FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM: DON'T FORGET THE SPROUTS!

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FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM: DON'T FORGET THE SPROUTS! JoAnn Guest Jan 04, 2005

21:20 PST

 

 

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 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),

organic soybean sprouts have 28% protein,

and lentil and pea sprouts

have 26%.

 

In fact, non-gmo soybean sprouts have twice the protein of eggs and meat

with only 1/10 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 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 organic soybean sprouts 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 breast 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,and milk.

 

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 fromall 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 sp-@S... 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

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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