Why Eat Sprouts?
Nutrition
The tiny seeds are packed with stored nutrients just waiting for the moisture to start the germination process. Germination is simply the birth and growth of a baby plant and it is both fascinating and wonderful just like the birth of a child.
A common sunflower seed, for example, is only 3mm long, but it contains the blueprint necessary to provide for the development of a 6 foot plant. A grain of wheat, increases its vitamin E content 300% after only 2 days of growth and the B2 vitamin riboflavin jumps from 13 milligrams to 54 mg in the sprout. In general, b vitamins can increase 300% to 1400% depending on the variety.
Enzymes that start the chemical process of a developing plant are abundant in sprouts and help with digestion. Protein production in sprouts is quite dramatic since it is needed for the growth and development of cells.
Alfalfa sprouts contain 3.8% protein and sunflower sprouts contain 4.0% This compares with Boston and Bibb lettuce which contain 1.2%, New Zealand spinach 2.6%, and Iceberg lettuce less than 1% protein. Minerals also increase during germination. The potassium content of alfalfa sprouts is 870 mg (per 100g), while Boston lettuce has 264mg.
Alfalfa has 210mg calcium and New Zealand spinach 2.6mg. The addition of liquid kelp to the soak and or rinse water increases mineral content to levels that are as much or more than growing the plants in soil.
Economy and Ecology
Sprouts are an excellent way to feed your family for very little money. A pound of alfalfa greens for example starts with only 5 tablespoons of seeds costing about 25 cents.
Where else can you get organically grown greens for that price! Even if you do get organic produce, it often comes from far away. The costs of transporting food across continents or international borders is driven by politics, price of oil and other factors we cannot control and which do not serve the farmer or the consumer. When you grow your own, you get the freshness factor.
Let's face it, a head of lettuce that is picked a week ago, transported across the country, stored in a warehouse and on grocery shelves is not as vibrant as the one fresh picked from your garden. Sprouts are alive and grow right up to the time you put them on your plate.
The nutrients are in their prime and the enzymes are abundant. This "live food factor" delivers to us all of nature's secret ingredients that old produce no longer has to offer.
Is it organic? Of course! You can be sure because you are the grower. No questions about organic verification are necessary. A harvest of home-grown indoor organic greens and beans is available year-round whether you live in Hawaii or Alaska, in January or July.
Consider What a Sprout is
Before we go into the specifics of why sprouting is good for you, allow me to give you a visual for what is happening. A seed (or grain or legume) has many nutritional advantages to you, but many of them are locked up tight by anti-nutrients such as phytic acid. It’s almost like a mini treasure chest, but you have to be able to find the right key to open it. Once you start the germinating process, that dormant seed starts to become a live plant. Anti-nutrients are cast away, it changes, inside and out, and when you eat that seed, no longer are you eating just a seed, instead you are eating a tiny little plant. The process of changing seeds into little plants is easy, but the changes that happen is huge.
Here are a few of the things that happen during that process.
Phytic Acid and Enzyme Inhibitors are Neutralized
Phytic acid binds with calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc, making it hard to impossible for you to absorb those nutrients. It’s also irritating to your digestive system. By sprouting your grains, legumes or seeds, you are neutralizing phytic acid very effectively. You will also be neutralizing enzyme inhibitors, which unfortunately not only inhibit enzymes in the actual seed, but can also inhibit your own valuable enzymes once they have been eaten.
This is one of the biggest advantages in my mind. I have started sprouting some of my legumes, since the phytic acid in some legumes are especially hard to neutralize. Your seed/grain/legume will be much easier to digest now that you have sprouted it, and you will also be able to assimilate more nutrients.
Sprouting Aids Digestibility
Beyond even anti-nutrients that are neutralized by sprouting, there are other changes that take place during sprouting that make it easier for us to digest our seeds/legumes/grains.
“Soaking will also help to diminish s0me of the fat content and will help convert the dense vegetable protein to simpler amino acids for easier digestion. The more complex carbohydrates in the foods will also start to break down into the simpler glucose molecules” Wendy Rudell, Raw Transformation
Have you ever had problems with legumes causing intestinal gas? Well sprouting helps break down the complex sugars responsible for that, making them easier for all of us to digest.
