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Courtesy of Integrative Wellness, 2030 1/2 H St, Sacramento, CA; 916-837-8448
Ingredients:
3 quarts of filtered water
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
3 medium to large potatoes, quartered
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
2-3 large carrots, chopped
1 bunch chopped greens of choice, such as collards, mustard, kale, or turnip and
1 bunch of parsley
1 large piece of kelp, kombu or nori seaweed
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in a soup pot.
- Bring to a light boil with the lid on.
- Simmer for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and after it has cooled, strain into a large bowl or pot keeping only the broth.
- Use in soups or refrigerate and drink 2-3 cups/day.
Nutritional Facts:
Drinking mineral-rich vegetable broth is one of the simplest and least expensive ways to improve your health. It is one of the best methods of bringing the pH (a measurement of how acid or alkaline a body is) into balance. Mineral broth will greatly assist the body in bringing both excess acidity and alkalinity back to normal. It will give the body many different organic minerals, especially the big three – organic sodium, organic potassium and organic calcium. These are the most important minerals in today’s society, because the average person takes in too many acid-forming foods (meat, dairy, grains, sugar, alcohol, etc.), as well as acid-forming chemicals in our foods and air. Acids are also produced by worry, stress and other emotional problems. The precious alkalizing minerals which the body must have to handle all these acids are also known as electrolyte minerals, or electrolytes.
To help you understand how critical pH is, we will look at the example of blood pH. Our blood must maintain a pH of 7.4. If the blood pH becomes even slightly more acid than it should be, and drops below 7.2, the body will be near death. The saliva and urine tests suggested for cleansing show the pH of saliva and urine, and give an idea of what your mineral reserves are. These tests do not reveal the blood pH. If you do not pass the saliva and/or urine test(s), your blood pH usually still remains balanced, because the body does everything in its power to prevent death. To prevent an imbalance in the blood pH, the body will ‘rob’ alkalizing minerals from other areas of the body where there is a supply. This then weakens those areas.
When we consistently take in more acid-forming foods than alkaline-forming foods, our bodies use up our buffering minerals, which are primarily sodium, potassium and calcium. The body must have these minerals to carry dangerous acids out of the body. Most people have run short of these valuable minerals and have become dangerously over acid (pH is too low), or even worse, over alkaline (pH is too high). An over alkaline problem only develops after a longstanding over acid condition, and both problems stem from a deficiency of organic alkalizing minerals. Even children can run short early in life. When we run short of these electrolytes, our digestion is impaired; the liver, spleen, and pancreas are weakened; the immune system falters; we develop gallstones; and the bones and joints develop osteoporosis, arthritis and other diseases, etc. An over acid body is the beginning of most all chronic diseases.
You may use vegetable broth to boost your intake of the “big three” – organic sodium, calcium and potassium. It is vitally important to take only minerals that have come from plants – these are in an organic form, and are the only kind that can benefit our bodies. Inorganic minerals, such as table salt or sodium chloride are extremely harmful to us – they cause hardening of the arteries, heart trouble, digestive problems, and they even extract helpful organic minerals from our bodies! Some people may temporarily feel better taking in certain types of sodium chloride, but only because of the stimulating toxic effect it has on the body – similar to refined sugar.
The following gives a brief overview of how important the three main organic minerals are:
Organic Sodium – is needed for utilization of oxygen. Lack of organic sodium can cause the following problems: indigestion, weak muscles and tissues, cracking joints, arthritis, osteoporosis, difficult breathing, catarrh or mucous, lack of saliva, lack of hydrochloric acid, sleepy during the day and awake at night, patient feels good one day and bad the next, slow digestion, constipation, gas in stomach and bowels, palpitation, liver trouble, weak eyesight, nerves on fire, stiff joints, dry skin, confusion, frontal headache, offensive breath, poor concentration, weak heart, emotional up’s and down’s, poor complexion. Lack of sodium is the forerunner of most chronic and degenerative diseases, such as AIDS, cancer blood diseases and many other diseases, because it is one of the most important, if not the most important buffer of acids for the body. 99 people out of 100 are lacking organic sodium. Sodium chloride or table salt has the opposite effect of organic sodium. Table salt actually takes organic sodium out of the body, and causes more damage to normal intestinal mucosa than any other substance! Stay away from sodium chloride as if your life depended on it. Good sources of organic sodium are celery, okra, black mission figs, carrot juice, beets, whey (goat milk whey is far superior to cow’s milk whey and is less mucous-forming for some). A doctor-prescribed low-sodium diet will cause more harm than good, unless it only restricts intake of table salt.
Organic Potassium – is needed to convert food, especially sugars and fat, into the proper compounds. Excess gas is an indication of low potassium level. Potassium is also needed for the generative functions, for the nerves, brain, joints and spinal cord. Like sodium, it is needed for utilization of oxygen. We hear about the importance of iron for the blood and oxygen, but potassium is even more important for the blood. Potassium and sodium are needed for energy transference and the electrical conductivity in our bodies. Lack of potassium means lack of coordination, poor sleep, possible enlargement of the liver, kidney problems, itchy skin, constipation, nerve trouble, muscle weakness and poor memory, a feeling of sand in the eyelids, pains in left ear but not the right, pus and mucous in the mouth, pain in the lower back of the head, a desire for cold water or drinks, displacement of the uterus, acidity, restlessness, nervousness, mental illness, a desire to be alone, and negativity. Some of the highest sources of potassium are: skins(only the skins) of potatoes, parsley, cayenne pepper, yams, carrot juice, kelp, dulse, irish moss, raisins, dried peaches and pears, papaya, avocado, banana, dried figs, and all herbs, especially the bitter herbs. Almost all fruits and vegetables have potassium, but cooking them can remove much of it.
Organic Calcium – is another mineral needed for the utilization of oxygen. We think that calcium is needed for the bones and teeth, but it is needed for much more than that. Injuries of any kind need calcium, for that is what knits people back together again. Calcium gives strength and power to the body. If we lack calcium, we would lack strength and will power. There would be a tendency toward fear, indecision, aches, pain, fatigue, profuse perspiration, catarrh, hemorrhaging, cramps in the calves, boredom, brain fatigue, digestive problems, bone softening, lung problems, abscesses, etc. Highest calcium foods are: yogurt, salmon with bones, molasses, milk, dulse, kelp, irish moss, seeds, all greens, cauliflower, celery, cabbage, and lemons. Never eat dairy products for calcium! You will lose more calcium from your body than you will gain from taking cow liquids. There are two reasons for this: more sodium, potassium and calcium are used up buffering the acids from dairy products than we can get from drinking or eating them, and dairy products are excessively high in phosphorus. In order to assimilate anything with phosphorus, we need twice the amount of calcium; eating dairy forces the body to find calcium wherever it can – bones, teeth, etc. There is one exception to this: whey. Whey is the by-product of making cheese. The phosphorus and acids remain in the cheese, making whey a valuable food that is especially high in organic sodium.
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