Bone broth protein has become a popular supplement among health enthusiasts.

It’s often touted for its wide variety of nutrients that may boost your immune system, improve joint health and benefit your skin and digestion.

This article reviews bone broth protein and whether you should try it.

Bone broth protein is a nutritional supplement that claims to offer you the health benefits of bone broth and protein, all in a convenient powder form.

You can take this protein powder by mixing it with water or a liquid of your choice.

According to manufacturers, bone broth protein is made by cooking chicken bones, ligaments, tendons, and water under high pressure and sustained high heat.

This allows the broth to be cooked for a shorter time to help retain its nutrients.

These include chondroitin, glucosamine, hyaluronic acid, which may be lost when cooking for long periods of time.

The broth is then dehydrated at a low temperature and concentrated into powder.

Because bone broth protein is simply concentrated bone broth, all of its protein comes straight from the broth and not other sources like whey, soy or egg.

Most bone broth protein supplements on the market are made with chicken bone broth, but there are alternatives made with broth from grass-fed beef or fish bones as well.

Summary

Bone broth protein is a supplement that claims to offer the health benefits of bone broth and protein in powder form.

There are a wide variety of nutrients found in bone broth, which gives it an impressive nutrient profile.

A heaping scoop (about 22 grams) of one brand of protein powder contains (1):

  • Calories: 85
  • Protein: 20 grams
  • Carbs: 0 grams
  • Fat: 1 gram
  • Potassium: 6% of the Daily Value (DV)
  • Sodium: 6% of the DV

A single scoop of the protein powder provides you with 20 grams of protein, which is on par with most protein supplements on the market.

According to manufacturers, a heaping scoop provides you with the same nutrients and protein as 2.5 cups (592 ml) of liquid bone broth.

Bone broth protein could also appeal to people who can’t tolerate many protein supplements because it’s dairy free, soy free, gluten free, and paleo friendly.

Some of the nutrients found in bone broth that aren’t listed above include:

  • the protein collagen
  • the amino acid glycine
  • joint health nutrients like chondroitin and glucosamine

Unfortunately, the nutrition label probably won’t tell you how much of each nutrient is actually in the bone broth protein, because it depends on a variety of factors.

This could include:

  • how long the broth is cooked
  • what animal bones it came from
  • how much bone is in the recipe
  • whether enough acid was used in the recipe to remove the nutrients from inside the bones
Summary

Bone broth protein is rich in protein and has an impressive combination of nutrients, including collagen, glycine, chondroitin, and glucosamine.

It’s important to note that there are no scientific studies on the health effects of bone broth and bone broth protein.

Instead, people attribute its benefits to the known benefits of some of its nutrients, including:

  • chondroitin
  • glucosamine
  • glycine
  • glutamine
  • proline
  • hyaluronic acid

Some benefits of taking bone broth protein may include:

  • Weight loss. Bone broth protein is low in calories and high in protein, which may boost your metabolism, reduce your appetite, and help you burn more calories (2, 3, 4).
  • Appetite suppression. The high protein content of bone broth protein may reduce your appetite. Eating more protein may reduce hunger hormones like ghrelin and increase fullness hormones like PYY and GLP-1 (5, 6).
  • Reduced joint pain. Bone broth is rich in chondroitin and glucosamine, which may help reduce joint pain for people with osteoarthritis (7, 8, 9).
  • Decreased skin aging. Bone broth contains proline and hyaluronic acid, which have been shown to reduce the effects of skin aging in human and animal studies (10, 11, 12).
  • Less inflammation. The glycine and glutamine in bone broth may have anti-inflammatory effects like suppressing the inflammatory hormones IL-6 and TNF-α, and suppressing free radicals, which damage cells (13, 14, 15, 16).
  • Improved sleep. Bone broth contains glycine, which has been well-studied for its sleep-promoting properties (17, 18, 19).
  • Enhanced gut health. The glutamine found in bone broth can help maintain the function of the intestinal wall to protect against a condition called “leaky gut,” which may lead to inflammation (20, 21, 22).
Summary

Although there are no studies on bone broth and bone broth protein, it’s rich in nutrients that have several benefits for health.

Because bone broth protein is made from concentrated bone broth, it should generally be safe to drink.

However, there has been controversy over the risk of lead contamination in bone broth.

For example, one study found that broth made from organic chicken bones had a high concentration of lead.

The broth contained 9.5 mcg of lead per liter when made with skin and cartilage only, and about 7 mcg per liter when made with bones (21).

Although this may seem concerning, this amount of lead is actually less than the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s action level for lead in drinking water, which is 15 mcg per liter (22).

The “action level” refers to the level at which water systems must take additional actions if lead exceeds that number, such as replacing pipes (22).

Lead can be harmful even in low doses, especially to children. Ideally, lead intake would be zero, though that may be difficult to achieve (22).

The content of lead found in bone broth depends on factors like where the animals were raised and what they ate, so larger studies on lead in broth are needed to help clarify the risk.

Summary

Bone broth protein is generally safe, but there’s concern over lead contamination in some types. Although the levels seem safe, larger studies on this topic are needed.

Bone broth protein is easy to take.

Here are a few simple ways you can use it:

  • Mix it with water or juice.
  • Mix it into almond, cashew, or coconut milk.
  • Add it to your smoothies.
  • Put it in your baking, such as in muffins, cakes, or brownies.
  • Have it in the morning mixed with your oatmeal.

If you’re not a fan of the taste of bone broth, you’ll be happy to know that the protein powder comes in a variety of flavors.

These include:

  • pure
  • turmeric
  • greens
  • coffee
  • cinnamon apple
  • vanilla
  • chocolate
  • banana cream

Taking one scoop of bone broth protein daily should be sufficient since a single scoop provides you with the nutrition of 2.5 cups (592 ml) of liquid broth.

Companies that make bone broth protein suggest serving it in a warm drink as your morning go-to.

Summary

Bone broth protein is incredibly versatile and comes in a variety of flavors. One scoop per day should be sufficient.

Bone broth protein is a convenient way to enjoy the benefits of bone broth.

A pot of bone broth could take up to 48 hours to make, while a single scoop may provide you with similar benefits while saving you time.

However, this protein powder is not for everyone.

If you would simply like a protein supplement and are not interested in bone broth, then it might be better to buy an alternative protein supplement, since bone broth protein is fairly expensive.

For example, each scoop is more than double the cost of the same amount of the average protein supplement, such as whey protein.

Additionally, bone broth protein does not contain as good a balance of essential amino acids as some of the other more conventional protein powders.

For this reason, it’s probably not a good choice if you’re taking a protein supplement for the purpose of gaining muscle.

Summary

Bone broth protein could be a great alternative for people who regularly make bone broth, helping them save time and money. For protein specifically, other sources are both better and cheaper.

Bone broth protein may be a good option for those interested in the benefits of bone broth.

A scoop (about 22 grams) of the protein powder is claimed to provide the same nutrients as 2.5 cups (592 ml) of bone broth, while saving you the hours it would take to make.

It’s important to note that there are no scientific studies on bone broth protein, so there isn’t any real evidence to support the claims behind it. The claims are extrapolated based on studies on its individual nutrients.

Additionally, if you’re only interested in a protein supplement and not bone broth, then there are many other options available that are much cheaper.