Introduction: The traditional view is that drinking bone broth can supplement calcium, but is this really the case? In fact, the white and thick bone broth contains very little calcium, but a lot of fat and purines.
Experts say bone broth is low in calcium and high in fat and purines, so drinking too much of it is not beneficial. In the summer, choose soups made with high heat and short cooking times, such as tomato and egg soup, seaweed and egg soup, or meat and melon soup. They are simple to make, balance the nutrition of vegetables and meat, and replenish necessary water, achieving three goals at once.
Exclusive interview with experts: You Huazhi, Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Nutrition, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
Zeng Qingshan, Supervisor, Department of Nutrition, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University
Lin Xiuhong, Physician, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University
"Children are growing and need to drink rich bone broth to supplement calcium!", "The broth from a long-simmered bone broth is snowy white, so it must be rich in calcium and a top choice for health."... For Cantonese who love to stew soup, bone broth is a classic and staple choice among many soups, considered a nutritious calcium-rich treasure. Whether it's pork bones, chicken frames, or fish soup, being able to simmer a beautiful snowy white broth is considered the most proud masterpiece of home cooks.
However, nutrition experts tell you that the "nutritious, rich white broth base" is mostly a marketing tactic. The actual calcium content in bone broth is not high. In long-simmered bone broth, the fat and purine content is high, and drinking too much of it is actually detrimental to health.
Nutritional components of bone broth
Main: Water, fat, purines
Minor: Calcium, protein, nitrogen extractives
Nutritional components of bone broth: High in fat and purines, low in calcium and protein
Lin Xiuhong, a physician in the Department of Clinical Nutrition at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, points out that the main components of bone broth are water, fat, and a small amount of nitrogen extractives. The content of calcium and protein is very low. Long simmering can also produce a large amount of purines. The thick, white, and delicious bone broth is due to its high fat content (not high calcium content).
Excessive fat intake can easily lead to obesity, and purines are associated with hyperlipidemia and high uric acid. Long-term consumption of rich bone broth can lead to high blood lipids, high uric acid, and obesity. People with cardiovascular diseases, gout, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes are even less advised to drink it often.
What are purines?
Purines: A substance present in the human body, mainly in the form of purine nucleotides, playing a very important role in energy supply, metabolic regulation, and the composition of coenzymes. In the human body, purines are oxidized to become uric acid, and excessively high uric acid levels can cause gout. Seafood and animal meat are high in purines.
Nitrogen extractives: Nitrogenous substances that dissolve in water when meat and poultry are boiled. They mainly include nucleotides, purine bases, creatine, creatinine, amino acids, peptides, etc. They are the main components of the aroma in meat, and the content in adult animals is generally higher than in young animals.
Meat and melon soup is better for summer
Cantonese love drinking soup not only because the slow-cooked old soup has various nutrients, but also because the soup water contains a large amount of "water" that the body needs. Especially in the summer, the body needs to replenish a lot of water. Zeng Qingshan suggests that in the summer, if you don't drink greasy bone broth often, you can choose soups made with high heat and short cooking times, such as tomato and egg soup, seaweed and egg soup, or meat and melon soup. They are simple to make, balance the nutrition of vegetables and meat, and replenish necessary water, achieving three goals at once.
Calcium requirements vary by group
The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that the total daily calcium intake for normal people should be greater than 800mg/day and not exceed 2000mg/day. The daily calcium intake varies for different groups:
Children: 800-1200mg
Adolescents: 1000-1200mg
Adults: 800mg
Elderly: 800mg
Pregnant and lactating women: 1200-1500mg
Viewpoint PK
Traditional view: Bone broth is rich in calcium
Expert view: Calcium content is only 1/50 of milk and 1/15 of hard water
The calcium content in bone broth is very low, which is a currently medically recognized viewpoint.
You Huazhi, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Nutrition at The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, stated that many medical experiments have proven that after bones are simmered, the calcium content in the soup is very low. Lin Xiuhong said that the calcium in bones exists in the form of phosphate, which is not easy to dissolve into the soup. The calcium content in bone broth is generally 2-4mg/100ml, while the calcium content in milk is 100-105mg/100ml, and the calcium content in hard tap water is 30-60mg/100ml.
"If there's no calcium in bone broth, is the protein content relatively high?" Zeng Qingshan, Supervisor of the Department of Nutrition at The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, said that the protein in bone broth is in the meat, and the protein content in the soup water is very low. You cannot supplement protein by just drinking bone broth; you can only supplement a certain amount of protein if you eat the meat while drinking the soup.
High-calcium foods
Milk: 104mg/100ml
Cheese: 799mg/100g
Kelp: 348mg/100g
Dried small shrimp: 991mg/100g
Black sesame: 780mg/100g
Supplementing calcium requires not only consuming foods high in calcium but also getting more sun exposure and exercise. It is best to appropriately supplement vitamin D to better promote calcium absorption.