Growing & Sprouting Living Foods
What’s all the fuss about “raw vegan” these days? Why should food be living?
Medicinally and nutritionally, sprouts have a long history as a “health food.” Sprouts are 10 to 30 times more nutritious than the best vegetables because they are baby plants in their prime. At this stage of their growth they have the greatest concentration of nutrients than at any other point in their life. Sprouts are highly digestible and release their nutrients easily due to their delicate cell walls and abundance of enzymes.
When you apply water to seeds, they come to life. By the natural process of transmutation, the vitamin, mineral, enzyme, phytonutrient, and amino acid (protein) content of germinated (sprouted) foods skyrocket! This phenomenon is most pronounced during the first twelve days of growth. This makes sprouts a true “super food.” They are also biogenic and alive. Biogenic foods are foods that create new life when planted. Sprouts are alive and this life-force energy is capable of transferring their life energy to your body. Germination releases dormant vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that make them, on average, ten to thirty times more nutritious than even the best raw, organically grown vegetables. The enzyme content in sprouts is up to 100 times higher than raw vegetables. Certain B vitamins increase 1200% during the germination process. Because of this super concentration of natural enzymes, sprouts are more easily digestible and the nutrients are more bio-available. Full of antioxidants and a full profile of enzymes, vitamins and minerals, sprouts make the perfect living food.
Because sprouts also contain an abundance of highly active antioxidants that prevent DNA destruction that protect us from the ongoing effects of aging and cellular breakdown, recent research shows they can also have an important curative ability, as well.
Sprouts like alfalfa, radish, broccoli, clover and mung bean contain concentrated amounts of phytochemicals that can protect against disease. Johns Hopkins found that broccoli sprouts contain a substance called sulforaphane, a compound that helps mobilize the body’s natural cancer fighting resources and reduces risk of developing cancer. In fact, their research determined that broccoli sprouts are the most powerful anti-cancer substance ever discovered – either natural or man-made. Sprouts also contain a high source of fiber, are easily digestible and contain a high concentration of enzymes facilitating the digestive process. Many sprouts also contain plant estrogens, which have been shown to help increase bone formation and density, prevent bone breakdown or osteoporosis, and can be helpful in controlling hot flashes, menopause, PMS symptoms and fibrocystic breast tumors.
Likewise, studies on canavanine – an amino acid found in alfalfa – have shown that it fights certain types of cancers, including pancreatic, colon and leukemia cancers. Alfalfa sprouts are also a good source of another compound, saponins. Saponins lower the bad cholesterol and fat but not the good HDL fats, and also stimulate the immune system by increasing the activity of natural killer cells such as T- lymphocytes and interferon. Here’s the most important part: the saponin content of alfalfa sprouts is more than 400% over that of an un-sprouted seed.
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