What do you believe in? It’s kind of a daunting question, isn’t it? Growing up, I was taught to have faith in the Catholic church, and God, but I think what people get wrong about spirituality is that being spiritual isn’t solely based on religion; it’s about believing in something greater than yourself. Somewhere out there, be it in the universe or above it, I trust that there exists a power bigger than me, bigger than life on Earth, and according to new research, that kind of spirituality affects mental health in a big way. Regardless of what it is, exactly, that you believe in, what really seems to matter most is that you find your faith — be it organized religion, your own prayer, or even a meditative practice on your commute home — and that you don’t stop believing in it.
See, religion implies that there is a community of people who invest their faith in an organized fashion. And while your spirituality might stem from organized religion, it also might not. It’s a complicated concept, I know, but to put it simply, Robert Glatter, M.D., an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health, explains that spirituality is the sum of your individual core values and beliefs, and how you honor them both in your everyday life and how you connect with others. “Spirituality is often associated with many key aspects of how people relate to one another,” Glatter tells Elite Daily. “It involves the willingness to embrace others and to assist them in good times and bad times. It’s an openness that defines who you truly are.”
So, no, you don’t necessarily have to go to synagogue every week to be spiritual, but if practicing in a house of worship is what’s going to deepen your faith, then that’s beautiful, too. Either way, science says your mental health will benefit: According to a 14-year study, performed by a team of researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health and The Human Flourishing Program, children and young adults who are brought up in religious and/or spiritual environments are less likely to become depressed, experiment with drugs, and engage in unsafe sexual behavior.
According to the study’s press release, Harvard researchers analyzed health data from mothers and their children who had respectively been enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II and the Growing Up Today Study. More than 5,000 children and young adults were evaluated over the course of roughly eight to 14 years in order to figure out how, exactly, a spiritual upbringing can affect mental health. The results, which have been published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, showed that spirituality “can powerfully affect health behaviors, mental health and overall happiness and well-being,” per the press release.
And, as I’ve said time and again, statistics don’t lie, people. According to the researchers’ findings, children and young adults who attended religious services weekly were 18 percent more likely to report feeling happier later on in life than those who didn’t attend such services. What’s more, 29 percent were more likely to sign up for volunteer work, 33 percent were less likely to use drugs, and those who didn’t necessarily attend service but, instead, prayed at home or practiced meditation on a daily basis, were 16 percent “more likely to report higher happiness as young adults,” according to the study’s press release.
While it’s still unclear as to why, exactly, a spiritual upbringing affects mental health, Tyler VanderWeele, Ph.D., the senior author of the study, tells Elite Daily over email that, from his understanding, it could be that, by experiencing a close connection to God (or any kind of spiritual figure or belief) through prayer or meditation, you gain a certain level of satisfaction and contentment in life that those who don’t pray or meditate, don’t seem to experience. It basically comes down to having unconditional love for both yourself and others around you, which, Glatter, who wasn’t involved in the study, adds, “has a calming effect, leading to inner fulfillment that produces a sense of inner peace.”
Well, I don’t know about you, but I totally want in on inner peace, especially considering the fact that I’m probably one of the most anxious people you’ll ever meet. And while, for me, I feel lucky to have had that religious faith to lean back on all my life, that isn’t to say you should follow a certain religion if organized faith isn’t your thing. If you don’t follow a scripture, prayer can be as simple as whispering a genuine “thank you” to the universe. You can show gratitude for all you’ve been given in life by jotting down a list in your journal. Meditation and yoga can also help to reinforce the practice of spirituality, Glatter suggests, as both of these practices “reinforce an inner sense of peace, acceptance, and tranquility that forms the foundation of the practice of these principles.”
Still, if you’re unsure of how to begin your own spiritual journey, a solid place of grounding is to first and foremost believe in yourself. Have confidence in yourself, and in the fact that you know what’s right and what’s wrong. Once you’re able to identify your core beliefs, then you can maybe start to think about deities. What matters is that you’re able to have faith, and hold onto it, because clearly, even a little shred of belief goes a long way.
TikTok is making bone broth trendy again, but adding it into your daily routine is nothing new with celebs. Kylie Jenner drinks bone broth every morning with lavender and lemon, while her sis, Kourtney Kardashian, has shared her go-to bone broth recipe that’s full of ingredients like carrots, onions, and ginger. Since bone broth is great for your gut health and I suffer from acid reflux and indigestion, I had to see what all the fuss was about for myself. Not only did I try making Kourtney’s bone broth recipe at home and drinking it at home for a week, but I also reached out to bone broth expert and board-certified naturopathic physician Dr. Kellyann Petrucci to understand its benefits even more.
