Does a Bone Broth Detox Really Work?

A bone broth detox works in ways that others do not. Why? Because bone broth has a unique amino acid that specifically helps your liver naturally cleanse itself.

That being said, the term 'detox' carries a lot of baggage, and for good reason. Marketers and juice companies lead you to believe you can do some sort of 3-5 day plans to instantly feel better, lose weight and get glowing skin.

I'm here to tell you two things: First, that is a load of baloney. No detox will really do that because it's impossible.

Second, we need to reframe our expectations these programs. They are not a miracle, but it is helpful to your well being.

This article will tell you exactly how it works and how it can help you feel better. You'll get recipes and steps to complete it today from your home.

First a quick note: if you're looking for a bone broth specifically high in amino acids for liver health, I recommend Bluebird Provisions. But you can also make your own at home.

Also, his website is reader-supported. I spend a lot of time personally evaluating, testing and reviewing food products. When you buy through links on our site, I may earn an affiliate commission.

Let's get into the article!

What is a Detox?

A detox is a way to give your body a break from the toxins you are exposed to every day. Your liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract work hard to remove these toxins from your body.

It can help support these organs so they can keep supporting you.

The reality is that most people do this when they want to lose weight or feel guilty about their recent lifestyle choices.

It is a good way kick-start weight loss or to get your mind and body back on track after you've been eating poorly. But always ask yourself two things before you begin:

1. What's your goals with this?
2. Is this something you can picture yourself doing for years to come?

The second question helps your realize that you won't get any long-term results without a true habit change. They often get quick results but not lasting ones. So it only works when combined with some sort of lifestyle change.

What is Bone Broth?

Bone broth is a rich, hearty soup made from bones and vegetables that can be bought or made from scratch.

It is traditionally thought to aid in digestion and increases the absorption of nutrients.

Some people also drink it because they believe it has anti-inflammatory properties, as well as health benefits like improving joint pain and reducing blood pressure.

Detox Health Benefits Of Bone Broth

The detox bone broth benefits include liver health, blood sugar control, reducing inflammation, helping you sleep and promoting gut health.

Bone broth is a nutrient rich beverage that has amino acids that directly help your body remove harmful toxins and chemicals.

The main amino acid responsible for these benefits is glycine. Properly made beef or chicken bone broth has 3-4g of it per cup (225ml or 13 g of powder).

Liver Cleanse

It helps your liver to naturally detoxify itself because of glycine benefits. It is made in your liver which helps to pump harmful toxins out of your body. 

Blood Sugar Control

Collagen helps maintain blood sugar and prevent spikes in those with type 2 diabetes. It also helps mediate fasting insulin levels in these people.

Finally, it also provides your body with the right building blocks to build hormones to boost your immunity.

Nutrients and Protein to Fight Inflammation

It helps your liver buffer out the negative effects of eating too much methionine from lean muscle meat (chicken breast, etc). Glutamine and proline helps your liver counteract the harmful effects of methionine.

Looking for bone broth? Read my guide to the top 6 bone broths on the market.

Brain Development

The marrow from bones provides the building blocks for a growing brain. It helps your mental health, memory and cognition. It also helps prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers by keeping your working memory strong.

Sleep

Bone broth is full of an inhibitory neurotransmitter (like GABA) which helps reduce anxiety and your core body temperature. This helps you get to sleep and get into deeper more restorative sleep phases throughout the night.

The Problem With Western (Standard American) Diets: Sugar

We live in a culture of convenience and abundance. And our food system is set up to maximize efficiency and reduce financial cost. But the true cost is our health and well being.

Hyper palatable foods are specifically designed to get you hooked and eat more. This drives consumption and makes you buy more, feeding the machine of big food companies.

Fats and sugar are the two components that make food addicting. And these food companies employ scientists to make foods that are addicting.

The problem is that these foods are awful for us. The make us fat and contribute to gut issues (Celiac Disease, IBD, IBS, Crohn's), heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

We need to remove these foods and add in supporting foods like bone broth in order to fix things.

Congrats, you found this article and that is the first step. Now let's get into what you can do to fix things.

What is a Bone Broth Detox?

