Are you having Bone Broth and Diarrhea?
Don’t despair! Diarrhea is certainly no fun, but it may be a part of your healing while drinking some broth.
With all of the positive attention on Bone Broth, there are consequences that may surprise you. Diarrhea is certainly one of these. If you experience this, we have found that adding more meat, organ meat as well as cooking fewer hours resolves the negative issues.
A Simple Difference in Stock and Broth
The difference in Stock and Broth is simple. Stock is cooked for less time and has more meat to bone ratio in the ingredients. Bone Broth has mostly bones and is steeped longer – for 12 to 48 hours. This causes the histamines and glutamates to come out in addition to the collagens. When the gut is compromised, we find the body cannot tolerate these broths.
Our family consumes broth or stock almost every day. It’s love in a cup! We mostly default to chicken stock, but also enjoy; beef, lamb, and fish. With the little guts I’m helping in the foster group homes; stock initially works more effectively and gently. Using organic (or local organically-minded farm products), free-range, and optimally kosher provides a super high quality.
After several children living in our home, we notice a pattern after having broth. When a child has a weak immune system, sometimes the broth is given to heal the gut. If diarrhea results, we switch to stock and the diarrhea stops.
With children we took in (to foster and adopt), there is bronchitis or coughing. Each child drinks this bone broth soup to soothe and nourish. It’s simple to incorporate stock into many foods, like soup and mashed potatoes. We usually just sip it in a mug with a bit of salt. Certainly, broth and stock are great tools to detox and restore nutrients but we also need probiotics.
Probiotics is the equivalent of saying we are “increasing the good bugs in the gut”. Making a fun natural soda is our family approach.
Many Benefits
However, keeping our bodies strong is benefitted by broth and stock. Try adding a tablespoon of sauerkraut and the juice, after you put the stock in the mug. Coughs can disappear and children’s health improve quite quickly from incorporating these simple food techniques!
There is also a fantastic book by Dr. Natash Campbell-McBride which goes into a lot of detail on a full diet utilizing broths and stocks as the baseline. She has incredible experience healing kids in her practice in England, and I like her style of thinking!
“I don’t believe that there are any situations or any persons on this planet who can not be helped, whose life can not be made better. Many of these situations can be cured. If your doctor does not know something, it does not mean that the knowledge does not exist elsewhere. No body is behind hope. No body!”
-Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
Please be encouraged to incorporate stock and broth into your diet. And simply add more meats if you find negative results.
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Hello Mandy
I had been diagnosed with colon cancer…i had surgery and colostomy, colostomy was reversed…3 months later hair started falling off and tun for wire dry and dead…A yr and a hlf later i was told i had mets in lungs…over 15 tumors 7 moths ago when i started coughing blood. I refused chemo from begginign..i my search i went to do magnettherapy…and was told..YOu do not have cancer..you have worms..Schistosoma or Blood Fluke. and nematodes..I said, imposible..i have all the test..he said..I dont care what your test say..you have worm.s…I started taking humaworm and 14 days later coughed 3 long worms in 3 different occasions thru my lungs…i also started spelling tons of worms parasites.. with enema. Is not over..lungs hurt ..i started doing your chicken broth..and now that is over the humaworm, taking probiotics..plesase..i was told medicine will not rid the Schistosoma or Blood Fluke. ..any ideas..humaworm told me not to take anymore for 3 months…but they are still in there and i am stage 4. thank you. Mary
Mary, I have mulled over your comment for almost a month now. I have prayed that you would be given wisdom. And in your condition, it is not a small matter that you are facing. Having lost a son to cancer, there are a couple of links I want to give you for your journey. Treatments Encouragement Find a holistic doctor. They have the training, the experience and success. There are many approaches. Here is an article I wrote on deworming. From a nutritional support the stock and broth are terrific. These articles share a few more approaches: deworming and repopulating the gut. Be blessed and keep positive thoughts.
Hi Mandy,
Thanks for the broth info. I’ve just started making Bone Broths to fix my digestion issue. I too find that bone broth gives me diarrhea, usually within 2 hrs. At first I thought I did not cook it right.. Maybe the temp was too low and I had a cesspool of bactieria brewing in my kicthen.
How much and how often should one drink bone broth for? I’m just wondering how long should I put up with the diarrhea?
I had a stool sample done by my doctor. It came back negative, as they tested it for a bunch of parasites.
I’ve also changed my diet, on TCM herbs and seeing an acupuncturist for digestion.
I’m slowly getting better! But the diarrhea has certianly concerned me!
Bob
It is concerning, isn’t it? Sounds like you have a good team around you, Bob, so that is helpful. It is most likely a detox but there is a chance that the histamines are too much for you. Dilute your broth more and keep checking your vitals with your health team. It shouldn’t last too long, if it’s more than a week, I would add more meat and have stock instead. It may be more gentle on your gut.
What do you mean about histamines? I am very allergic to my histamines. I had allergies tested and i had a few typical ones but my histamine test site was really bad for a couple weeks after. So I am just wondering because I’ve been reading up on bone broth health because my boyfriend started drinking it and i am concerned of possible h. Pylori or some other parasite problem in the gut. I’ve struggled with chronic constipation and stomach pain at my belly button. Which i was told it could be an umbilical hernia i think probably due to scar tissue from my umbilical (da vinci method) hysterectomy.
Shirley, this message was lost, I’m sorry that I didn’t answer you. You could really check with your holistic doctors on your allergy and concerns. As far as food goes, there are studies through Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride showing that broth (longer cook time) creates for glutamates and histamine issues especially difficult for eczema and other similar indications. Therefore, stock (less cook time) is a better option. It is a tremendously valuable food to help boost your immune and help recover all the indications you may have. Blessings in health.
