Foods with Benefits: Sprouts

Sprouts are one of the healthiest foods you can include in your diet - they are full of fresh, living, rejuvinating life-force:

• they contain one of the highest vitamin and mineral content of any food, and are classified as a superfood
• they contain, among others: Vit. A, B complex and C, chlorophyll, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, protein...
• they're alkalizing on your body
• they support the regeneration of cells
• good source of fibre and protein
• low in calories and low GI
• their nutrients are easily digested and absorbed by the body
• sprouts are raw food - they contain oxygen which is vital for healthy cells - it has been found that cancer cells, viruses and bacteria cannot live in an alkaline, oxygen-rich environment.  Oxygen is also destroyed when food is cooked.
• since they sprout within a matter of days and are immediately eaten absolutely fresh, they are full of vital life-force, which is often lacking in fruits and veggies in store, as the living enzymes are depleted between the time they are picked to the time you get to eat them, sometimes more than a week later.  Thus sprouts provide us with much more nutrients than food that has had a shelf life.
• they are cheap, can be grown all year long, use up only a tiny part of your kitchen/home and is so easy that a 5 year old can do it.  If you have a bean sprouter, sprouts are the easier, quickest and most hassle-free food you'll ever prepare. :)
• examples of things you can sproute are alfalfa seeds, mung beans, chickpeas, wheat (which in it's sprouted form are safe for those who can't normally tolerate wheat products), lentils, broccoli etc

There is so much info about sprouts and their many, many health benefits that it's too much for me to cover here.  One site that has a lot of info on different sprouts and their nutritional value is Herbs are Special - if you're interested in learning more, start there!

See my post HERE on how to sprout seeds.