OTHER SOURCES OF NUTRIENTS

One good way to get a variety of bioavailable vitamins and miner­als is to look to a number of different foodstuffs that naturally concentrate them. For those who aren't allergic, bee pollen is a rich source of many different vitamins, minerals, and proteins.

148 Optimal Nutrition for Optimal Health

Unpolished brown rice that has not been stripped down to the largely nutrient-free polished white rice is a rich source of vitamin Bj. There are also different grain germs (wheat germ, for example), which contain most of the nutrient value of the grains from which they were stripped. You can cook with these or add them back to your cereals. Brewer's yeast (as distinguished from baker's yeast) can be an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

These are but a few of the natural nutrient sources that can be­come a regular part of your diet. Using these natural nutrient sources also makes it very difficult to ever overdose on a particular nutrient. But, as with everything else, any of the nutrient sources can be overdone if you don't practice moderation. Don't try to get most of your nutrients from just a few sources. Try to keep your diet as diverse as possible. If you eat strictly according to taste, you will still be prone to nutrient depletion, even if the foods you do eat are high quality and fresh.

Occasionally, you may need to take amino acid supplements. In general, if your diet is balanced and your digestion is proceeding ef­ficiently, you won't need to supplement amino acids. You should really only consider taking this kind of supplementation when your laboratory studies indicate that you are having difficulty in main­taining proper protein synthesis and balance. Generally, this will occur in the context of persistently poor digestion and inadequate assimilation of the protein building blocks from the food.

Should you decide to supplement amino acids, be sure to take them in as much of a balance as possible. Take an amino acid sup­plement that has all of the amino acids, not just a few that you may consider to be the most important. And if you think that unbalanced amino acids couldn't possibly do you any harm, look at the exam­ple of the sweetener aspartame. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that consists primarily of two amino acids, phenylalanine and as-partic acid. These two amino acids accumulate out of control in heavy users, giving rise to a wide variety of negative side effects, es-

The Importance of Proper Supplementation 149

pecially neurologic side effects. (Other reasons to avoid aspartame are given in chapter 3.) Amino acids need other amino acids to syn­thesize protein. In general, taking just a few can allow for an abnor­mal accumulation.