Beef vs Chicken Bone Broth: Which is Better?

Beef bone broth and chicken broth are particularly popular and beneficial for your health. Bone broth can be used in cooking, especially for making soups, but lately, it has become popular to drink beef bone broth and chicken broth directly, with minimal ingredients, for their health benefits, particularly for gut health.

While both chicken bone broth and beef bone broth have been staple ingredients in numerous cuisines throughout history, nutritionally, they are quite different, with beef bone broth having the upper hand.

As both offer numerous health benefits, especially for people involved in fitness and those who are health-conscious, this article will discuss whether beef bone broth or chicken bone broth is better for you.

Beef Bone Broth vs Chicken Bone Broth

First of all, both broths are extremely healthy. They are great for hydration, healing, as a staple ingredient, and as a fitness supplement. Bone broth can aid recovery, provide crucial nutrition, and replenish energy.

Bone broth can even substitute coffee, as beef bone broth, in particular, provides a steady flow of lasting energy and can uplift your spirits.

To highlight the differences between beef bone broth and chicken bone broth, we created a simple chart that visualizes the key distinctions between the two.

As you can see from the chicken bone broth and beef bone broth nutritional profiles, there is a significant difference, with beef bone broth leading in every aspect.

Apart from its superior nutritional profile, beef bone broth also has a distinctively more intense flavor, which may not suit everyone’s taste buds.

Chicken broth, on the other hand, is more versatile and enjoyable, as it doesn’t have such an intense flavor. However, the preference for taste is largely dependent on individual preferences, as some enjoy a stronger taste while others prefer something more subtle.

Another interesting aspect is that the nutritional profile of broths is adjustable, as it depends on the bone cuts used and the level of concentration.

Parts with more gelatin, like beef knuckle bones and chicken feet (generally, joint bones are best), will produce richer broths compared to other parts of the animal.

It is also interesting to compare the amino and fatty acid profiles and how distinctive beef bone broth is from chicken bone broth.

As visible from the chart, beef bone broth contains higher levels of collagen-building amino acids (crucial for joint health, skin elasticity, and gut health), more glutamine and alanine (essential for muscle repair, immune function, and energy metabolism), and a higher arginine content (which improves blood flow and supports cardiovascular health).

If the primary reason for consuming bone broth is to improve and support your overall health and fitness, beef bone broth is superior in every way. However, chicken bone broth is also beneficial, offering great health benefits and serving as a more versatile ingredient for cooking, with a milder flavor.

While our overall recommendation is to consume beef bone broth over chicken bone broth, both are excellent sources of nutrients and provide immense benefits for your overall health and fitness.

Store-Bought vs Homemade Bone Broth

Bone broth is relatively easy to make; the only challenge is that it requires occasional simmering, and properly cooking beef bone broth can take up to 12 hours. However, 5 hours may also be enough to extract the majority of the nutrients.

Chicken bone broth takes even less time, and you can have a ready broth in less than 3 hours.

Some people like to add various ingredients to enhance the taste, such as carrots, onions, garlic, and more. However, we recommend cooking pure bone broth with only added salt, as it will be healthier. Many store-bought vegetables contain pesticides and toxins that can harm your health.

If available, cooking bone broth with bottled water is safer, as tap water in many places is undrinkable or contains harmful substances like lead, chlorine, mercury, pharmaceuticals, and more that can really harm your health.

In addition, the quality of the bones is essential. Grass-fed beef bones and pasture-raised chicken bones are superior to bones from caged animals that were poorly fed and lacked freedom.

We mention this because it is very hard to control and evaluate the quality of store-bought products, as we don’t always know what kind of animal was used to create the broth.

For example, to illustrate the difference between free-range and caged animals, take a look at the chart we created. The environment in which the animal was raised significantly affects the quality of the product.

Free-Range vs Caged Animal Bones Nutritional Comparison

As you can see, there is a significant nutritional difference between free-range animals and caged animals, with free-range being superior and healthier in every possible way.

However, there is also the aspect of cost, as free-range and grass-fed animals are much more expensive and can be unaffordable for many.

