Don' Forget the Sprouts!

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More information on living foods... And remember, this is really

easy to do at home... No need to buy expensive sprouting kits, or

commerical sprouts... Plus it can be a lot of fun!

Be Well,

Misty L. Trepke

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Don' Forget the Sprouts!

 

Don't Forget the Sprouts! JoAnn Guest Jul 28, 2003 17:49 PDT

FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM:

 

DON'T FORGET THE SPROUTS!

 

by Steve Meyerowitz

The National Cancer institute and the National Institutes of Health

both recommend eating five fresh fruits and vegetables every day. A

great way to help reach that goal is to include sprouts.

 

Sprouts are the only form of agriculture that can be locally grown

and available in all four seasons. These " baby " vegetables are grown

from seed to salad in only week. That makes them great Y2K food. In

fact, one pound of alfalfa seed will yield 10-14 pounds of fresh

mini-salad greens. Whether you are on top of a mountain or in a

bunker with artificial light, you can still grow this fast, organic

food.

 

Nutrition

Yes, it is fast food, but you won't be sacrificing any nutrition.

Alfalfa sprouts have more chlorophyll than spinach, kale, cabbage or

parsley. Alfalfa, sunflower, clover and radish sprouts are all 4%

protein. Compare that to spinach (3%), Romaine lettuce (1.5%),

Iceberg lettuce (0.8%), and milk (3.3%). These foods all have about

90% water. And while meat and eggs are the traditional protein foods

for Americans, at 19% and 13% protein respectively (and lots of

fat), soybean sprouts have 28% protein, and lentil and pea sprouts

have 26%. In fact, soybeans sprouts have twice the protein of eggs

and only 1/10 fat the fat.

 

Grain and nut sprouts, such as wheat and sunflower, are rich in

fats. While fats in flour and wheat germ have a reputation for going

rancid quickly (stores should refrigerate them), fats in sprouts

last for weeks. The valuable wheat germ oil in wheat sprouts is

broken down into its essential fatty acid fractions, over 50% of

which is the valuable Omega 6. While sunflower oil is our finest

source of Omega 6, germination of the sunflower sprout micellizes

the fatty acids into an easily digestible, water soluble form saving

our body the trouble of breaking it down and simultaneously

protecting us against the perils of rancidity. This is a great bonus

for a sprout that is already popular for its crispness and nutty

flavor.

 

Radish sprouts have 29 times more Vitamin C than milk (29 mg vs 1

mg) and 4 times the Vitamin A (391 IU vs 126 IU). These spicy

sprouts have 10 times more calcium than a potato (51 mg vs 5 mg) and

contain more vitamin C than pineapple. If you examine what is

happening during germination, it looks like a vitamin factory. While

mature radishes contain 10 IU/100g of provitamin, the radish sprouts

contain 391 IU – 39 times more! No wonder, sprout lovers say you can

feel the vitamins!

 

Phytochemical Factory

Alfalfa, radish, broccoli, clover and soybean contain concentrated

amounts of phytochemicals (plant compounds) that can protect us

against disease. Canavanine, an amino acid analog present in

alfalfa, demonstrates resistence to pancreatic, colon and leukemia

cancers. Plant estrogens in these sprouts function similarly to

human estrogen but without the side effects. They increase bone

formation and density and prevent bone breakdown (osteoporosis).

They are helpful in controlling hot flashes, menopause, PMS and

fibrocystic breasts tumors.

 

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers found in

broccoli sprouts substantial amounts of glucosinolates and

isothiocyanates, which are very potent inducers of phase 2 enzymes

that protect cells from going malignant. The sprouts contain 10-100

times higher levels of these enzymes than do the corresponding

mature plants.

 

Alfalfa sprouts are one of our finest food sources of saponins.

Saponins lower the bad cholesterol and fat but not the good HDL

fats. Animal studies prove their benefit in arteriosclerosis and

cardiovascular disease. Saponins also stimulate the immune system by

increasing the activity of natural killer cells such as T-

lymphocytes and interferon. The saponin content of alfalfa sprouts

multiplies 450% over that of the unsprouted seed. Sprouts also

contain an abundance of highly active antioxidants that prevent DNA

destruction and protect us from the ongoing effects of aging. It

wouldn't be inconceivable to find a fountain of youth here, after

all, sprouts represent the miracle of birth.

 

 

Are Alfalfa Sprouts Safe?

Recently, stories about alfalfa sprouts carrying salmonella bacteria

have made the news. Salmonella is bad news, but no food is immune to

it. All foods eaten raw carry that risk, and that includes fresh

fruit and vegetables. Should we go on a 100% cooked food diet?

