Ever have trouble digesting beans or grains properly?
Want a great and cheap way to stay healthy?
Sprout them!
For those into Raw and Living Foods, sprouts are an essential part of the living diet.
The Lowdown on Sprouts:
- Enzymes , digestion and Nutritional info
Sprouted beans, grains, nuts and seeds essentially help to pre-digest complex carbohydrates and proteins by breaking down into simpler carbohydrates and free amino acids. It also removes anti-nutrients like phytates, enzyme inhibitors making it easy for the body to use less enzymes, hence easier for digestion. Some sprouts like seeds, grains and legumes even increase enzyme content such as proteolytic and amylolytic enzymes in our bodies. These are essential in digesting complex proteins and carbohydrates. Sprouted beans also helps reduce gas and flatulence in the body.
Some of the most nutritious are rye, fenugreek, wheat, mung bean, lentils, and alfalfa. The increase of vitamins in sprouts is tremendous during the sprouting period, compared to the unsprouted seed. Studies from India and Asia show increases in carotene and vitamin A, Dr. C.W. Bailey of the University of Minnesota showed, in a study attempting to establish the importance of enzymes in the human body, that vitamin C value increased by 600 percent in sprouted wheatgrass.
Many Brassicas sprouts (such as broccoli, cabbage, mustard, radish) contain high amount of anti-oxidants and increased vitamins and minerals.
According to John Hopkins University researchers estimates that a three day Broccoli sprouts contains 20 to 50 times the anti-oxidant compound sulfurophane than matured broccoli. Radish seeds may also have the anti-cancer potential according to Australian researchers (Australia Department of Primary Industries Queensland)
How to Sprout (takes 2-3days)
Sprouting is easy, a little time consuming, but its highly nutritious and great low budget option for those who find organic produce too expensive.
Some of the most nutritious are rye, fenugreek, wheat, mung bean, lentils, and alfalfa. The increase of vitamins in sprouts is tremendous during the sprouting period, compared to the unsprouted seed. Studies from India and Asia show increases in carotene and vitamin A, Dr. C.W. Bailey of the University of Minnesota showed, in a study attempting to establish the importance of enzymes in the human body, that vitamin C value increased by 600 percent in sprouted wheatgrass.
Many Brassicas sprouts (such as broccoli, cabbage, mustard, radish) contain high amount of anti-oxidants and increased vitamins and minerals.
According to John Hopkins University researchers estimates that a three day Broccoli sprouts contains 20 to 50 times the anti-oxidant compound sulfurophane than matured broccoli. Radish seeds may also have the anti-cancer potential according to Australian researchers (Australia Department of Primary Industries Queensland)
How to Sprout (takes 2-3days)
Sprouting is easy, a little time consuming, but its highly nutritious and great low budget option for those who find organic produce too expensive.
- Soak your beans in filtered clean water for 12-24 hours (depending on beans). Quality of water is important if you want your sprouts to taste great.
- Use a wide mouthed glass jar and filling up to one third of it with seeds. Sterilise the glass jar with hydrogen peroxide. Fit a piece of mesh (or muslin netting) over the mouth of the jar with a rubber band. The jar should be airy and slightly exposed.
- Rinse and drain the beans four times for every 8 hours, Find a cool place out of the sun to keep your jar tilted downwards at an angle to keep your beans oxygenated. Cover with tea-towel - beans need darkness to germinate.
- Rinse the beans with fresh filtered water. This is important. Germinated seeds/beans in our tropical and humid weather encourages bacterial and fungal growth. But regular rinsing with water oxygenates the seeds, preventing fungal growth. If sprouts smells bad, dump it and restart.
- When sprouts are ready, give them final rinse. Sprouted tail should be at least 2 times the length of the bean/seed
- Make sure the sprouts are completely drained of fluids and lightly moist. Store them in the fridge in a glass jar or zip-lock bag.
Further reference
-Book: "Sprout for the Love of Every Body"by author Viktoras Kulvinskas
- Raw and Living Food Website http://www.living-foods.com/articles/
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