The Power of Sprouts (2024)

Sprouts are a veritable source of nutrients and can be termed as the Common Man’s Superfood owing to their ease of availability and planting as well as their inexpensive nature. Find out about the health benefits of sprouts and why you should incorporate them in your family’s diet here.

Sprouts are one of the lesser known superfoods that exist on earth. Sprouts are a powerhouse of proteins, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and enzymes. Sprouts help cure muscle cramps, digestive disorders and hair and skin problems. They help in reducing swelling, curing high fever and slimming and toning the body. Sprouts also boost the immune system and help in detoxifying the body.

One of the main reasons that sprouts have not gotten their due is that they are easily accessible to people from all walks of life. Not only are they notoriously easy to plant from the comfort of your home, but they also have to be consumed in their natural form without any sort of processing required. They are inexpensive and easily available and can therefore be called the “Common Man’s Superfood!”

Sprouts are easy to plant as they do not require soil. They grow in any climate as they do not require sunshine and they mature in 3 to 5 days. Owing to the fact that growing and selling of sprouts is not big business, lack of funding has led to the dearth of research available on the power of sprouts as nutritional supplements. According to one existing study, a group of old and sickly rats were literally transformed into younger, healthier ones after being fed axinon, a supplement available in plenty in mung sprouts (Nautilus Magazine, 1947).

Here are some more reasons you should be munching more sprouted beans and seeds:

High Nutrition

We all know that sprouts are rich in nutrients and minerals, but did you know that their nutrition value is many times higher the nutrition value of the original beans and seeds from which they sprout? Upon “sprouting” a seed, its vitamin content rises drastically. For instance, the amount of Vitamin C in wheat shoots up by 600% immediately after sprouting. Moreover, vegetables like whole dried peas have absolutely no Vitamin C, but when sprouted they provide more Vitamin C per ounce than a fresh orange! Sprouts have the highest relative quantity of nutrients per unit of consumption of any food item. In addition, different forms of sprouts are extremely beneficial in curing and preventing various ailments, and are more effective than most forms of cooked food.

Controlling Body Weight

Sprouts are an extremely low calorific and fibrous diet food. An entire cup of mung sprouts contains just 31 calories, whereas other bean or soybean sprouts contain around 70 to 80 calories. Green – leaf, bean, alfalfa, radish and sunflower sprouts are some of the best sprouts for weight loss. Moreover, sprouted beans and grains contain enzymes that help in breaking down food, which means that your body can use its existing enzymes to provide additional energy, which will help you exercise and burn more calories.

Anti-Carcinogenic

Sprouts contain more anti-carcinogenic properties than most other foods and are thought to contain one of the most potent cancer-fighting properties known to the world of medicine. Brussel Sprouts, especially, contain a natural cancer-fighting compound known as sulforaphane and a phytochemical known as indole that aids in fighting and preventing cancer. Young broccoli sprouts contain 20 to 50 times more cancer – fighting compounds as compared to mature broccoli heads.

Lowering Cholesterol

Fatty meat and dairy products, while good sources of protein, are also high in saturated fats and cholesterol. Eat sprouts instead of meat and dairy products to get your required level of proteins and to reduce your blood cholesterol levels. Sprouts help in increasing levels of good (HDL) cholesterol and decreasing levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol that can cause heart diseases. Broccoli sprouts, especially, help in increasing good cholesterol levels in patients with Type Two diabetes. Alfalfa sprouts, too, are used by big pharmaceutical companies to manufacture pills to reduce cholesterol levels.

Aids Digestion

Sprouts help in improving digestion and absorption of food. Sprouting makes it easier to digest seeds, beans, grains and legumes by converting the dense vegetable protein to more easily digestible amino acids and by breaking down complex carbohydrates to simple glucose molecules. A chemical present in broccoli sprouts kills helicobacter pylori, bacteria present in many people that might cause immediate harm and can lead to stomach ulcers and eventually, stomach cancer. Sprouts are of an alkalising nature that helps balance the pH level in our body as most other foods and environmental factors lead to creating of more acidic levels in our bodies.

Easy to Prepare

Sprouts are so easy to prepare; you only need water and oxygen. Simply soak the beans or seeds overnight or for a couple of days depending on what you are sprouting, and you're done. Other than this, no preparation is required, no cutting or chopping, peeling or cleaning is needed, and if you like, sprouts can be lightly cooked for a few minutes before serving to make a delicious and healthy dish in minutes. Sprouts are also easily available, unlike some other health foods which may be available or manufactured only in some countries, and not available worldwide. Sprouts can be obtained even in the smallest of villages, by the poorest of people.

Cost Efficient

Though food from health food stores should logically be more reasonable than food from regular food stores considering that health foods are in a more natural form, this is not the case. Sprouts on the other hand are the exception to this rule. A sprouts salad, which can form a side dish at any meal or can even form the main course if mixed with a good dressing and served with good accompaniments, costs half the price of a lettuce salad and provides more than five times the amount of Vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and protein. So if you are on a tight budget, eating sprouts is a great way to boost immunity and your health, and to help you fight most ailments.

Is it safe to eat sprouts?

Not all sprouts should be eaten raw. Pregnant women, especially, should avoid eating raw sprouts. This is because raw sprouts contain substances that can irritate the stomach. Cooking neutralises those irritants. Legumes especially should be cooked before being consumed and can be steamed and added to soups and other dishes. Therefore, cooked sprouts are healthier and safer. Sprouts like radish, broccoli, clover, nuts and seeds can be consumed raw. One should avoid eating too much of raw sprouts.

When growing sprouts, ensure that your containers are clean and uncontaminated. Do not intake of smelly, slimy or mouldy sprouts. Moreover, ensure that sprouts are washed properly before being consumed.

Can sprouts be tasty?

Ex - President George Bush, who had banned broccoli from being served at the White House, declared, "I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. Well I'm president of the United States now, and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli." The ex-President, however, is not known for his sound judgement. His mother forced him to eat distasteful sprouts and therefore he hated them.

However, sprouts can be extremely tasty if made into salads with dressings, or added to our favourite chaats and paani puris.

Find sprout recipes here.

All it takes is a slight change in diet. So perhaps it is time to incorporate sprouts in your family’s diet. A small change, for huge gains.

What are the health benefits of sprouts? Do you incorporate sprouts in your family’s diet? How can you make sprouts tasty? Discuss here.

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