My pork bone broth (made with leftover ham bone from Christmas dinner) was a success! It is the most delicious of all the batches of bone juice I have made so far!

AND, I found out it has a high potassium content! With approximately 400 mg per cup! All bone broth has decent levels of potassium, but the pork may have the highest :D

I have been doing some research and from what I have found, a lot of people are unimpressed with the levels of certain nutrients, such as, calcium. Ok, that’s fine. You may not get a lot of calcium or other minerals from it. But, it also contains other important compounds:

• Collagen - the main protein found in connective tissue
• Proline - an amino acid used in the biosynthesis of proteins; it helps with tissue repair, collagen formation, artery wall strengthening, and blood pressure maintenance
• Glycine – another amino acid that aids in muscle building, cognitive and metabolic functions, and supports strong immune, digestive, and nervous system function
• Glutamine – this amino acid is needed by the body in larger amounts to help support digestive and brain health, muscle growth, and athletic performance

While our bodies do supply us with most of these nutrients under normal circumstances, we may need MORE of them if we are putting out bodies through a great deal of stress such as, long and intense training sessions.

So, that being said….bone broth MAY (I will continue my research) be more beneficial for getting amino acids and proteins in the diet compared to calcium and other minerals. Also, bone broth is a more natural way to get these nutrients as they are better absorbed by the body compared to store bought supplements.

When it comes to making your bone broth there a few things to take into consideration to get the MOST benefits out of it.

1. Try to use bones from grass-fed animals as these will have higher levels of natural nutrients.
2. Cooking time: the longer you cook it (and crockpot seems to be best) the larger the amount of nutrients you get from it.
3. Add in vegetables! These can add important antioxidants and vitamins, and assist in creating a good flavour. But, if you’re doing a 24-48 hour broth, add them in the last 8 hours (I just found this out!) otherwise they may soak up a lot of the nutrients from the liquid. You could eat the vegetables from a 24 hour broth, but they may be a tad spongy and, well, not very appealing to the eye either.
4. Acid: add in apple cider vinegar, red or white wine vinegar, or lemon juice. The acid will help pull the good stuff out of the bones, especially when cooked for LONG periods.

Facts can be found at alive.com and bodybuilding.com