only, but of course feel free to add a few carrots & celery if you like!