Neutrophils are a critical part of your immune system. They're like little soldiers travelling around once an invader is detected. They attack the invader which leads to the eventual eradication of the infection. The immune system usually over produces these little soldiers and is also slow to turn the immune response off after the infection is dealt with. Reducing the migration of neutrophils can be very beneficial during and after an infection. Chicken broth has shown to alter neutrophil migration happening during an immune response and calm the immunity to an appropriate level.
7. Repair and Regeneration
Fasting has shown to repair and regenerate tissues of the body including the immune system and pancreas, and to increase the body’s recycling and repair mechanisms. Fasting also increases human growth hormone that contributes to growth and repair. The raw materials for repair and regeneration are proteins such as collagen, amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and glycosaminoglycans such as glucosamine.
Collagen makes up more than 40% of the protein in the human body, and as we age the body slows the production of collagen, probably because it was so abundant in the diet. With the shift towards faster foods we are now not getting enough collagen in the diet and we are starting to see the breakdown of gut health, joint health and skin health. Consuming bone broth during a fast is a great economical way to reverse this trend and provide the body with the raw materials it needs to repair during the fasting process.
Glucosamine, chondroitin and hyaluronic acid are also heavily involved in binding collagen fibres to give added strength and support. These molecules are abundant in bone broth and consuming them with the collagen in bone broth is extra beneficial.
8. Salt + Other Minerals
Dr Gus’ Bone Broths are rich in salt and other minerals that make up electrolytes that need to be consumed whilst fasting. We need electrolytes to help our bodies function properly at cellular level. Never attempt prolonged fasts without supplementing with salt and other electrolytes.
9. Increased Antioxidants – Glutathione
Fasting has shown to reduce tissue damage called oxidative stress from free radicals. Without getting too complicated, free radicals are part of the structure of our body at atomic level, and usually like to be in pairs; when they’re not paired (and therefore classed as free radicals), they can be harmful. Glutathione is one of the body’s main antioxidants, involved in protecting against free radical damage and cell signalling. It made from glutamine and glycine, both amino acids found abundantly in our Bone Broth. During a fast glutathione levels can drop off and this is more pronounced as we age.
Supplementing with these two amino acids has shown to increase glutathione production. This hasn’t been tested explicitly but taking bone broth during a fast should maintain or increase glutathione levels.
10. Improved Sleep
Short periods of fasting have shown to be beneficial to sleep, but others report less REM sleep and difficulty getting to sleep during fasting. The amino acid glycine, helps sleep in several ways. Firstly, it assists in the production of serotonin (this is why we encourage you to take your Dr Gus’ Bone Broth in morning light) which is then converted to melatonin in the evening as it gets darker. More melatonin means better sleep.
Secondly, glycine seems to cause a lowering of body temperature, and lower night time temperature is linked to better sleep. Some people have reported positive effects of taking bone broth as their evening meal before sleep. The better the quality sleep we have the greater the melatonin production we have. Melatonin is involved in so many repair and regeneration processes that we can’t be healthy without it. Having glycine-rich bone broth during a fast can lead to the best of both worlds, better fasting sleep and more regeneration whilst asleep.
11. Fasting-Mimicking - Amino Acid Balance
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which are in turn, the building blocks of our muscles. Essential amino acids are those that the body can’t produce, so we need to get it from food. Methionine is one of the essential amino acids, and is found in animal meat.
When we have enough methionine and it is in the correct ratios with glycine, glutathione will be produced. But if there is too much methionine, or methionine is not in the correct ratio with glycine, it is associated with production of homocysteine. High homocysteine is one of the major predictors of cardiovascular disease and damages collagen in the body.
Methionine restriction can have fasting-mimicking effects, but this can also be achieved by simply adding more glycine into the diet. Earlier we talked about glutathione, and methionine is involved in glutathione production also.
Not having the correct ratios of methionine to glycine can lead to a multitude of problems. Drinking Bone Broth during a fast can quickly reduce the methionine to glycine ratio. So, restricting methionine through the fast and adding glycine from Bone Broth should supercharge the fasting benefits.
12. Reduced Cost of Bone Broth
Replacing meals with a mug of bone broth will save money as meals are much more expensive than a mug of broth. Win-Win!
