Are you tired of the same old same old for lunch? Wake up your taste buds with sprouts. Sprouts are plants that are harvested in the beginning stages of their journey. This early harvesting is essential to their magic. It is in this stage that plants are the most nutrient dense, bioavailable and enzyme rich.
Quite mild, with a delicious oniony flavour, Baby Onion Sprouts are a great addition to any sandwich or salad!
baby Onion Sprouts
Sprouts are one of the worlds most powerful and nutritious super foods that nature has to offer. Sprouts are the beginning life of a plant; these baby plants are loaded with nutrients, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, proteins, fats, phytochemicals, enzymes, water and chlorophyll. Sprouts have the highest concentration of these nutrients, vitamins, etc. than any other stage of a plants life. Sprouts are ALIVE and continue to grow for some time after they pulled. This period of growing continues to add more nutrients. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the fruits and vegetables found in your local supermarkets.
While sprouts are growing they are sucking up as much as they can from their source. Sprouts are the most nutrient-dense food per unit of calorie. Sprouts are easily grown at home -- you can buy Sprout growing kits at just about any Super market. You can eat what you grow, just seconds after pulling them. There is nothing more pure or life sustaining.
Broccoli Sprouts
Eating sprouts brings about a sense of energy and general wellbeing that no supplement or other food can accomplish. They are light, very low in calories but very nutritious. A handful of sprouts can be more filling than a large nutrient void cooked meal because with sprouts you actually feed the body what is craving. If you eat a large cooked meal, your body is left hungry. Not only that, but overeating is one of the worst things you can put your body through and it causes a lot of other health complications.
Buckwheat Sprouts
There are many many different kinds of sprouts, your favourite vegetables all started out as Sprouts!
Sprouts can be sweet, bitter, hot and even cooling. You’ll find different shades of greens, yellows and the edible flower sprouts can be purple, red, and on and on.
It’s no wonder that sprouts have been used for medical and nutrient purposes for thousands of years but it’s only recently with our advances in science that we are able to understand the curing properties of these sprouts.
Red Orach Sprouts
Sprouts are packed with high levels of antioxidants (vitamins, minerals and enzymes. These antioxidants prevent or slow down oxidation which leads to damage to cells. Once this oxidation occurs, these newly formed, abnormal cells begin to reproduce. This oxidation can be attributed to aging and most of the diseases associated with living organisms. These antioxidants also stop the damaged caused by free radicals. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables lower the risk of cancers, immune disorders and other health ailments. Slowing down aging, preventing and treating diseases is a billion dollar industry and they are all trying to recreate what is already found in nature. These sprouts are the basis of life; they rejuvenate, reenergize and heal.
It is a common belief that the cells of a living organism require an oxygenated and alkaline environment to survive and reproduce properly. This idea was first introduced to us by the Nobel Price winning Dr. Otto Warburg. He found that cancer cells, bacteria and viruses could not survive in a body with high amounts of oxygen and also one which was slightly alkaline (above 7 on the pH scale). Sprouts happen to be a great source of oxygen and are also an alkaline food. Based on this belief, eating sprouts has a beneficial impact on fighting cancers and cleaning up the body.
Sprouts are loaded with enzymes. Enzymes are life’s force. Enzymes are catalysts for life and essential for all humans’ internal functions. Enzymes are destroyed with heat and processing, which is why a diet focused primarily around cooked food is linked to many health ailments. Raw foods are a great source of enzymes but just as the nutrients begin to diminish soon after picking, enzymes begin die if they are not connected to a life giving source (earth, trees, etc.). A very important aspect of enzymes is the aiding in digestion. The body produces enzymes used for digestion but when you eat foods high in enzymes the body has to use less energy because it doesn’t have to manufacture these enzymes. This principle makes sprouts very easily digested and assimilated by the body.
Fenugreek Sprouts
Sprouts are a great vegetable source of EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) These fatty acids are extremely important for many of the body’s functions. Most people eat a diet very low in these EFAs which has a very negative effect on the immune system.
Sprouts are also very high in fiber. Fiber is important in a diet for a couple reasons. First, it helps with weight control because they are low in calories but very high in elements which feed the body. This gives you the sensation of being full after eating only a handful. It helps with constipation and preventing certain diseases such as cancer, diabetes, gallstones and kidney stones. This occurs because the fiber in sprouts soaks up water which softens stools and allows for easier elimination.
Sprouts have high levels of flavonoids, or bioflavonoids. Although most often associated with their antioxidant activity they also have the means to stimulate the mechanisms that destroy cancerous cells and stop tumor growth.
Cilantro Sprouts
Sprouts are low on the Glycemic Index. This is extra important for people battling diabetes and/or hearth disease. The Glycemic Index ranks foods based on their effect on the blood glucose (sugar) level. The low ranked foods have subtle effects while highly ranked foods have dramatic effects on blood sugar levels.
Sprouts are comprised of high levels of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll refers to the green pigment that is found in plants. It has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and other health benefits. This chlorophyll is essential for the photosynthesis which is the process of obtaining energy from the light. Oxygen and carbohydrates are produced from water and carbon dioxide during the process. This is why sprouts have high levels of oxygen.
Rainbow Mix Sprouts
Sprouts are a natural detoxifier. They are exceptional at cleansing the blood, liver and other organs. Also, it’s a powerful chelator (removing heavy metals and other molecular toxins).
Sprouts contain phytochemicals. It has been suggested that phytochemicals can fight off cancer-causing substances and may even cure cancer.
Sprouts compete with meats for amount of protein per unit of calorie. So if you ate the equivalent amount of calories of meat as you would of the sprouts, you would be getting far more protein. It’s more than that though because animal proteins are acidic, high in saturated fats, hard to digest, usually laden with hormones and other unnatural compounds.
As you can see, there are a number of reasons to introduce, or possibly re-introduce sprouts into your diet. They can be eaten alone, in salads or on sandwiches or wraps, juiced or mixed with other foods. Aside from their unbelievable nutritional benefits they vary in taste and colour and bring some of the fun back to eating.
