Don' Forget the Sprouts!

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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- 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

 

 

 

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