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“Wanted!
A vegetable that will grow in any climate, will rival meat in nutritive value, will mature in 3 to 5 days, may be planted any day of the year, will require neither soil nor sunshine, will compete with tomatoes in Vitamin C, will be free of waste in preparation and can be cooked with little fuel”. This is how a professor of nutrition Dr. Clive Mckay at Cornell university referred to sprouts!
In this article I’m going to cover the most important benefits of sprouts since they really are the dawn of a new day for the plant. Sprouts have a lot of power with little calories. It is a very exciting time when seed goes from the dormant stage to a live growing plant. Basically, the seed explodes with life and that explains how one ounce of broccoli sprout contains as much antioxidants as 3 pounds of fully grown broccoli.
Knowing that grain consumption has steadily risen over the past several decades in the American diet and that more and more people are feeling sick and tired, sprouting grains and preparing them in other traditional ways is an extremely important practice that can help many people feel better.
Considering there are many health and environmental benefits to sprouting, it is time to start sprouting and adding them to your diet.
Here are only a few of the many benefits and advantages of sprouting including:
Increased Nutritional value
I would like to share the benefits of sprouting with a beautiful quote from my dad who would always say Nature is just about the best thing we’ve got!
I think it’s important to know a little about anti-nutrients before you read on the benefits of sprouts. Have you ever wondered why anti-nutrients naturally exist in plant seeds?
Anti-nutrients have a protective property within plants; they help plants by warding off pests and insects because once ingested, the plant’s predators become sick. Anti-nutrients also have the job of keeping a seed from sprouting until it’s ripe enough and ready to mature.
They include phytic acid in legumes, lectins and saponins and tannins in almonds, they have the ability to latch on to minerals and make them not absorbable by the body. Some can cause damage to the cellular lining and the villi, leading to leaky a gut and poor overall nutrient absorption.
Studies have found that sprouted and fermented nuts contained significantly less antinutrient toxins than unsprouted ones. Sprouting frees nutrients from being bound and non-absorbable. I find it impressive how the nutrients in the seeds and nuts can be released when sprouted and not when ground into a flour form. Here are some Notable figures: when you sprout the amount of Vitamin A is increased up to extra 285%
Vitamin B1 up to 208 %
Vitamin B2 more than 500%
Vitamin B3 256%
When vitamin C antioxidant and chlorophyll content of plants are increased, a harmful environment for bacteria is created which detoxifies the body
Digestive aid
Sprouts are also high in enzymes, helping break down food into their subcomponents more efficiently and allowing better digestion and assimilation
In other words, sprouts help extract more amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals from our meals.
Isn’t it rewarding to enjoy your own home-grown superfood topped on a beautiful salad while a great absorption is guaranteed? Due to increased fibre, sprouts can help you feel full longer have regularity and normalize blood glucose levels. Mung bean sprouts, for example, provide about 2 grams of fibre per cup. According to Dr. Mercola, enzymes from sprouted food can replace the ones our body no longer produces
Immune boost
Sprouts also enable immune system to fight against diseases better. My dad used to sprout broccoli seeds several years ago as his own antibiotics! for all the anti bacterial, anti fungal, anti viral and anti aging properties. Ingestion of broccoli sprout can stimulate and enrich natural-killer cells thereby promoting enhanced defense responses in the body.
As young as 3 days, sprouts contain 10-100 times enzyme inducers compared to matured vegetables helping to protect against cancer causing agents
To restate the points that I covered: Sprouting makes the seeds more digestible by removing anti nutrients and unlocking healthy compounds found in plant foods. some of the health benefits of this superfood are: increased nutrient values, better digestion and immune boosting properties.
Seeds are the foundation of a living food and the core of life, they are filled with nutrients needed by the growing plant, and loaded with the vital enzymes. The little seed breaks out, graduates to the sprout stage and an incredible flow of energy is released.
Homegrown sprouts are remarkably inexpensive and readily available, adding crunchiness to our diet. All you need, to accomplish the dramatic boost in your nutrition intake right in your own kitchen is, your favorite nuts, seeds or grains, a glass jar, water, and a piece of cloth. this would take only a few minutes a day until a true miracle begins.
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