A bone broth detox is a one, two or three day diet plan designed to help you feel better as quickly as possible by cleansing your body and removing toxins from your system to prevent long-term illness.

It is a great way to reset your liver and blood sugar, heal your damaged gut and give your digestion a break.

This is similar to the bone broth diet but it's shorter and easier to follow. You'll be done it before you know it.

The body can be negatively affected when the gut does not get cleaned out properly, so some sort of semi-regular cleanse (although I hate that word) is a good idea.

Committing to three days (or even just one day!) will serve you, your organs and digestive system so well. 

It will give you a clear mind and healthy body with improved energy levels and better mood, but without the hunger of most diets.

Does bone broth detox the liver?

Bone broth detoxifies the liver by providing it with an amino acid called glycine (from collagen content). It is made by your liver, so any extra you get through diet gives your liver something it needs to naturally clean itself.

How To Reset Your Immune System

This may help you feel satisfied without overeating, being weighed down and unfocused.

Here's how to reset your system.

Level 1: Replace Breakfast Meals With Bone Broth

The easiest way to get started is to replace breakfast or your afternoon snack with a bone broth that actually tastes great.

250 ml Bone Broth (beef or chicken) with thumb nail size piece of freshly grated ginger root, dash of high quality salt and a squeeze of lemon.

(Calories: 45 Protein: 11g, Fat: 0g, Carbs: 0g)

Bone broth is any easy to replace breakfast without the dreaded hunger pangs. It's also a snack that's high in hydrating electrolytes (potassium) to cleanse your energy throughout the day with no crashes.

Level 2: 1 Day Chicken Bone Broth Fast

This plan involves a one day modified bone broth fast to maximize your health and wellness.

Breakfast

1 mug of bone broth with thumb nail size piece of freshly grated ginger root, dash of high quality salt, 1 tbsp or more of fat (coconut/mct oil, coconut milk, ghee, butter) and a squeeze of lemon.

(Calories: 170 Protein: 12g, Fat: 14g, Carbs: 0g)

Lunch

1 bowl of bone broth simmered with spinach, chopped green onion, 2 tbsp coconut milk, dash of salt and a squeeze of lime.

(Calories: 360 Protein: 24g, Fat: 28g, Carbs: 2g)

Dinner

1 bowl of bone broth simmered with chopped carrots, celery, 1 clover smashed garlic garlic, 2 tbsp fat source*, dash of salt and lemon.

*Add 2 tbsp of high quality fat like olive oil, coconut oil or avocado oil.

(Calories: 380 Protein: 24g, Fat: 28g, Carbs: 6g)

Pro tip: a milk frother works great to mix any fats into your beverage.

Level 3: Fasting / Weight Loss Plan

Level 3 involves combining elements of level 2 with level 1. Here's the plan:

Day 1 Ease into it:

Replace your breakfast with the following:

250 ml Bone Broth with thumb nail size piece of freshly grated ginger, dash of high quality salt and a squeeze of lemon.

Also drink the following mid-afternoon before dinner.

250 ml Bone Broth with grated garlic, cilantro or parsley, dash of high quality salt and a squeeze of lemon.

If you do not like ginger and lemon, you can try some of the bone broth flavor suggestions from our guide.

For your meals, you can eat as you normally would. The goal of day one is to get broth, ginger and lemon into your body in an efficient way that does not disrupt your routine too much.

If it's too difficult, no one will do it. This is why we set it up this way.

Day 2:

Breakfast

1 mug of bone broth with thumb nail size piece of freshly grated ginger, dash of high quality salt, 1 tbsp fat source (olive oil, coconut/mct oil, coconut milk, ghee, butter) and a squeeze of lemon.

(Calories: 170 Protein: 12g, Fat: 14g, Carbs: 0g)

Lunch

1 bowl of bone broth simmered with spinach, chopped green onion, 2 tbsp coconut milk, dash of salt and a squeeze of lime.

(Calories: 360 Protein: 24g, Fat: 28g, Carbs: 2g)

Dinner

1 bowl of bone broth simmered with chopped carrots, celery, 1 clover smashed garlic garlic, 2 tbsp fat source*, dash of salt and lemon.