Sally Fallon gives us one more reason to sprout our grains as well, saying that “Sprouting inactivates aflotoxins, potent carcinogens found in grains.” Nourishing Traditions, pg 112
Finally, now that the enzyme inhibitors are neutralized, enzymes, which help you digest your food, are free to be produced during the sprouting process and then consumed.
For all of these reasons, sprouting greatly helps digestion.
Other Nutritional Advantages
The process of germination not only produces vitamin C, but also changes the composition of grains and seeds in numerous beneficial ways. Sprouting increases vitamin B content, especially B2, B5, and B6. Carotene increases dramatically-sometimes even eightfold.” Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions, pg 112
Sally also mentions how the Chinese used to carry mung beans when on long journeys at sea. They would sprout and eat the mung beans as they contained sufficient amount of vitamin C to prevent scurvy. Who doesn’t need a little extra vitamin C in it’s natural absorb-able form? This is a great benefit for all of us.
Nutritional info: Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K
Calcium, Carbohydrates, Chlorophyll, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc
All Amino Acids
Trace Elements
Protein: up to 35%
Sprouts Are More Alkalizing to the Body
Some food is acid forming, and some is alkalizing. We need a balance of acid to alkaline food to maintain good health. Unfortunately, we usually have too many acid forming foods in our diet (stress, and environmental stresses also make our body more acidic). Grains, legumes and meats are generally thought to be acid forming (that doesn’t mean that they are bad, just that they need to be balanced out with alkaline food), fruits and vegetables are alkalizing. By sprouting your grains and legumes, you are helping them become a more alkaline forming food. Remember that by sprouting you are starting the process of making a plant. So, in a sense, it’s more like eating a plant or vegetable so therefore more alkalizing.
>Sprout seeds
Sprouting grains, beans, almonds and other seeds is a much overlooked way to use these basic foods. You'll find ways to use sprouts in various recipes in this section. You' may also use them in place of green leaves in the winter. As a sandwich filling sprouts give body ad flavour. The followings and table will show how simple it is to prepare sprouts. Use dry beans, whole hulled sunflower and similar seeds, and shelled, unbalance almonds.
Main Source: Why Sprout?
Nutrition
The tiny seeds are packed with stored nutrients just waiting for the moisture to start the germination process. Germination is simply the birth and growth of a baby plant and it is both fascinating and wonderful just like the birth of a child.
A common sunflower seed, for example, is only 3mm long, but it contains the blueprint necessary to provide for the development of a 6 foot plant. A grain of wheat, increases its vitamin E content 300% after only 2 days of growth and the B2 vitamin riboflavin jumps from 13 milligrams to 54 mg in the sprout. In general, b vitamins can increase 300% to 1400% depending on the variety.
Enzymes that start the chemical process of a developing plant are abundant in sprouts and help with digestion. Protein production in sprouts is quite dramatic since it is needed for the growth and development of cells.
Alfalfa sprouts contain 3.8% protein and sunflower sprouts contain 4.0% This compares with Boston and Bibb lettuce which contain 1.2%, New Zealand spinach 2.6%, and Iceberg lettuce less than 1% protein. Minerals also increase during germination. The potassium content of alfalfa sprouts is 870 mg (per 100g), while Boston lettuce has 264mg.
Alfalfa has 210mg calcium and New Zealand spinach 2.6mg. The addition of liquid kelp to the soak and or rinse water increases mineral content to levels that are as much or more than growing the plants in soil.
Economy and Ecology
Sprouts are an excellent way to feed your family for very little money. A pound of alfalfa greens for example starts with only 5 tablespoons of seeds costing about 25 cents.
Where else can you get organically grown greens for that price! Even if you do get organic produce, it often comes from far away. The costs of transporting food across continents or international borders is driven by politics, price of oil and other factors we cannot control and which do not serve the farmer or the consumer. When you grow your own, you get the freshness factor.
Let's face it, a head of lettuce that is picked a week ago, transported across the country, stored in a warehouse and on grocery shelves is not as vibrant as the one fresh picked from your garden. Sprouts are alive and grow right up to the time you put them on your plate.
The nutrients are in their prime and the enzymes are abundant. This "live food factor" delivers to us all of nature's secret ingredients that old produce no longer has to offer.
