Glistening health-food emporiums abound these days, showcasing foods and health-related products as if somehow the idea of eating naturally, locally, organically and mindfully never existed before. To add insult to injury (and justify their absurdly high prices), these same establishments sell dead chickens, cows, pigs and their assorted brethren as “healthy” just because during life they ate nothing but processed grain or grass. Here’s an alternative: Follow your head to Follow Your Heart, a market, café and one-stop shop for everything organic, natural, vegetarian, local, eco-friendly and sustainable. It’s been thriving in the same spot for four decades, in a building that’s been standing for five. The staff consists of devoted vegetarians who can intelligently discuss the merits of selenium or the dangers of combining St. John’s Wort with certain prescription meds, or give you the rundown on local alternative–health care practitioners. The store has its own line of food products, also calle d Follow Your Heart, all manufactured in its own solar-powered plant nearby, thus reducing that bandied-about expression “carbon footprint” the health megastores seem to ignore. And you can get the same crystals, healing remedies, yoga mats, tie-died duds and supplements at a fraction of the price. 21825 Sherman Way, Canoga Park. (818) 348-3240, followyourheart.com. —Heidi Dvorak

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