We have previously talked about bone broth and heart disease HERE. But there is new evidence emerging that suggests even greater benefits to heart health and longevity by regularly consuming bone broth in your diet.

One of the benefits of regular bone broth consumption is providing the body with glycosaminoglycans such as glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronic acid. Glycosaminoglycans provide the building blocks of mucus production in the body, most importantly in the gut and the airways. Mucus has a bad reputation being associated with colds and flu, but healthy mucus lines all of our internal barriers and is essential for a healthy microbiota.

What is the Glycocalyx?

In recent years more data is being produced describing a similar type of mucus in all the blood vessels of the body. This super lubricating gel is called the glycocalyx and is made of the same glycosaminoglycans as mucus. This layer protects the endothelium (cells lining the blood vessels) from damage and prevents the blood from unnecessary clotting everywhere throughout the body.

The glycocalyx is also probably the starting point for heart disease. Without the glycocalyx, like mucus, we would die very quickly!

The Evidence

There is increasing data now to support this, initially it was noticed that people supplementing with glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health also had significantly lower levels of heart disease than those who didn’t. Also there have been additional studies that glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate reduce inflammation in the cardiovascular system more generally.

OK, So What Can We Do?

We know that the cholesterol hypothesis of heart disease is false. Yes, cholesterol is found in arterial plaques but it's a different from the much publicised lipoproteins (LDL, HDL, etc) we hear about. Cholesterol is essential to most bodily structure and function.

As we learn more about vasculature and the glycocalyx, prevention and treatment becomes much simpler. Dr Malcolm Kendrick has done a deep dive into the thrombogenic hypothesis of heart disease in his book “The Clot Thickens.”, and it fits the data much better than elevated cholesterol being the driver for heart disease.

It starts with regular consumption of bone broth and related products. It doesn’t have to be every day if your diet is high in animal foods and seafood.

There is an important point to make here, collagen peptides, not from bone broth, will not contain the same glycosaminoglycans as broth and collagen booster. Food always beats supplements.

Thanks for reading.