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FOODS THAT ARE ESPECIALLY GOOD ALTERNATIVES TO SUPPLEMENTS

I have no financial connection whatsoever to the supplement industry. Some readers will nevertheless assume that I'm a bit of a health-pill-pusher. Nope; just a realist. If you eat a Standard American Diet, you probably don't care much for the following unpopular foods. On the other hand, we'd need fewer supplements if we'd eat more of these:

*NUTRITIONAL or BREWER'S YEAST (Vitamin B-12, other B-vitamins, Chromium, Selenium) Like most foods, these won't fit into tablets. Try hiding the flavor in pineapple juice. You may prefer the taste of primary-grown nutritional yeast, as it is not a by-product of beer making. Debittered brewers' yeast also offers a taste improvement.

* WHEAT GERM (Vitamin E, Magnesium, B-vitamins, protein) If vacuum packed, one of the very best foods in the supermarket. Only buy very fresh, refrigerated wheat germ at the health food store. The nose knows: smell to tell if it is fresh.

* SPROUTED GRAINS, SPROUTED BEANS (complete protein, all vitamins and minerals, fiber) Eat raw and often. The best food at the salad bar. Probably the most complete food you'll find. Low calorie and cheap to grow at home. If I had only one food to recommend, it would be this.

* FRESH, RAW VEGETABLE JUICE (Beta-carotene, minerals and vitamins in general, fiber) Tastes great and is better for you than any beverage on Earth. Get a juicer, and use it! No bottled vitamins can compare to an uncooked, concentrated extract of veggies. Drink some daily.

* WHEATGRASS JUICE (Large quantities of vitamin C, vitamins and minerals in general, chlorophyll) Wheat is cheap. Sprout it in your kitchen! On a flat tray or two, under a bit of soil, you can have an indoor sprout farm. When several inches high, harvest with regular scissors. Add a bit of water while putting the wheatgrass through the juicer.

* YOGURT (calcium, phosphorus, beneficial acidophilus bacteria, protein, B-vitamins) About the easiest dairy food to digest and absorb. Dilute with water as an alternative to milk. Ever notice that over one-third of most "fruited" yogurts is sugar-laden jam? Buy plain and sweeten it yourself.

* LECITHIN Granules by the tablespoon beat those horse pills that contain only 1.2 grams of the stuff. Cheapest, best source of choline, phospholipids and inositol. Totally vegetarian. Start small and gradually increase your daily lecithin.

* WHOLE WHEAT, BARLEY, OATS, BROWN RICE (fiber, vitamins and minerals, protein, complex carbohydrates) Who needs extra bran or laxatives when you can just eat the fiber-rich whole grain in the first place?

* MOLASSES (sweetness, iron) Avoid bitter blackstrap and select a "primary" or sweet molasses as an alternative to sweet snacks.

If you are not eating the above goodies, a regular supplement program is a wise idea.

Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html ) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html )

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Andrew W. Saul

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