Benefits of Bone Broth for Your Pet's Health

Collagen is a structural protein that many people know from beauty products for humans, as it provides elasticity to both connective tissue and skin. But collagen also has another very important function. It supports muscles, bones, tendons, and joints – much like the load-bearing walls of a house. If these aren't stable enough, the entire house collapses. Collagen is extremely important for the musculoskeletal system to function as it should. And this is precisely why many dog owners have taken an interest in bone broth for your pet . The liquid is ideal as a daily supplement to supply your dog with an extra portion of collagen, glucosamine, and chondroitin, all three of which can have health-promoting effects for the dog's musculoskeletal system.

But collagen can do more than just stabilize the musculoskeletal system and make connective tissue and skin elastic. Collagen is an important player when it comes to your dog's gut health! Collagen is, as already mentioned, a protein made up of many different amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and the sequence of different amino acids, or – in other words – the amino acid profile is unique to each type of protein. The protein collagen mainly consists of the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline but also contains significant amounts of other amino acids, including glutamine and arginine. Before I can explain why these amino acids – and therefore collagen – can be beneficial for your dog's gut, some background information is necessary.

Dogs live in a dangerous world – full of bacteria, viruses, toxins, and other elements that can make them sick if they enter the body. To prevent this, the dog is protected externally by the skin barrier and internally by the gut barrier. The skin and gut are potential entry points for foreign particles and microorganisms. Just as the skin can be damaged and become permeable to potentially harmful substances/organisms, the gut barrier can also develop "holes" and provide a direct route for foreign particles into the dog's bloodstream. The condition where the gut barrier has holes is also known as "leaky gut." "Leaky gut" can have many different consequences, including immune reactions such as allergies and food sensitivities, inflammation throughout the body, gastrointestinal diseases, skin diseases, a weakened immune system, and behavioral changes. The list is long and clearly shows how important an intact gut barrier is.

One of the causes of “leaky gut” is a deficiency in the amino acid glutamine, which is one of the main nutrients responsible for maintaining the intestinal barrier. And glutamine is precisely one of the amino acids found in the protein collagen. Providing the dog with glutamine through the diet, for example in the form of bone broth, can therefore reduce the permeability of the intestinal wall to unwanted foreign particles and thereby prevent the above-mentioned harmful health consequences. However, it is not only glutamine that can have a positive effect on gut health. A study with mice suffering from colitis, a chronic inflammation of the intestines, showed that the amino acids glycine and prolyl-hydroxyproline, when administered orally, can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the intestines. Both amino acids are major components of collagen.

The amino acid arginine, which is also a component of collagen, may likewise have an anti-inflammatory effect. A scientific study with mice suffering from asthma showed that arginine, given orally, had an anti-inflammatory effect on the airways and reduced the symptoms of the asthma condition. Another study with rats suggests that arginine may have an anti-inflammatory effect in overweight individuals who suffer from obesity-related inflammatory conditions.

Bone broth has the potential to do much more than – thanks to its good taste – camouflage various supplements and encourage picky dogs to consume sufficient amounts of food. This is why bone broth has its justification as a regular supplement to a dog’s diet.