Written by Ann-Kristin Meyer, M.Sc. in Animal Science from the University of Copenhagen, specializing in dog nutrition, Owner of HundeFoderNørden
Broth, bone soup, bone broth—beloved things have many names. What these terms all describe is the liquid that remains after simmering the bones of various animals, such as chicken, beef, lamb, or turkey, in a small amount of water, sometimes with vegetables. However, the liquid that remains is much more than just cooking water. It is packed with nutrients that are released from the bone tissue during long cooking times. Among these nutrients are glucosamine and chondroitin, which are essential components of cartilage and vital for joint health, as well as collagen, which becomes concentrated in the broth after several hours—or even days—of simmering.
Collagen is a structural protein that most people may recognize from beauty products for humans, as it contributes to the elasticity of both connective tissue and skin. But collagen has another very important role. It supports muscles, bones, tendons, and joints—much like the load-bearing walls of a house. If these aren’t stable enough, the whole house collapses. Collagen is crucial for the musculoskeletal system to function properly. This is also why many dog owners have started paying attention to bone broth. The liquid is ideal as a daily supplement, providing dogs with an extra boost of collagen, glucosamine, and chondroitin—all of which can have a positive impact on the dog's musculoskeletal health.
But collagen does more than just stabilize the musculoskeletal system and improve the elasticity of connective tissue and skin. Collagen also plays a key role in supporting your dog’s gut health! Collagen, as mentioned earlier, is a protein made up of many different amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and the sequence of these amino acids—or in other words, the amino acid profile—is unique to each type of protein. Collagen is primarily composed of the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, but it also contains significant amounts of other amino acids, including glutamine and arginine. Before I explain why these amino acids—and therefore collagen—can be beneficial for your dog's gut health, a bit of background knowledge is needed.
Dogs live in a dangerous world—there are bacteria, viruses, toxins, and other things that can make them sick if they enter the dog's body. To prevent this from happening, dogs are protected externally by the skin barrier and internally by the gut barrier. The skin and intestines are the potential entry points for foreign particles and microorganisms. Just like the skin can become damaged and allow harmful substances/organisms to penetrate, the gut barrier can also develop "holes," creating a direct pathway for foreign particles to enter the dog's bloodstream. This condition, when the gut barrier becomes permeable, is known as "leaky gut." Leaky gut can lead to many different consequences, including immune reactions such as allergies and food sensitivities, inflammatory conditions throughout the body, gastrointestinal diseases, skin disorders, a weakened immune system, and behavioral changes. The list is long, and it clearly shows how important an intact gut barrier is.
One of the causes of leaky gut is a lack of the amino acid glutamine, which is one of the key nutrients for maintaining the gut barrier. And glutamine is one of the amino acids found in collagen. Providing your dog with glutamine through their diet, for example in the form of bone broth, can therefore reduce the permeability of the intestinal wall to unwanted foreign particles, thereby preventing the harmful health consequences mentioned above. However, it's not just glutamine that can have a positive effect on gut health. A study on mice suffering from colitis, a chronic inflammation of the intestines, showed that the amino acids glycine and prolyl-hydroxyproline, when given as an oral dose, can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the intestines. Both of these amino acids are major components of collagen.
The amino acid arginine, also a component of collagen, may also have anti-inflammatory effects. A scientific study on mice suffering from asthma showed that arginine, when given as an oral dose, had an anti-inflammatory effect on the airways and reduced the symptoms of asthma. Another study on rats suggests that arginine may have an anti-inflammatory effect in individuals suffering from obesity-related inflammation.
Bone broth has the potential to do much more than just, thanks to its delicious flavor, mask the taste of supplements or encourage picky eaters to consume enough food. This is why bone broth is well-justified as a regular supplement to a dog’s diet.
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