Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough Book Review
/I have read all of Dr. Kellyann Petrucci's books, and her latest one - Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough: Turn Back the Clock, Reset the Scale, Replenish Your Power - is no exception. Known for her simple and effective, 5, 10, and 21-day diet books, I wondered if her latest publication brings anything new to the (paleo) table.
Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough goes far beyond a short-term diet to fit into a bikini for a summer vacation. She teaches, in a friendly and engaging manner, how to embrace a holistic, healthy lifestyle based on simple habits. If you are familiar with Dr. Kellyann, you might guess her foundational practice is drinking bone broth, which is correct. She goes beyond just clean eating and addresses other pillars of health like sleep, movement, and self-care.
In this blog post you'll learn:
Who this book is for (and who it is NOT for)
What I loved about the book
What I didn't love about the book
Exactly why I recommend this book
About Dr. Kellyann
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough is not a traditional "diet" book.
Instead of a rigid diet plan to get you in shape for a vacation or a 5-day cleanse to lose holiday pounds, Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough is a book focused on all aspects of a healthy lifestyle.
A large part of the book addresses nutrition which makes sense since what we eat affects not just our weight, but our mood, our gut health, how strong (or weak) our immune system is, and the likelihood we get a chronic disease such as diabetes, blood pressure, or heart disease. Source.
If you are looking for a step-by-step traditional diet book, check out these:
5-Day Cleanse and Reset (best for someone who wants to drop a few pounds FAST)
10-Day Belly Slimdown (best for someone who specifically wants to target belly fat and wants to lose up to 10 pounds in 10 days)
21-Day Bone Broth Diet(best for someone who has more than 10 pounds to lose and wants a long-term, practical diet to take the weight off)
I have done all of these diets and the links above will take you to my (very thorough) reviews.
Creamy Avocado Soup with Mango Salsa is one of my favorite recipes so far. The soup is creamy with a hint of spice (and perfect to sip from a mug), while the Mango salso can be used to top chicken or fish as well.
Who is this book for (and who it is NOT for)?
Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough book is for people who:
have read any of Dr. Kellyann's other books and who like her easy-going writing style
want to embrace a healthy lifestyle that goes beyond just changing your eating
feel like you're constantly struggling with your weight and want to lose a little (or a lot of) weight without strict dieting
feel like you are addicted to sugar and/or suffer from food cravings
want to occasionally have treats like wine, ice cream, or pasta without guilt or weight gain
have diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, or other chronic diseases
feel stuck in the cycle of overexercising, overeating, and overstressing
put others first and feel like you have no energy left to take care of yourself
just don't feel well and have little energy, have lots of nagging aches and pains or digestive issues
crave more energy during the day without drinking tons of coffee
just want to eat healthier and become the best possible version of yourself.
Lemon Chicken, Asparagus, and Leeks with Pan Sauce
This book may not be the right fit for you if:
you want to be told exactly what to eat
you want a daily meal plan (like ones included in many traditional diet books)
you do not want to drink bone broth
you don't want to embrace self-care practices like sleep, relaxation, and moving your body
Of course always check with your doctor before starting any diet plan, even this one written by a well-known functional medicine doctor.
What I love about Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough book.
I read this book just days after it was released while on the beaches of sunny Florida!
Dr. Kellyann writes as if she is speaking to you, her bff.
Dr. Kellyann's writing style is very friendly and down-to-earth, and it feels like she speaks to YOU. More than that, it feels as if Dr. Kellyann UNDERSTANDS you and your weight or health struggles.
This is a healthy lifestyle plan, not a diet.
Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough Book teaches how to make simple, doable lifestyle changes to help you:
lose weight
have a healthy gut
have glowing skin
boost your immune system
have more energy
Her core belief, the foundation of this and all her books, is that our bodies want to heal and return to optimal weight and health.
The Bone Broth Breakthrough starts with one little habit: drinking a cup or two of bone broth every day.
This simple habit is not overwhelming. You are not asked to give up your favorite foods.
It only takes a minute to microwave packaged bone broth or to heat up a cup of water to make a mug of delicious, nutritious bone broth.
