Free Radical Reduction: What to Stash

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Wheat germ, raw or toasted. Raw wheat germ has more nutrients than the toasted because it has not been subjected to heat. The toasted has better keeping quality and a flavor more acceptable to some palates. To give raw wheat germ a toasty flavor, toast about 1/2 cup in a 250-degree oven until light brown and add to the rest in the jar. The whole jar of wheat germ will taste toasted.

Wheat germ is a nutritional gold mine. It provides plenty of protein to repair and rebuild your cells, organs and tissues; generous amounts of vitamin E; and practically every member of the vitamin B complex in generous amounts.

Wheat germ provides a lot of the organic kind of iron that does not fight with vitamin E. Inorganic iron cancels our vitamin E. If you are taking an inorganic iron supplement on a doctor’s prescription, make sure you take vitamin E 12 hours later. Keep wheat germ in the refrigerator or freezer.

Bran. Coarse miller’s bran is available at health-food stores and can be added, as a source of additional fiber, to cereals and baked goods. Be sure to increase your liquid intake when you eat bran. Like wheat germ, bran should be kept refrigerated or frozen.

Whole-wheat flour. Preferably stone ground. Keep refrigerated or frozen and buy from a source where it’s kept refrigerated. Always warm your refrigerated flour before combining it with yeast. Place as much as you need in a 200-degree oven for 15 minutes.

Soy flour. A protein booster and an important cancer inhibitor. To greatly enhance the protein and protective value of your baked goods, combine 1/4 cup soy flour with 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour.

Carob powder. Carob often is used as a substitute for chocolate, and many people find the tastes similar. But, unlike chocolate, carob is naturally sweet, thus requiring fewer added sweeteners, and is far less caloric. Carob is in the same league as bran in regard to its fiber content, and its pectin helps drive down cholesterol.

Until your family becomes accustomed to the slightly different taste and aroma of carob, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of cocoa to the carob container. The whole thing will taste and smell like cocoa.

Pressed oils. Use sunflower, sesame, safflower, corn, canola or olive oil. Do not use cottonseed oil. Since cotton is not a food, its production is not regulated by safety precautions on the use of pesticides that govern food crops. We suggest also that you avoid solvent-expressed oils. Some of the solvent, usually hexane, may seep into the oil. Pressed oils are available at natural food stores. Keep them refrigerated.

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