What if just about everything you thought you knew about taking vitamins, minerals and supplements turned out to be bogus? What if it was all a scam?

According to nutrition expert Dr. Brian Clement, director of West Palm Beach's Hippocrates Health Institute, there can be dangers to supplementing your diet with the wrong products. Even more disconcerting: taking synthetic or chemical-based vitamins can be just as bad for your health as eating processed preservative and chemical-laden foods.

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We all know wheatgrass is good for us -- those little shots of bright green liquid that smell like fresh-mowed grass and taste like, well, fresh-mowed grass. But do you really know why? Really, what's so great about wheatgrass?

Aside from the fact that it's been called nature's "greatest healer," wheatgrass is also considered a complete food with an ideal alkaline-acid balance. Just one ounce contains 103 vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and is a natural source of laetrille, or B-17.

At Hippocrates Health Institute, co-directors Brian and Anna Maria Clement teach people about the healing properties of raw, vegan organic foods, and one of the most powerful healing foods on the planet, according to the Clements, is wheatgrass.

See Also:
- Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach
- Pond Scum Is Good For You
- Why Sea Vegetables Are Good For You

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Dulse is a "super food" vegetable from the sea.

We all know vegetables are good for us, but what about sea vegetables like nori, wakame, kelp, and dulse? The next time you reach for a sushi roll, keep in mind that the dark green stuff is more than just a pretty wrapper for all that sticky rice and fish. It's also packed with essential vitamins and minerals that foods grown on land -- including organic vegetables and fruits -- can't provide.

At Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, co-directors Brian and Anna Maria Clement have implemented a wide array of sea vegetables as part of the institute's signature Life Transformation Program. This three-week-long instruction helps people enrolled in the program understand how foods can heal or aid the body in reversing the signs and symptoms of disease, including common and debilitating ailments like diabetes, cancer, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson's, according to a raw vegan diet.

See Also:
-- Hippocrates Health Institute Serves Raw Vegan Eats
-- How To Make Your Own Raw Vegan Sushi
-- How To Grow Your Own Sprouts
-- Pond Scum Is Good For You

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Blyssfull Health

A kale smoothie with blue-green algae.

At Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, there's lots of talk about the benefits of eating a raw vegan diet. If you've been following our series over the past few weeks, you've learned a lot about some pretty healthy, nourishing foods -- including how to grow your own sprouts.

But if the idea of eating some sprouted mung beans seems totally unappetizing, just wait until you hear about Hippocrates spirulina and blue-green algae drinks. Otherwise known as cyanobacteria, algae are an essential part of the global food chain -- just not what many would consider part of the human food chain. Really, who wants to eat something that's basically nothing more than floating pond scum? And does it really have any special nutritional or medicinal benefit?

However, according to Tom Fisher, an RN for Hippocrates Health Institute, consuming blue-green algae is one of the most powerful healing supplements used at the institute, and it can have an incredibly positive effect on the human constitution.

"[Algae] is one of our richest sources of minerals and phytochemicals. They are true superfoods and provide a wide array of health benefits," Fisher told Clean Plate Charlie recently. "There has been a lot of interesting research in recent years, including some we've done here at Hippocrates, and over the past 20 years, we've only seen phenomenal results form using these supplements to treat a variety of disease and illness."

See Also:
-- Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach
-- Learn How to Grow Your Own Sprouts
-- Make Your Own Raw Vegan Sushi

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HHI

Hippocrates executive chef Ken Blue shows us how to make vegan sushi.

Raw food is good for you. Vegan food is good for the animals. But raw vegan screams boring. Plus, let's face it: Trying to make anything appetizing that is both raw and vegan isn't easy. And it's certainly not something that's on everyone's to-do list.

But if eating healthier, more nutritious foods is a path you'd like to venture down, substituting a few SAD meals with a raw vegan dish every now and then couldn't hurt. SAD stands for "Standard American Diet," our nation's daily menu of cooked meats, dairy, and processed, high-fructose-laden foods the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine believes is responsible for more than 60 percent of deaths in the U.S.

Still, there's only one problem: You want something that's good for you and tastes good to boot. Vegetarians and vegans can extoll the virtues of veggies, wheatgrass, seeds, and bean sprouts all they like, but such a limited ingredient spread can get pretty bland and boring, pretty fast.

Enter Hippocrates executive chef Ken Blue, who has more than ten years of experience whipping up healthy -- as well as flavorful and delicious -- raw vegan dishes for the students enrolled in the West Palm Beach institute's three-week signature Life Transformation Program. Part of that role means instructing people on ways to prepare equally tasty, raw vegan eats at home.

Here, Blue shows us how to make one of his favorite raw vegan snacks, a dish almost anyone can appreciate: a vegetable nori roll.

See Also:
-- Hippocrates Health Institute Serves Raw Vegan Eats in West Palm Beach
-- Hippocrates' "Sex" Salad Recipe
-- How to Grow Your Own Sprouts

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HHI

Sunflower sprouts are an excellent source of phytosterols, which reduce cholesterol, enhance the immune system, and decrease the risk of certain cancers.

Want to incorporate healthier foods into your diet but don't have the budget to be splurging on expensive organic eats? That's OK. We feel you. Instead of buying expensive food, we suggest growing your own. Even if you weren't blessed with a green thumb and don't have an inch of outdoor space to spare, you can still grow your own nutritious, raw, living food right at home. No dirt, weeding or tilling required.

How? None of the ordinary rules apply if you're growing sprouts, according to Hippocrates Health Institute greenhouse manager and naturopathic doctor Brian Hetrich. The process feels more like prepping food than actual gardening. All you need to get started: sprout seeds, a glass Mason jar, and mesh lid.

See also:
- Hippocrates Health Institute: Raw Vegan Eats
- The Hippocrates "Sex" Salad Recipe

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