The good news is that bones like beef knuckles and chicken feet and carcasses are relatively cheap and can be purchased at a low cost.

So, if you can afford the time and expense, cooking bone broth at home will yield superior results and greatly benefit your overall health. Alternatively, store-bought options can also be great; just make sure to read the labels carefully and ensure there aren’t any questionable ingredients.

When Should I Drink Bone Broth?

There is no particular time preference when it comes to drinking bone broth, as it is effective at any time of the day. Most often, people drink bone broth on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning, as it provides the body with essential nutrients and serves as a wake-up call.

Bone broth can be consumed in the morning instead of coffee, providing more sustained energy throughout the day, along with soothing and healing effects.

Bone broth is also a popular drink before bedtime, as it can help you fall asleep more easily. Bone broth is rich in glycine and magnesium, both of which are known to improve sleep quality.

So whether you drink your chicken or beef bone broth in the morning, afternoon, or evening, it will comfort you and benefit your body at any time of the day.

Side Effects of Bone Broth

With any other food the key is moderation and bone broth is no exception. Consuming high amounts of bone broth, either chicken bone broth or beef bone broth, can affect your health negatively.

For example, consumption of bone broth in high amounts can lead to high histamine, consumption of heavy metals like lead, and high blood pressure from excess sodium. Let’s break this down a little further.

High Histamine Levels:

Bone broth that has been simmered for a long time can cause histamine intolerance in some individuals, so be cautious if it’s your first time consuming bone broth.

If you experience symptoms like headaches, digestive issues, or skin rashes, stop consuming bone broth immediately. The reason behind this is that bones release a lot of histamine when simmered for an extended period.

If you are histamine intolerant, avoid drinking bone broth or try simmering it for only an hour or two instead of 4 hours or more.

Excessive Lead Content:

If your bone broth is made from caged and poorly-raised animals, their bones may contain trace amounts of heavy metals, including lead.

This is largely due to environmental factors, so it’s advisable to purchase bones from free-range and grass-fed animals.

If you’re buying ready-made broth from a supermarket, read the labels carefully and aim to buy products from ethical sellers and brands.

High Sodium Content:

When making bone broth, it’s better to use high-quality salt like Celtic sea salt, as low-quality salt is mostly refined and stripped of its natural minerals.

Please note that excessive sodium intake can cause high blood pressure, bloating, and water retention, so when consuming bone broth, make sure to do so in moderation and avoid adding too much salt to the broth.

Health Benefits of Chicken vs Beef Bone Broth

As we’ve discussed multiple aspects of chicken bone broth vs beef bone broth, let’s take a look at how each broth affects and benefits our health.

As the chart shows, both chicken bone broth and beef bone broth are amazing for your overall health, including benefits for your skin, gut, fitness, muscle recovery, and providing sustained energy throughout the day.

Consuming bone broth is advisable for anyone looking to support their health and well-being, as bone broth has been a fundamental part of maintaining good health since ancient times.

Conclusion

Whether you decide to make chicken bone broth or beef bone broth, both will greatly benefit your health in a lasting way.

When making bone broth, make sure to simmer it long enough for the broth to absorb nutrients from the bones. If you want to enhance the flavor, you can add extra ingredients like onions, garlic, pepper, salt, and herbs.

Ideally, we recommend making the broth pure, with only added salt, but you can customize it as you see fit. Also, if you are purchasing bone broth from supermarkets, be sure to read the label carefully and check that there are no questionable ingredients.

Making bone broth at home is very easy, but if you don’t have the time or patience to cook it, buying it from the store is also fine—just be mindful of what you’re purchasing.

Bone broth, whether chicken or beef, will have a tremendous impact on your well-being, positively affect muscle recovery, and can be an excellent post-workout drink to replenish electrolytes.

While both chicken and beef bone broth are great for your health, if we had to choose one, we would opt for beef bone broth as it is nutritionally superior in many ways.

However, the intense taste might not appeal to everyone. If you don’t like the taste of beef broth, choosing a subtler option like chicken broth is perfectly fine, as it is almost as nutritionally beneficial as beef broth.