*Add 2 tbsp of high quality fat like olive oil, coconut oil or avocado oil.

(Calories: 380 Protein: 24g, Fat: 28g, Carbs: 6g)

Day 3 Prioritize Rest:

Drink bone broth before every meal:

Breakfast: eat as you normally would, but drink a cup of bone broth with lemon and ginger before. Suggested meals are a bowl of oatmeal or eggs.

Lunch: drink one cup of bone broth with ginger, garlic and lemon before your lunch. The goal is for you to be eating healing foods and not junk throughout this process, or else it will not work.

Suggested meals are:

1. Mixed green salad with nuts, salmon, sweet potatoes
2. Pasta salad with veggies
3. Any meal with vegetables on the plate with a bit of fatty fish or beef, along with rice, potatos or similar starches. You can omit the starches if you are low carb.

Dinner: make soups / stews or using bone broth and ingredients like carrots, spinach, celery, parsnips or cauliflower and a healthy fat source like coconut milk, butter, olive oil or avocado oil.

For more details on recipes you can use, checkout our recipe e-book. You get this free with any bone broth purchase from Bluebird Provisions.

What are some of the best foods to eat while detoxing with bone broth?

The best foods to eat while detoxing with bone broth are fatty proteins like fish and steak (ribeye), vegetables and starches like sweet potatoes and parsnips. If you are keto, you can omit the starches.

Fatty cuts of meat have animal tissues that are full of fat soluble vitamins that we lack in our western diet.

Garnishes and herbs like parsley and cilantro are important to include because they naturally cleanse your body and help remove heavy metals.

A bit of acid in the form of lemon, lime or apple cider vinegar is a good idea to include for overall wellness. Other than that, garlic and turmeric are potent anti-inflammatories that should be included to help you feel great.

What are some of the worst foods to eat while detoxing with bone broth?

The worst foods to eat while detoxing are:

1. Sugar Containing Foods (sweetened beverages)
2. Vegetable Oils (soy, canola, rapeseed, grapeseed or anything cooked with them)
3. Refined Carbohydrates (baked goods, cereals, pasta)
4. Trans Fats (butter substitutes, anything that says 'partially hydrogenated')
5. Fried Food
6. Artificial Sweeteners or Chemicals / Supplements
7. Processed Foods (meat alternatives, hotdogs)
8. Alcohol of all types
9. FODMAP (peppers / nightshades) containing foods if you are sensitive to them
10. Dairy if you are sensitive

Important Details Before You Begin

This plan be done for just one day or three days, depending on your needs and how you feel throughout.

Are you feeling great on day one and want to really go for it? Do 3 days. Not sure where to begin? Just start with one step one outlined below.

The goal is the introduce you to bone broth and the healing properties it has. If you are not enjoying the process then you can stop whenever you like.

This bone broth is keto and whole30 and full of collagen, so it's safe for those who are following these diets.

These programs are used by celebrities like Hale Berry, Salma Hayek, Mark Wahlberg, Courtney Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Make sure you are stocked up on bone broth for soups

You will need 3-4L of bone broth before you begin.

You can follow our easy bone broth recipe, but make sure you have enough bones or simply purchase a few pouches directly from Bluebird Provisions.

Keep your bone broth powder pre-prepared in glass jars in your fridge and warm some up each time you're ready for it.

This is way more convenient that having to make some each time you need it and rummaging through your pantry for the right ingredients.

Who Should Do It?

This plan is for those who want to feel better and look better without ridiculous fasts, supplements or diets.

The plan is not as extreme as you might expect, this is intentional. We are trying to seed good habits into your routine, not change it completely.

If you're new or experienced with bone broth, but want to see what is can really do for you, then this plan is for you.

If you are someone who is looking for a quick results, this plan might not be for you.

The goal of this is to introduce you to more sustainable ways of eating through habit change.

Most other programs or cleanses promise you weight loss, but they're selling you garbage. Sure, you'll lose water weight, only to put it right back on a week later.

You should also think about whether or not you have any medical conditions which could make fasting dangerous. As always, speak to your doctor or primary care provider before moving forward with any of this.