 

Let us put things into perspective. According to the Center for

Disease Control (CDC), 4 million people contract salmonellosis from

foods every year and 93% of these cases are caused by meat, poultry,

milk and eggs. The remaining 7% of cases are from shellfish, fresh

fruits and vegetables. While fruits and veggies are safer than meat,

one outbreak from Mexican cantaloupes in 1989 caused 25,000 cases of

salmonella. Compare this to sprouts. In its entire 40 year history,

the U.S. sprout industry has had a total of about 2,000 cases.

 

The relatively tiny sprout industry has been naturally clean all

these years but because of increasing global commerce, they imported

contaminated seed from the Netherlands. Now, they are part of the

international problem of food safety. What are they doing about it?

Conscientious growers are testing grown sprouts for e-Coli and

salmonella before they are shipped. The FDA has recommended the

chlorination of sprouts, similar to the chlorination of our

municipal waters. This achieves a 99.8% reduction of salmonella and

E. Coli contamination. Put another way, if another occurrence of

tainted seed should occur, there would be only a 0.02% probability

that any such bacteria could survive. The problem is that unlike

meat and poultry, the tiny sprout industry is not regulated and not

every sprout grower is willing to chlorinate. Sprout growers want to

keep sprouts raw and organic. Alternative pasteurization methods

such as heating the raw seeds before sprouting or soaking them in

acetic acid (vinegar), among others, are currently being tested.

 

According to the National Weather Service, lightning strikes 1.29

people per million each year. The CDC claims that E. Coli

contamination from all foods annually afflicts 1.10 people per

million. Since your chances of getting hit by lightning are greater

than contracting e-Coli, it is a pretty good bet that the benefits

of eating these healthy young vegetables far outweigh the risks.

 

© 1999 BY STEVE MEYEROWITZ

 

BIO

Steve Meyerowitz, aka " Sproutman, " is one of the best known

spokespersons for sprouts. He is the author of several books on

health and diet including Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook,

Sprouts The Miracle Food, Juice Fasting and Detoxification, Food

Combining and Digestion, and Wheatgrass: Nature's Finest Medicine.

Steve is the inventor of The Sprout House Kitchen Garden tabletop

greenhouse, an indoor salad growing kit, and the Sprout Bag. He was

the founder of the Sprout House, Inc. Email him at spr-

@Sproutman.com or write to Sproutman®, PO Box 1100, Great

Barrington, MA 01230. Fee-based consultations are available. Call

413-528-5200 or fax 413-528-5201.

 

This article is presented courtesy of The Sprout House®, a leading

supplier of organic sprouting seeds and growing kits designed by

Sproutman® Steve Meyerowitz.This article is presented for

informational purposes and is not intended to provide medical

advice.

 

http://www.sprouthouse.com/healthnut.htm

 

 

 

The complete " Whole Body " Health line consists of the " AIM GARDEN

TRIO " Ask About Health Professional Support Series: AIM Barleygreen

 

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/AIM.html

[Guest guest]

Speaking of living foods, if any of you are close to the Buffalo area,

there is going to be a big " Living Now Festival " July 31-Aug. 3. I was

a vendor at it last year, and it was great - lots of speakers, lots of

raw foods people. If anyone needs more information, go here:

http://www.greensunhealing.com/living_now_festival.htm

Carol

 

 

There will be presentations and workshops on:

* The Raw/Living Foods Lifestyle (vegans, vegetarians, and the curious

are warmly welcome)

* Spirituality and Meditation

* Permaculture and Sustainability

* Natural Healing, Fasting, and Longevity

* Yoga, Dance, Martial Arts, Physical Fitness and other Movement

* Deep Ecology and the Environment (nature, wild edibles, and herb

walks)

* Also Children's Activities, Swimming, Hiking, Art, Music, Drumming,

Dancing, Fire Circles, Sweat Lodges, and the Pure Enjoyment of the

natural abundance of life.

 

And some of the presenters:

* Viktoras Kulvinskas (he wrote " Survival Into the 21st Century "

* * Bijan

* Brian Clement * Dr. Fred Bischi

* Doug Graham * Rozalind Gruben

* Jillian Hovey * Paul Nison

* Jeremy Saffron * Brenda Cobb

* Loren Lockman * Erika Wolff (owns " Super Sprouts " in

Toronto)

* Lorenna Bousquet-Kacera * Shantree Bousquet-Kacera Phd

* Valery Mamanov Phd * Mike White

* Esther VanderWerf * Bruce Kershner

 

 

 

 

 

 

Misty L. Trepke [mistytrepke]

 

 

More information on living foods... And remember, this is really

easy to do at home...