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An alternative white sun-dried salt which has been dried naturally is also good. These salts contain all the trace minerals that remain after sea water has been evaporated including magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron - all of which are vitally important for health. Natural unrefined sea salt also helps the body produce hydrochloric acid which aids in digestion.

Dry roast the unrefined salt in a frying pan over a medium high flame for at least 10 minutes, while stirring occasionally, to expell excess chlorine. Then grind the salt into a fine powder in a stone maize grinder or mortar and pestle. Use sea salt sparingly in your cooking. It will give a much better and more natural taste to your food.

OIL

Hydrogenated oils should be avoided since the heat of the hydrogenation process destroys the oil's nutritional value. In addition, the body is incapable of digesting hydrogenated oil.

The best oil for cooking is sesame oil. It contains sesamolin, a natural anti-oxident which acts as a natural preservative. Breads baked with sesame oil keep a long time without turning rancid. Sesamolin also contains vitamin E and F. All vegetable oils have a flash point at which they change into saturated fats. Sesame oil has the highest flash point (500°) and will thus withstand very high cooking temperatures. When rendering, after the oil is removed, the sesame seeds that remain can be made into sesame butter. This is a sound ecological practice because the whole food is utilized. All other grains and seeds that are used to make oil must be discarded or fed to animals after the oil has been extracted, and this results in unbalanced, devitalized food.

In its raw state sesame oil cannot be used for deep frying since it will foam when heated. It must first be heated until it begins to smoke and then cooled. It is now ready for deep frying.

Corn oil should be used in deep frying only where the high cost of sesame oil prohibits its use. You can add a small amount of sesame oil to corn oil to improve the flavor.

Corn germ oil is a rich, dark yellow oil used in pastries and in sauteeing. When fresh it has a delightful aroma and is delicious but it is not a satisfactory oil for deep frying.

When purchasing oil, accept only unrefined oil, since the refining process removes the lecithin and vitamins from the oil.

Now that we've covered some of the reasons for eating natural food, it's time to get more specific. The remainder of this article will be devoted to discussing the properties of various natural foods, listing methods for cooking them and giving a few samples of the many delicious recipes that are possible with grains and vegetables.

BROWN RICE

Rice is the staple food of the majority of the world's population and more arable land is devoted to its cultivation than any other crop. The cultivation of rice is older than recorded civilization.

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