This Nutritious (and Weird) Ingredient Can Give You the Skin of Your Dreams
The worlds of beauty and health have never been so aligned as they are today. The old saying of “you are what you eat” rings truer than ever: Not only are you what you eat, but your hair and skin follow suit. The latest (and decidedly not so vegetarian-friendly) ingredient that purports to be your inside-and-out Holy Grail is—wait for it—bone broth, better known as “stock,” derived from chicken and beef. Strange as it may sound, Dr. Frank Lipman, Integrative & Functional Medicine Physican and founder of Eleven Eleven Wellness Center, is backing the common soup base as a scientifically proven way to better just about every aspect of your body.
“Bone broth is loaded with gelatin and collagen, which are super-foods for the skin,” Dr. Lipman explains. “It feeds the epidermis, dermis, and underlying connective tissue layers of the skin from the inside out with collagen and elastin, and helps to plump out and smooth fine lines and heal scars.” Gelatin is made of glycine and proline, two amino acids that are actually used in the body’s production of collagen, which is responsible for keeping skin smooth, plump, and free of wrinkles and fine lines. “When we provide the right building blocks for collagen, we can ensure that our body is actually able to create enough of it by itself,” Dr. Lipman adds. Interestingly enough, this produces better results than simply coating the skin with collagen, as we do with our favorite serums and creams.
“Bone broths,” Dr. Lipman says, “are also rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicon, sulfur, and phosphorous—nutrients many of us don’t get enough of from our regular diet.” Providing the body with the right nutrients, and the right amount of them, keeps skin glowing and vibrant, and serves to combat that winter dullness. In addition, the glucosamine, chondroitin, collagen, and gelatin found in bone broths are important nutrients for supporting our bones and reducing inflammation. Reduced inflammation overall is beneficial for the skin, especially if you’re prone to acne or eczema, or any other rash or skin issues.
And forget apples—it turns out a cup of bone broth a day really does keep the doctor away. “A cup a day is a great goal, whether you just sip pure broth or use it as a base for cooking soups and stews,” Dr. Lipman says. He recommends simply warming the broth up alone with a pinch of Himalayan sea salt and fresh parsley or seaweed. “Of course,” he says, “it also makes a great base for any soup, whether it’s broccoli soup, lentil soup, or Vietnamese pho.”
We certainly like the sound of that .. so it’s safe to say our winter just got a little warmer.
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