Natural Toxins in Sprouted Seeds: Separating Myth from Reality

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Natural Toxins in Sprouted Seeds: Separating Myth from Reality

JoAnn Guest

Feb 22, 2005 18:22 PST

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By Warren Peary and William Peavy, Ph.D.

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/sproutmyths.html

 

Natural toxins in food has become a hot and controversial subject

recently. In the last few years, some popular writers have attacked

sprouts (particularly alfalfa and legume sprouts) as containing natural

toxins.

 

These writers may have heard something about a lathyrogen toxin,

saponins, canavanine, and mabbe some other nasty-sounding toxins, and

concluded that the sprouts of legumes are toxic in the raw state and so

should not be eaten.

 

These statements are taken out of context.

 

Lathyrogen

 

Toxin One of the natural toxins that has been mentioned comes from the

peas of the genus Lathyrus. It is blamed for causing a disease known as

lathyrism. Lathyrism causes paralysis in the legs in susceptible

individuals and is believed to be caused by a toxic amino acid. This

sounds scary, but it’s not, because peas of the genus Lathyrus are not

edible peas.

 

The toxin is only found in the seeds of certain Lathyrus species (L.

sativus, L. cicera, L. clymenun)!

 

Edible peas and beans are of the genera Cicer, Glycine, Phaseolus,

Pisum, and Vigna. They do not contain any such toxin.

 

Non-edible peas of the genus Lathyrus include sweet peas, which are

ornamentals grown for their scented flowers. In India, where food is

often scarce, some people have resorted to eating a non-edible pea known

as Lathyrus sativus. It is often called " chickpea " but is NOT the same

chickpea eaten in this country or any other developed country.

 

The edible chickpea is of the genus Cicer and in botany is known as

Cicer arietinum. Outbreaks of lathyrism in India have been blamed on

eating large amounts of the non-edible chickpea without proper cooking.

Well-cooked, it is safe to eat. But it shouldn’t matter to us at all

because it is considered an inedible species.

 

--

 

There are at least 1.500 species of legumes within one of three

subfamilies of the family Leguminosae (Latin for Legume). Of these 1.500

species, only a few dozen are regularly used as human food.

 

Of course there are toxins in many of the raw legumes usually used for

human food; that’s why humans have learned not to eat them. This is the

first mistake sometimes made in warning about natural toxins ¾ talking

about a toxin that’s found in some non-edible species people shouldn’t

eat to begin with!

--

 

Saponins

The second mistake often made in talking about natural toxins is to call

something toxic that, in the body, is not toxic at all but rather, is

beneficial. Such is the case with saponins.

 

Saponins are a compound found in legumes and legume sprouts. They are

toxic to red blood cells only in vitro (outside the body in a test tube)

but harmless when ingested.

 

In fact, Saponins appear to be beneficial, being responsible for a major

part of the cholesteral-lowering effect of legumes.

 

Perhaps it is more than coincidence that the increase in the increase

of heart disease in the 20th century in the Western countries coincides

with the with a decline in the consumption of saponin-rich legumes.

 

Saponins also seem to be anticarcinogens; in one study they inhibited

colon cancer.

 

Even some of the most beneficial nutrients, such as vitamin C, can be

shown to be toxic under certain laboratory conditions. Vitamin C is

concidered an important antioxident, and substantial evidence shows that

it is involved in cancer prevention. Yet under the right experimental

conditions, in the presence of iron (Fe III) or copper (Cu II) ions,

ascorbic acid can actually cause the formation of harmful free radicals.

 

Does this mean you should try to avoid vitamin C? Absolutely not! These

experimental conditions do not appear to be " relevant " to what goes on

in our bodies.

 

Canavanine

 

The third mistake made in the warning about some natural toxins is

failing to say that the amount encountered in food is so " miniscule "

that it is completely insignificant.

 

Such is the case with a toxin called canavanine, which is found in

alfalfa seeds.

 

While some writers may make canavanine sound like a dangerous carcinogen

¾ it isn’t.

 

Canavanine is a non-protein amino acid that’s toxic in high amounts. In

the dry seed it serves as storage protein, a growth inhibitor, and a

defense against natural predators.

 

As you might guess, as a sprout grows, canavanine falls rapidly to

insignificant levels.

 

The text, Seed Physiology, clearly states that " Canavanine…is non-toxic

to mammals at low concentration. " Canavanine is so irrelevant that in

the 1980 text, Toxic Constituents of Plant Foodstuffs, doesn’t even

mention it.

 

A 150-pound human would have to consume 14,000 milligrams of canavanine

all at once for it to be toxic at the same level it is toxic in mice.

