One of my favorite foods I recommend to my fertility patients is bone broth! It’s extremely nutrient dense and provides many benefits to the body. While drinking bone broth has become a more well-known health trend in recent years, it has been a staple in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for thousands of years. In terms of TCM, bone broth helps to build the Blood and Jing in the body. It also improves digestion. Let’s go a bit more in depth with each of those. Here are 3 ways bone broth can boost fertility:
1. Bone Broth Nourishes the Blood
Blood deficiency is a big cause of infertility in women. Years of menstrual cycles can deplete the body, especially if periods are very heavy. Some women have trouble conceiving for a second or third time, and often that is due to blood deficiency from child birth and breastfeeding. Some common signs of blood deficiency in women include: dry hair and nails, blurred vision or floaters, light periods, dizziness, dull complexion, anxiety, and insomnia. When making bone broth, bones (usually chicken or beef) are simmered for many hours which causes the marrow in the bones to cook out into the broth, making it incredibly iron-rich. Drinking a cup or two a day can help to replenish the blood needed for healthy menstrual cycles and a thick endometrial lining necessary for implantation when trying to conceive.
2. Bone Broth Preserves Jing
Jing is an interesting concept in TCM. It is a substance or “essence” that is given to us at birth from our parents. It’s our original energy- the root or foundation of our vitality. Jing is also our reproductive potential. It’s related to the Kidney meridian, which provides us with our deep reserves of energy. We use up our Jing as we go through life and when it’s gone, we pass. In school I was taught to think about Jing and how we use it in terms of gold coins. For example, some people are born with lots of gold coins. Their parents were likely very healthy and energetic people. And some people are born with less gold coins. Their parents were likely a bit more depleted. In bigger families, children born later on can have less Jing than their older siblings. Someone with just a few gold coins can still live a long life, but they need to be more cautious in how they use their coins. Healthy lifestyles are a must! Someone with more gold coins could get away with more unhealthy choices in life. Some symptoms of Jing deficiency include premature greying of the hair, problems with the bones and joints (especially congenital problems with physical development), memory and hearing trouble, and weakened immune system among others. It makes sense that because Jing is such an important foundation, that it’s a factor in fertility too. Jing is directly related to sperm health and egg quality. Because bone broth is so deeply nourishing, it can help to preserve our storage of Jing, and is therefore an excellent fertility food!
3. Bone Broth Strengthens Digestion
Another great benefit of drinking bone broth is that it supports healthy digestion. Bone broth is loaded with collagen. Besides, helping our skin to look radiant, collagen is also important for the health of our tendons, ligaments, and gut. It contains many different amino acids. One of the most important amino acids in collagen is glycine. It is necessary for the body to make glutathione which is an antioxidant that helps maintain proper cellular growth in the body. In addition, glycine helps to increase the production of stomach acid, which is necessary for proper digestion of food. Glycine, as well as another amino acid known as glutamine can also heal the gut. Both can improve the integrity of the gut lining allowing permeability (aka “leaky gut”) to resolve. They have also been shown to maintain healthy gut flora, and reduce inflammation. When our gut is healthy and our digestion is functioning optimally, we are better able to absorb all of the nutrients we need from our food. This is necessary for conception and a healthy pregnancy. One study has shown the incredible importance of collagen in determining the strength of the extracellular matrix in relation to the endometrium for implantation and successful pregnancy outcomes.
Simple Fertility Bone Broth Recipe:
Bone broth is really simple to make. My favorite way is to buy an organic whole chicken and cook it for dinner one night. Then save the whole carcass and place it in a crock pot. Cover the bones with water and add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Feel free to add some veggies like onions and carrots and dried spices like rosemary, thyme, and basil. You can also use beef bones too. Roasting them in the oven first can make a more robust broth, but you can use raw bones too. Turn the crock pot on low and simmer for 18-24 hours. Some crock pots have an automatic cut off after 12 hours so you may need to run it a second time. That’s it! Super simple. Just pour the finished (cooled) broth into some mason jars and store them in your refrigerator. If the broth looks more like gelatin and liquid when it chills, that’s good! It means the broth is full of that healthy collagen. Just warm it up and enjoy!
For more support on your fertility journey, give us a call at 612-447-4002 to schedule your first appointment for fertility acupuncture.
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