The Dr. Josh Axe Show
The Dr. Josh Axe Show

The Real Reason Your Gut Won’t Heal (And How Bone Broth Fixes It) | Dr. Kellyann Petrucci

August 13, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In a two-year training program in Switzerland, Dr. Kellyann Petrucci watched Dr. Thomas Rau diagnose patients by looking at panoramic dental X-rays and noting the season of the year. He used music therapy and art therapy, and he talked about the “energetics of the cells” and the pulse of the body long before those ideas entered the mainstream wellness conversation. That experience, she says, taught her that health is never one thing. “It’s like the moat is not one thing,” she tells Dr. Josh Axe. “There’s a vertical to it.”

The Case for Starting Gentle

The most common mistake Petrucci sees in today’s health culture is skipping the foundation. “Today when I see some of these influencers online, it’s like, okay, let’s start doing an hour cold plunge. We’re gonna go and do a parasite cleanse. And I’m like, okay, well, that’s a terrible idea.” The principle she returns to repeatedly: strengthen the body first. Detoxification pathways—circulation, lymphatics, the gut lining itself—must be open before you can safely challenge the body with aggressive cleanses, cold exposure, or antimicrobial herbs.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Opening Hook & The Real Problem** - Dr. Axe and Dr. Kellyann Petrucci set up the core challenge: why gut health is failing despite all the trendy fixes.
  • 2 (00:22) **The Uniqueness of Your Gut** - A critical science moment explaining why there is no one-size-fits-all gut solution.
  • 3 (00:47) **Root Cause: Chronic Stress and Phones** - Dr. Kellyann identifies the #1 driver of the modern gut health crisis.
  • 4 (01:20) **The Queen of Bone Broth & Its History** - The introduction of bone broth as a foundational healing tool, with historical and clinical context.
  • 5 (05:37) **Bone Broth Fasting: The Autophagy Debate** - A nuanced breakdown of whether bone broth breaks a fast and why that might be a good thing.
  • 6 (07:40) **Dosage & The Surprising Benefit** - Practical application and the number one result Dr. Kellyann sees from bone broth.
  • 7 (11:26) **The Power of Glycine** - A deep dive into the specific amino acid that Dr. Kellyann calls her "favorite."

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Guests on this episode

Dr. Josh Axe

Show Notes

Your gut lining is thinner than you think — and that single fact may explain your skin issues, hormonal chaos, and stubborn inflammation. Dr. Kellyann Petrucci, known as the Queen of Bone Broth, joins Dr. Axe to walk through the food-based protocols she has used with patients for 30 years to heal the gut, support collagen, and ease menopause symptoms naturally. **In this episode:** - Why bone broth and collagen directly repair the gut lining — and which amino acids (glycine, proline, hydroxyproline) are doing the work - The counterintuitive reason raw vegetables can make gut problems worse, and what to eat instead when your digestion is already compromised - How the HPA axis drives hot flashes and what cortisol management actually looks like in a menopause protocol - Why blood sugar is almost always the upstream problem behind heart risk — and how metabolic flexibility through bone broth fasting addresses the root cause - The case for a “mono diet” during acute gut distress, drawn from Dr. Kellyann’s clinical experience and her time studying at a Swiss healing clinic - How spirituality, gratitude, and reducing chronic stress affect cellular healing — and why Dr. Kellyann considers this non-negotiable in practice Uncover what’s really going on in your body with advanced biomarker testing for hormones, thyroid, and metabolism— plus a 1-hour consultation with a Senior Health Advisor! → ⁠http://mybloodwork.com⁠ Thank you to our sponsors! Sunlighten Sauna: ⁠https://get.sunlighten.com/axepodcast⁠ Manukora Manuka Honey: ⁠https://manukora.com/axe⁠ Watch The Dr. Josh Axe Show every Monday & Thursday on YouTube: ⁠   / @drjoshaxe  ⁠ 🎧 Early Access! Our listeners enjoy every episode before anyone else! Tune in below and join our exclusive group of listeners → Spotify: ⁠https://bit.ly/DrJoshAxeSpotify⁠ Apple Podcast: ⁠https://apple.co/3JDvWcS⁠ Pre-order my NEW BOOK, Heal Your Cells → ⁠http://healyourcellsbook.com/⁠ Watch my free training on how to naturally balance your blood sugar and reverse your symptoms → ⁠http://DrAxeDiabetesClass.com⁠ Discover practical steps you can take today to start healing your thyroid naturally → ⁠http://DrAxeThyroidClass.com⁠ If you’re ready to start feeling like yourself again and balance your hormones, take my free class → ⁠http://DrAxeHormoneClass.com⁠ CONNECT WITH DR. JOSH AXE Instagram → ⁠  / drjoshaxe  ⁠ Facebook → ⁠  / drjoshaxe  ⁠ TikTok → ⁠  / thedrjoshaxeshow  ⁠ X → ⁠https://x.com/drjoshaxe/⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠  / joshaxe  ⁠ Website → ⁠http://thehealthinstitute.com⁠ Sign up for my newsletter → ⁠https://bit.ly/4oE9Jf3⁠ Ask Dr. Axe → ⁠http://speakpipe.com/drjoshaxe⁠ CONNECT WITH GUEST Instagram → ⁠ https://www.instagram.com/drkellyannofficial/⁠ Website → ⁠https://drkellyann.com/ CHAPTERS: 0:00 Pre-show conversation: peptides, blood work & personalized medicine 1:45 Introduction — Dr. Kellyann Petrucci, the Queen of Bone Broth 2:56 How bone broth became a category, not just a product 7:24 What bone broth actually does

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