Back to blog

Using Mineral Broths To Boost Your Immune System

There are over thirty minerals that are now considered essential to life. Most of these are considered trace minerals, meaning we only need very tiny

bone_brothamounts. While others like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, sodium and sulphur are known as macrominerals because our bodies use more significant amounts of these nutrients. These minerals play so many different roles in our body, life would be impossible without them. Taking in minerals in our food and water is essential to living a healthy life.

Several of these minerals play very important roles in our immune system. Calcium, for example, is vital in assisting our immune cells with gobbling up foreign matter. Magnesium is necessary for antibody production. And iron can help boost our overall protection against infection. Boosting our intake in vitamins will help boost our immunity against all sorts of sickness and disease.

Our bodies store minerals in our bones and tissues. However, there are many things that can deplete our mineral stores. If we go through a period of sickness or injury, our bodies may use up a lot of the minerals we carried around in-house. Caffeine and alcohol are known to strip us of our precious mineral banks. The liver needs to use minerals in order to detox the body of these toxins.

The good news is we can rebuild our mineral piggy banks by eating foods that are rich in minerals. Vegetables and fruits draw minerals out of the soil and into their flesh. When we consume them we will hopefully absorb the mineral content. It is believed that organically grown fruits and vegetables are more abundant in these minerals because of the farming practices used to grow them. Sea vegetables are very high in minerals. Our drinking water when not softened should be an excellent source of minerals, but that will depend on where you live. Natural spring waters are very abundant in minerals and a key tool in taking them in.

One of best foods we can use to increase our mineral stores and boost our immunity is a traditional food that has been around for a long time. Mineral broths in its many forms is this food that should be a part of your healthy diet. These broths can be made from vegetables alone. One of my favorite recipes is by Rebecca Katz, author of The Cancer Fighting Kitchen. She calls it Magic Mineral Broth. Bone broths or stocks are also an excellent source of essential nutrients. These can be used as a base for soups, or replace water when cooking rice. Sally Fallon in her amazing book Nourishing Traditions shares traditional recipes for stocks that I highly recommend.

I wanted to share a video by Liz Lipski, author of Digestive Wellness, as she demonstrates how easy it is to make a chicken stock using the left over carcass from a chicken. Try making one of the recipes that I've shared and see how you can incorporate these wonder foods into your diet. An old South American proverb states that "a good broth can raise the dead!" Let's hope you'll feel a difference after trying it!