This is an incredible amount!

 

It is doubtful that with a generous helping of alfalfa sprouts, you

would get no more than a few milligrams.

 

There is NO canavanine at all in other legumes that are commonly used

as human food. Even in toxic amounts, canavanine has nothing to do with

cancer.

 

In very high, toxic amounts it can cause a lupus-like anemia in

susceptible animals due to an alteration in the red blood cells. These

studies are not relevant to the human diet. The minute doses found in

the diet are completely irrelevant and harmless.

 

Just remember that most substances can show some kind of toxic effect at

a high enough dose. Vitamin A, selenium, copper, zinc, and iron will all

kill you at a high enough dose.

 

So don’t stop eating alfalfa sprouts any more than you would any other

food because of some minute toxin that might be present.

 

They are a good source of vitamin C, folic acid, and othe protective

compounds.

 

ANTI-NUTRIENTS IN SPROUTED LEGUMES

 

As far as the sprouts of other legumes go, the only other toxins for

which any concern has been raised is for a class know as anti-nutrients.

 

 

These are substances that bind enzymes or nutrients and inhibit the

absorption of the nutrients. The commonly alleged anti-nutrients are

protease inhibitors, amylase inhibitors, phytic acid, and polyphenolic

compounds such as tannins.

 

With proper soaking and germination, none of these are anything to

worry about. Around the world, studies have been and are being conducted

on the use of germinated seeds as a low-cost, highly nutritive source of

human food.

 

It is well established that when legumes are properly soaked and

germinated, their nutritive value increases greatly, usually to levels

equal to or exceeding those of the cooked bean. (Nutritive value is the

ability of food to provide a usable form of nutrients: protein,

carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals).

 

This has been shown for mung bean, lentil, chickpea (garbanzo bean),

cowpea (blackeye pea), pigeon pea, fava bean, fenugreek seeds (a member

of the pea family), green & black gram, kidney bean, moth bean, rice

bean, soybean, and legumes in general.

 

The increase in nutritive value in the raw sprouted seed is due to an

explosion of enzyme activity, which breaks down the storage-protein and

starch in the seed into amino acids, peptides, and simpler carbohydrates

needed for the seed to grow.

 

The seed is literally digesting its own protein and starch and creating

amino acids in the process. Because of this process, sprouted seeds are

essentially a predigested food.

 

At the same time, the anti-nutritional factors such as enzyme inhibitors

and other anti-nutrients are greatly decreased to insignificant levels

or to nothing. Soaking alone causes a significant decrease in

anti-nutrients, as the anti-nutrients are leached into the soak water.

 

Soaking for 18 hours removed 65% of hemagglutinin activity in

peas.Soaking for 24 hours at room temperature removed 66% of the trypsin

(protease) inhibitor activity in mung bean, 93% in lentil, 59% in

chickpea, and 100% in broad bean. Then as germination proceeds,

anti-nutrients are degraded further to lower levels or nothing.

 

Soaking for 12 hours and 3 – 4 days of germination completely removed

all hamagglutinin activity in mung beans and lentil. Soaking for 10

hours and germination for 3 days completely removed amylase inhibitor in

lentils. Normal cooking removes most or all of the anti-nutrients.

 

ANTI-NUTRIENTS AS PROTECTORS

 

Some of the substances commonly referred to as anti-nutrients are

actually powerful cancer-protecting phyto-chemicals. These include

protease inhibitors and tannins.

 

The problem in most diets is that we don’t get enough of these

substances. Substantial research shows that protease inhibitors are one

of the most powerful anti-carcinogens we have in our arsenal.

 

They have proven to be particularly protective against cancer of the

colon, breast, and prostate.

 

Tannins have also been shown to give substantial protection against

cancer (including cancer of the stomach and lungs) when ingested orally.

 

 

Tannins and other polyphenols may play a role in fighting tooth decay.

Evidence shows that some tannins inhibit the growth of bacteria that

cause tooth decay.

 

Phytates, like tannins, may also interact with digestive processes in a

beneficial way.

 

Small amounts in food slow down the absorption of sugars and regulate

insulin levels.

 

This is beneficial in the prevention and treatment of diabetes and

hyperlipidemia (high blood fats). Small amounts of protease inhibitors,

tannins, and phylates are beneficial and can be considered to be a

normal part of " nutritional ecology " .

 

Warren Peary is an investigative health journalist. William S. Peavy

holds a doctoral degree from Kansas State University in horticultural

science. They can be reached at 316 Horton Lane NW, Albuquerque, NM

87114.

_________________

 

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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