You can sip a mug of bone broth for a snack or you can use bone broth in soups (which is the way I love to consume it). You can make your own broth (this is my favorite recipe), but she gives you plenty of recipes in the book) or you can purchase store-bought. (I always keep a carton or two of bone broth in my pantry for soups and individual packets for sipping.)
Dr. Kellyann believes the simple daily habit of drinking bone broth is a starting point that will lead to other small, yet powerful, changes. These little healthy habits have a compound effect and over time lead to wellness without taking radical, overwhelming action, or making big scary lifestyle changes.
Dr. Kellyann explains how she started by drinking bone broth every day. After a few weeks, she noticed:
she stopped being thirsty all the time
stopped having pain in her gut
started sleeping better
dark circles under her eyes started to fade
skin looked softer and more toned
started losing weight
she was reclaiming the spark and energy of her youth
Momentum breeds momentum and the positive changes that started with simply drinking bone broth every day spilled over into her confidence, attitude, and feeling of well-being. After three months of drinking bone broth every day she was fit, energetic, and vibrant.
I love Italian Sausage and this Vegetable Sausage Soup made with bone broth was hearty, comforting, and nourishing.
There are over 40 recipes in this book.
Dr. Kellyann's recipes, like those in her other diet books, contain nutritious, whole, real foods, and lots of herbs and spices for flavor.
I tried many of the recipes in the Bone Broth Breakthrough and you'll find my photos sprinkled throughout this blog post.
Some of my favorite recipes are:
Italian Vegetable Soup with Sausage and Fennel
Lemon Chicken, Asparagus, and Leeks with Pan Sauce
Slow-Cooker Turkey and Sweet Potato Stew
Salmon Chowder
Thai Sweet Potato Soup
Salmon with Orange-Ginger Marinade
Creamy Avocado Soup with Mango Salsa (the mango salsa is a new favorite!
Broccoli "Cheese" Soup (I didn't have broccoli so substituted cauliflower - yum)
Salmon Tacos with Cabbage Slaw and Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Chocolate Pudding with Crunchy Grain-Free Granola
The Bone Broth Breakthrough recipes are easy to make and don't require fancy cooking equipment or the skill of a Master Chef.
I found all of these recipes to be doable for me and for most home cooks. No expensive sous vide machines, electric juicers, or Le Creuset dutch ovens are required.
Instructions are simple and no special skills are necessary to make the Bone Broth Breakthrough recipes.
The Bone Broth Breakthrough is not about deprivation. At all.
Not only is the Bone Broth Breakthrough plan logical and easy to follow, but Dr. Kellyann also encourages you to ask yourself these questions before planning or eating any meal:
What about this dish will nourish me?
Will it give me everything I need?
Will it make me happy?
“Will a meal make me happy” is not a question I have EVER seen in a diet or nutrition book. I love the philosophy that you can nourish your body well AND enjoy what you eat.
With no strict rules, and plenty of healthy foods on plan, I even followed the Bone Broth Breakthrough on vacation. This was the most delish salmon and spinach salad from Djon’s village Market Rooftop bar.
The Bone Broth Breakthrough plan is easy to follow (I even did it on vacation!)
The Bone Broth Breakthrough teaches general principles and doesn't have strict food lists. Dr. Kellyann also preaches allowing for 20% treat foods and having grace for yourself when you do indulge. The Bone Broth Breakthrough is a doable plan even while traveling.
I read the book while lounging on the beach on my recent Florida vacation and found it easy to order delicious meals at local restaurants following the Bone Broth Breakthrough principles.
There are 4 key elements of the bone broth breakthrough lifestyle.
Looking and feeling your best is not just about what you eat, even though diet is a really important part. This book addresses 4 key pillars to a healthy life:
nutrition
sleep
movement
self-care (which Dr. Kellyann calls "stamina-care")
While Dr. Kellyann does offer products like bone broth, collagen powder, and smoothies, you do not need to purchase anything to follow the Bone Broth Breakthrough plan.
I personally purchase and use Dr. Kellyann's powdered bone broth and products because less cooking makes life easier for me. But you do not have to purchase anything to follow this plan. She includes several bone broth recipes in the Bone Broth Breakthrough, as well as other delicious and nutritious recipes.
Creamy chocolate pudding with crunchy grain-free granola
The Bone Broth Breakthrough book embraces an 80/20 lifestyle.