Dr. Kellyann tells Elite Daily that bone broth is the “best whole food source of collagen, meaning it can help you “see an increase in skin elasticity and hydration, and a reduction in wrinkles.” While powdered collagen products are popular and trendy, Dr. Kellyann suggests consuming bone broth as a whole food source of collagen versus supplements that can contain fillers or additives.
If you’re wondering what the different between chicken broth and bone broth is, a big one is its consistency. Since the bone broth I made at home was fresh, it turned into a gel form after I placed it in my fridge overnight. Dr. Kellyann shared its thickness is due to “the viral nutrients that are extracted from the bones.” In addition, regular broth and chicken stock have their own health benefits, but they don’t “hold a candle to bone broth’s nutritional density.” The gelatin-like consistency and the glutamine is also great for your digestion and helps “repair the gut lining.”
While Kylie prefers to enjoy her bone broth beverage first thing in the morning, Dr. Kellyann says that it can be enjoyed at any time. She actually recommends that “everyone drinks two cups of bone broth a day.” To live like a KarJenner, I prepped myself some of Kourtney’s bone broth to see if I noticed any changes over the course of a week and if it’s worth adding to your daily routine.
How To Make Kourtney Kardashian’s Bone Broth Recipe
The bone broth recipe that Kourtney prefers is not a secret Kardashian family recipe, but rather one that she actually got from her friend Jennifer Galvan’s mom. You will need about a day to make it, but you can prep a bunch of bone broth to enjoy all week long. To begin, you’ll need to gather the following ingredients:
- Six pounds of chicken back, neck, and feet (two pounds each)
- Two onions
- Four celery sticks
- Two carrots
- A bunch of parsley
- A whole garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped ginger
- One tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 tablespoon pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
The night before you plan to make your bone broth, you’ll need to wash and clean the chicken before putting it into a pot with super cold water and 1/2 cup of salt. It can be sea salt or kosher salt. Once that’s done, cover and stick in your fridge overnight.
When you wake up the next day, empty out the water from your pot and rinse your chicken. After that, place the chicken back into a big pot with your chopped up veggies and some water. Get your water to a boil, and then set it on low heat to cook for about six to eight hours. It truly is an all day thing.
When it’s ready, use a colander to pour your bone broth into another bowl, making sure to sift out everything but the broth. Whatever you’re left with can be placed in mason jars and stored in your fridge. If you’re not sure how quickly you can drink all your bone broth, you can leave this recipe in your freezer for up to three months.
Dr. Kellyann says that Kourtney’s favorite bone broth recipe is great because it’s “full of ingredients that support gut and digestive health, such as ginger, garlic, and apple cider vinegar.” Plus, the turmeric is an anti-inflammatory spice. Her only suggestion is to add a source of vitamin C like tomatoes, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts because they make the collagen in your bone broth more effective. However, she warns against cooking any vegetables into the soup, because they can lose a lot of vitamin C when heated. For flavor, she also suggests adding in some cayenne pepper, because it’ll not only give your broth a little kick but it can also “speed up your metabolism.”
Kourtney Kardashian’s Bone Broth Recipe Review
After spending most of my weekend making homemade bone broth, I highly doubt Kourtney Kardashian is making this recipe at home often. Just chopping veggies alone took forever. It was so time-consuming and exhausting that I don’t think I would ever do it again.
While I am a little impatient in the kitchen, I also have to admit that Kourtney’s bone broth recipe was delicious. It was so flavorful with the ginger and onions. Since I placed my bone broth in mason jars, all I had to do was heat it up in the morning to get it back to a liquid from a gel and enjoy. It was like drinking soup for breakfast, which is less weird than you might think. Following Dr. Kellyann’s recommendation, I enjoyed some mandarin oranges after my bone broth to get in that vitamin C as well. Overall, if you’ve got the time for making a delicious bone broth recipe, this is a solid one to add to your arsenal. A little spice would have been a nice touch, and I think the cayenne pepper Dr. Kellyann mentioned would make this even better.
After drinking bone broth every day for about a week, I noticed I had more energy than before. Most days after work, all I want to do is take a nap or watch Netflix. However, the week I drank bone broth, I actually did some chores around my apartment instead. The biggest surprise is I haven’t noticed too much of a difference as far as my gut goes after having bone broth for a week, but I’d be open to continuing to drink it for longer and seeing if that changes.
The only thing is I will definitely be getting something ready-made instead of making my own bone broth from now on. I have a kitchen, but it’s not where I’m meant to be all day on a Saturday.