Is it organic? Of course! You can be sure because you are the grower. No questions about organic verification are necessary. A harvest of home-grown indoor organic greens and beans is available year-round whether you live in Hawaii or Alaska, in January or July.
Consider What a Sprout is
Before we go into the specifics of why sprouting is good for you, allow me to give you a visual for what is happening. A seed (or grain or legume) has many nutritional advantages to you, but many of them are locked up tight by anti-nutrients such as phytic acid. It’s almost like a mini treasure chest, but you have to be able to find the right key to open it. Once you start the germinating process, that dormant seed starts to become a live plant. Anti-nutrients are cast away, it changes, inside and out, and when you eat that seed, no longer are you eating just a seed, instead you are eating a tiny little plant. The process of changing seeds into little plants is easy, but the changes that happen is huge.
Here are a few of the things that happen during that process.
Phytic Acid and Enzyme Inhibitors are Neutralized
Phytic acid binds with calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc, making it hard to impossible for you to absorb those nutrients. It’s also irritating to your digestive system. By sprouting your grains, legumes or seeds, you are neutralizing phytic acid very effectively. You will also be neutralizing enzyme inhibitors, which unfortunately not only inhibit enzymes in the actual seed, but can also inhibit your own valuable enzymes once they have been eaten.
This is one of the biggest advantages in my mind. I have started sprouting some of my legumes, since the phytic acid in some legumes are especially hard to neutralize. Your seed/grain/legume will be much easier to digest now that you have sprouted it, and you will also be able to assimilate more nutrients.
Sprouting Aids Digestibility
Beyond even anti-nutrients that are neutralized by sprouting, there are other changes that take place during sprouting that make it easier for us to digest our seeds/legumes/grains.
“Soaking will also help to diminish s0me of the fat content and will help convert the dense vegetable protein to simpler amino acids for easier digestion. The more complex carbohydrates in the foods will also start to break down into the simpler glucose molecules” Wendy Rudell, Raw Transformation
Have you ever had problems with legumes causing intestinal gas? Well sprouting helps break down the complex sugars responsible for that, making them easier for all of us to digest.
Sally Fallon gives us one more reason to sprout our grains as well, saying that “Sprouting inactivates aflotoxins, potent carcinogens found in grains.” Nourishing Traditions, pg 112
Finally, now that the enzyme inhibitors are neutralized, enzymes, which help you digest your food, are free to be produced during the sprouting process and then consumed.
For all of these reasons, sprouting greatly helps digestion.
Other Nutritional Advantages
The process of germination not only produces vitamin C, but also changes the composition of grains and seeds in numerous beneficial ways. Sprouting increases vitamin B content, especially B2, B5, and B6. Carotene increases dramatically-sometimes even eightfold.” Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions, pg 112
Sally also mentions how the Chinese used to carry mung beans when on long journeys at sea. They would sprout and eat the mung beans as they contained sufficient amount of vitamin C to prevent scurvy. Who doesn’t need a little extra vitamin C in it’s natural absorb-able form? This is a great benefit for all of us.
Nutritional info: Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K
Calcium, Carbohydrates, Chlorophyll, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc
All Amino Acids
Trace Elements
Protein: up to 35%
Sprouts Are More Alkalizing to the Body
Some food is acid forming, and some is alkalizing. We need a balance of acid to alkaline food to maintain good health. Unfortunately, we usually have too many acid forming foods in our diet (stress, and environmental stresses also make our body more acidic). Grains, legumes and meats are generally thought to be acid forming (that doesn’t mean that they are bad, just that they need to be balanced out with alkaline food), fruits and vegetables are alkalizing. By sprouting your grains and legumes, you are helping them become a more alkaline forming food. Remember that by sprouting you are starting the process of making a plant. So, in a sense, it’s more like eating a plant or vegetable so therefore more alkalizing.
>Sprout seeds
Sprouting grains, beans, almonds and other seeds is a much overlooked way to use these basic foods. You'll find ways to use sprouts in various recipes in this section. You' may also use them in place of green leaves in the winter. As a sandwich filling sprouts give body ad flavour. The followings and table will show how simple it is to prepare sprouts. Use dry beans, whole hulled sunflower and similar seeds, and shelled, unbalance almonds.
Main Source: Why Sprout?
Comment