From years of seeing patients, Dr. Kellyann understands that no one can eat a clean diet 100% of the time. Even if our goal is to mostly eat nutritious, healthy foods, there are times we want to indulge in Breyer's mint chocolate chip ice cream on our birthday, eat our mom's chocolate-cherry cake because she baked it just for us, or try Gordon Ramsay's famed beef wellington on a once-in-a-lifetime visit to his Hell's Kitchen restaurant in Las Vegas.
In the Bone Broth Breakthrough, she shares exactly how to live that 80/20 lifestyle guilt-free.
The Bone Broth Breakthrough lists sources for all health claims in the book.
This is a well-researched book and Dr. Kellyann lists her sources so nutrition geeks can check out the original studies.
What I didn't love about the book.
Some of the recipes include many ingredients.
This is a good thing and a bad thing. Lots of ingredients is a good thing because eating a wide variety of plant foods is associated with better gut health and well-being. Many ingredients can be negative if you are on a limited budget or if you won't use the entire package of arugula or pint of cremini mushrooms in a recipe.
The index is not thorough which makes it hard to find the specific recipe you're looking for.
All the recipes appear in the index, but if you search for “seafood” you may not see the Halibut with Romesco recipe you are actually searching for. Because I couldn’t remember the specific kind of fish, it made it tricky trying to find particular recipes.
Dr. Kellyann's constant claims that bone broth helped her freeze time.
She starts out the Bone Broth Breakthrough introduction by saying "it has been nearly twenty years since I froze time." Dr. Kellyann claims bone broth helped her skin stop aging, it’s the reason she stopped struggling with her weight, and she looks younger every year.
Maybe this is true for her, or maybe I'm just jealous, but I find that claim a bit off-putting.
RELATED: Another one of my favorite functional medicine doctors is Dr. Mark Hyman. I reviewed his 10-Day Detox Diet that made helped me lose 3 pounds, 9 inches, and reduced my sweet cravings and joint pain in less than two weeks.
Why is bone broth so important?
The simple habit of drinking bone broth every day is integral to the Bone Broth Breakthrough. If you are unfamiliar with Dr. Kellann's work you may wonder why. Why is drinking bone broth so important?
Bone broth benefits:
bone broth helps burn fat
reduces inflammation
helps your body's digestive function
health and cultivates a healthy gut (heals and seals your gut)
offers deep hydration
nourishes your skin (it is rich in collagen)
can improve joint health (as someone with inflammatory and osteoarthritis, this is super important to me!)
helps detoxify your body
contains glycine which helps people sleep better
fills you up and helps you stretch the time between meals
Why I recommend Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough book.
I love diet books and I find them to be a fun experiment when I try someone's new approach to losing weight, getting fit, or reducing your risk of developing a chronic disease.
But at some point it's important to look beyond just losing 10 pounds in 30 days, you know?
To look and feel your best and to be truly healthy inside and out, you must get adequate sleep, you need to move your body, and you need to turn off the fight-or-flight response, and manage chronic stress.
The Bone Broth Breakthrough is a whole-body approach to good health and weight loss. While nutrition is very important, it is not the only lifestyle factor to concentrate on in a quest to be a healthy human.
Who is Dr. Kellyann Petrucci?
Dr. Kellyann Petrucci is a celebrity naturopathic physician and certified nutrition consultant who is one of the pioneers of the bone broth movement.
She has a PBS special about weight loss, and has regularly appeared on Good Morning America, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, and other national news programs, sharing her love of bone broth and healthy eating.
She has authored several books, including Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Diet: Lose Up to 15 Pounds, 4 Inches--and Your Wrinkles!--in Just 21 Days and Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Cookbook: 125 Recipes to Help You Lose Pounds, Inches, and Wrinkles, and the 5-Day Cleanse and Reset.
Dr. Kellyann has also developed a wide variety of products to make it easier to focus on a healthy lifestyle. She has liquid and powdered bone broth for sale on her website (and at Whole Foods), as well as products like collagen, protein shakes, lemon water, and fruity smoothies.
I hope you enjoyed this quick little book review of Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Breakthrough. I'm raising a mug of bone broth and toasting to your good health!