Hi Mandy,
The diarrhea only lasted a few days. My health/digestion has gotten so much better since I first posted 2 months ago. Thanks!! Histamines…eh?? Very interesting that you say that! My TCM doctor has diagnosed me as someone who produces too many histamines. And he did that by looking at my feet!! Something to do with my second toe being longer that my big toe???
I can’t say what exactly has fixed my digestion and I’m sure it’s a combination of things. I’ve completely switched my diet. My TCM herbs and acupuncture are just great. I started Yoga, meditation and belly breathing too. Stress really affects the body! and I believe that now. I used to chest breathe, which does not help. Belly breathing has truly help my digestion and stress. Life is different now… and I like it.
Another change I’ve noticed is in my toe nails. All my life my toe nails would crack and flake apart. But now, that has stopped. They strong and uniform.
Bob
Amazing. I didn’t know this. I am very allergic to histamines and also often complaining about my second toe bothering me because it’s so much longer than my big toe and i walk on top of the nail or it rubs my shoes or something so it’s all flaky and sore sometimes. I’m just shocked that it is connected to that and that I’m not the only one.
I started the GAPS weaning with my 7 mo. She says to start with bone broth. My baby has had diarrhea for three days and started developing a nasty rash. He was solely breastfed and probably doesn’t have worms at this stage. Any thoughts?
Kate, it could be anything. It could be good for him and cleaning his gut (maybe something you eat he is allergic) or it could be a histamine allergy. Especially the longer you cook it.
I’ve had blastocystis for years now. I’m in pain daily, mostly stomach pain and pain in my right side. I’ve had every imaginable test and blastocystis is the only thing that they can find. I’m guessing the parasite has damaged my colon, hence the pain (perhaps leaky gut?). Unfortunately I’ve tried very strong antibiotics twice which did not kill this parasite, but damaged my ears leaving me dizzy and off balance for months. I’ve started using powdered bone broth with turmeric and seem to get some relief, but hours later I get pain and also diareah could this help me eliminate parasites? I really feel desperate at this point any tips would be appreciated. I’ve tried oregano oil and other herbs from my naturopath but it didn’t make a difference.
Goodness, Sarah. I’m so sorry. I would partner with a holistic practitioner and a holistic chiropractor. We always use probiotics after antibiotics. It’s a great way to replenish the gut. Maybe you have a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner near you as well. You’ve got this!
Would this be good for someone who has celiac’s disease and is trying to heal their gut?
My gut has been damaged for two years ever since I had a parasite. I’m intolerant to so many foods it’s hard to put a meal together. I’m weak and unable to work. Doctors don’t seem to think it’s any big deal but I’m down to 107lbs from 125lbs. I’ve been making chicken soup by boiling chicken legs for s few hours and adding some veg, but have been getting diareah. Could this still be the histamine?
It’s possible. If so, you really should find a holistic practitioner and get some L-Glutamine or Gastra-zyme (Biotics Research) or some healing salve for your indications. Then in a couple of months you can start with Veggie stock, then chicken stock. Hope you get this soon.
As a matter of fact, I had been reading earlier about bone broth on your website. I found it to be quite informative and bought some bone broth protein yesterday to mix in drinks to perhaps help with some of my issues.
Keep up the good work on this great website!
Thanks for this article! I found it because I was searching for answers on about having liquid stool and thought it might be related to the bone broth fast I’m doing. I kept thinking – “why are things even coming out of this portal, when all I’m ingesting is liquid?!” But I guess even liquids go through both the urinary tract and the lower digestive tract. I had already been experiencing diarrhea for a few days when I began the bone broth fast, and began it in part to help heal my upper and lower GI and stop the diarrhea. So, I was a bit surprised when it just changed the consistency. Although, I feel better than I did prior. Anyway, thanks for your insight and for starting this conversation. I made my first appt with a GI doc for two weeks from now and am looking forward to getting answers after two decades of issues with my digestive tract. I’ve been fighting a candida overgrowth and leaky gut and I’m hopeful that this “lifestyle” of living with all of these symptoms can and will come to an end. I want my body back!! And my time that is wasted by dealing with all of my symptoms.
I have been having bone broth soup with 22 grams of protein in it. There is Southwest Vegetable, Tomato, and a Coconut bone broth (same brand) . It has been a week or less and I started having diareah 2 days ago. I am hoping it is because of the bone broth soup. It is a real switch because last year I had a colonoscopy because I couldn’t go! Thank you. I am sure time will tell. I am not giving up on bone meal soup because I moved to the country and am excited about finding this soup!
I have been suffering from serious digestive problems since having COVID in January. I developed C Diff and had 2 recurrences after being diagnosed. I was on 3 separate rounds of antibiotics.
I have been slowly healing but am having a very difficult time with digestion and maintaining weight. I have lost 45 pounds since January because I can no longer eat normal foods. I have to introduce food slowly like I’m an infant. I have to avoid gluten, dairy and soy. Plus I have to follow Low FODMAP diet to reduce inflammation in my gut. I currently have loose stools after months of being well. Do you think bone broth could possibly help me? I’m really struggling and many C Diff survivors have said bone broth has worked wonders for them.
Hi, Amanda. So sorry to hear what you have gone through. I am not able to diagnose, but I can recommend based on my credentials. A good chicken stock, cooked about 6 hours is gentle and nourishing. You may want to consider some other fermented coconut yogurt and enemas. I have some recipes in my book https://www.realfoodrecovery.org/product/real-food-recovery-cookbook/ and other ideas on this website. You can do this! Best wishes for you!