Anyone who frequently gets sick can benefit from this plan, as well as those dealing with digestive issues, autoimmune disorder symptoms, fatigue and problems sleeping.

If you have leaky gut, this is the perfect place to start. Why?

Bone broth is great in helping heal your digestive system, reduce gas accumulation and improve gut permeability.

Bone broth can be incorporated in any dietary plan as a healing way to help your body replenish and thrive.

Bone Broth Detox Results

Bone broth detox results are widespread but generally great! Many of our guests love how they feel after the one or three day plan.

Energy levels are great and productivity seems to have increased for many guests.

One guest: Tracy, had great success, She mentioned the following:

"I've drank Bluebird Provisions Bone Broth every morning since April 2021 and it is helping me to stick to my fasting program."

You can read more healing testimonials and see what other guests are experiencing.

Risks and Side Effects

There are certain people who should not do this. You should not do it if you meet any of the following criteria:

1. Hypoglycemia
2. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding,
3. People with diabetes without talking to their doctors first at least.
4. History of any eating disorder

Some side effects of bone broth which a small subset of the population experience are:

1. Diarrhea
2. Constipation
3. Allergies if you are have a histamine intolerance

Be sure to consult your doctor before moving forward with this plan or doing anything mentioned in this article.

When Should You Start?

Any smart plan is always associated with rest.

You should not attempt it if you are in the middle of a stressful work project or if your home life is hectic.

It is a form of stress and your body treats all stress the same. You can only handle so much, so make sure your total stress is low.

The weekend is an ideal time for most people to start because it helps you reduce stress and relax.

This plan provides a great way to relax and heal, but you must respect the downtime that comes with it.

Closing Thoughts

Many of our guests do this plan monthly or quarterly to give their guts a break and boost their immune systems.

Keep in mind that your results may not be the same as everyone else. We are all on our own journey, keep that in mind.

The absolute best bone broth for detoxing is made by Bluebird Provisions. Try their Instant Bone Broth powder for a convenient and high protein drink that is perfect for fasting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I exercise while detoxing?

You can do light exercise like walking, yoga and some light cardio.

Bone broth can help pass the time if you are bored or have other activities in your life to distract yourself from feeling hungry.

It's important to not work out too hard as it can cause unnecessary stress on your body and may lead to dehydration.

How long does it take for bone broth detox to work?

A bone broth detox will work after just one day on the program. You will notice your digestion feels better very quickly.

However, 2-3 days of regular consumption is the best way to ensure you are getting enough nutrients to heal your body. After that, simply drinking bone broth 3-4 days per week will keep you healthy and happy.

What flushes the liver naturally?

Key nutrients and proteins like glycine are are needed to flush your liver naturally. This is a process that removes toxins from the liver, kidneys, intestines and skin.

During times when your organs aren't working correctly, your body suffers. Flushing your liver every once in a while can lead to better health and more energy.

Bone broth is the perfect food for it because it's low in sodium and rich gelatin, glutamine and potassium.

How fast does bone broth heal the gut?

A bone broth fast heals the gut in a few different ways, first, it gives you gut a break from all the hard work of digesting foods you may be sensitive to.

You don't always have symptoms (bloating, diarrhea, etc) when you have allergies. So your gut does all this hard work to keep things on track. Just like you, it needs a break, and a fast is perfect for it to rest and recuperate.

Second, a bone broth fast seeds your gut with the perfect blend of proteins to rebuild it. Glycine (makes up 1/3rd or bone broths) is an amino acid found in bones that heals the damaged mucosal lining of our guts, so that it can properly digest food.

Bone broth is a healthy addition to a fast that gives your digestive system the time it needs to repair itself.

How often should you drink bone broth for detoxification?

For ongoing detoxification maintenance, you should drink 1-2 cups of bone broth per day. This gives you enough glycine to keep your liver happy, keep you hydrated (potassium) and replenish your gut with enough amino acids and minerals to improve digestion.

Disclaimer: this information is for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the FDA or CFIA. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult your primary care physician for advise on any of this. This is not medical advise and should not be treated as such.

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