Your gut is the foundation of everything — immunity, energy, mood, skin, sleep. And bone broth, made properly, is one of the most powerful gut-healing foods on the planet. This is the guide Canadian wellness seekers have been looking for.
What Is Gut Health and Why Does It Matter?
Gut health refers to the balance and function of your entire digestive system — from the stomach through the small and large intestines. At its core is the gut microbiome: trillions of bacteria, fungi, and microorganisms that regulate digestion, produce neurotransmitters, train your immune system, and influence everything from inflammation to mental clarity.
When the gut is healthy, nutrients absorb efficiently, the immune system is calibrated, and the body functions at its best. When it's compromised — through poor diet, stress, antibiotics, or processed food — the consequences ripple outward: bloating, fatigue, skin issues, brain fog, and chronic inflammation.
One of the most common gut health issues Canadians face is intestinal permeability, often called "leaky gut" — where the gut lining becomes damaged, allowing undigested particles and toxins to enter the bloodstream. This is where bone broth becomes genuinely therapeutic.
How Bone Broth Supports Gut Health
Gelatin Seals and Soothes the Gut Lining
When bones are slow-simmered for extended periods, collagen breaks down into gelatin — a protein that acts as a protective coating for the gut lining. Gelatin helps reduce intestinal permeability, soothes inflammation in the digestive tract, and supports the repair of damaged gut tissue.
This is why bone broth has been used in traditional medicine across cultures for centuries — long before the science caught up.
Glycine Reduces Gut Inflammation
Glycine is one of the most abundant amino acids in bone broth, and one of the most important for gut health. It has well-documented anti-inflammatory properties in the digestive tract, helps regulate stomach acid production, and supports the liver's detoxification pathways — all of which directly impact how well your gut functions.
Glutamine Fuels Intestinal Cells
Glutamine is the primary energy source for the cells lining your intestines. When the gut is under stress — from illness, intense exercise, or poor diet — glutamine levels drop and the intestinal lining can deteriorate. Bone broth provides a bioavailable source of glutamine that directly feeds and repairs these cells.
Minerals Support the Gut Ecosystem
A properly made bone broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus — minerals that support the gut microbiome and overall digestive function. These aren't synthetic supplements; they're extracted directly from bones during the long simmer, in forms the body recognizes and absorbs efficiently.
Why 48-Hour Bone Broth Is Best for Gut Health
Not all bone broth is equal when it comes to gut healing. The concentration of gelatin, glycine, and glutamine increases significantly with simmer time. A broth simmered for 2–3 hours simply hasn't had enough time to extract these compounds in meaningful quantities.
At Nourish Yourself, we slow-simmer for up to 48 hours — the threshold where broth becomes genuinely therapeutic rather than just flavourful. Learn more about why simmer time matters →
The Best Nourish Yourself Broths for Gut Health
Dashi Bone Broth — The Gut Whisperer
Our most targeted gut health broth. Japanese-inspired and built around prebiotic kombu, shiitake mushrooms, and bonito — ingredients that directly feed beneficial gut bacteria while the gelatin-rich broth base repairs the gut lining. This is the broth we recommend for anyone dealing with IBS, bloating, or post-antibiotic gut recovery.
Chicken Bone Broth — The Recovery Coach
Our most popular broth and a gut health staple. Rich in collagen and gelatin from slow-simmered BC chicken bones, with a clean, versatile flavour that works as a daily sipping broth or cooking base. Excellent for ongoing gut lining maintenance.
The 10-Day Reset
A structured gut health protocol — one cup per day for 10 days. Designed to give your digestive system a focused period of support and repair. Ideal as a starting point for anyone new to bone broth for gut health.
The 3-Week Reset
Twenty cups over three weeks for a deeper, more sustained gut healing protocol. The timeline that functional medicine practitioners most commonly recommend for meaningful microbiome shifts.
How to Use Bone Broth for Gut Health
- Sip it warm — one cup in the morning on an empty stomach maximizes absorption
- Use it as a cooking base — replace water with bone broth in soups, grains, and sauces
- Follow a reset protocol — consistent daily use over 10–21 days produces the most noticeable gut health results
- Pair with fermented foods — bone broth and fermented foods (kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut) work synergistically to repair and repopulate the gut
Made in BC. Delivered Across Metro Vancouver.
Every Nourish Yourself broth is made in our kitchen in Gibsons, BC on the Sunshine Coast, and in Vancouver and then it is warehoused in North Vancouver, and delivered fresh across Metro Vancouver. Also our broths are available in stores across Western Canada!
We've been making bone broth in BC for over 15 years — long before it became a wellness trend. Our broths are crafted by nutritionists, slow-simmered for up to 48 hours, and made from ethically sourced local bones with no fillers, no shortcuts, and nothing artificial.