Sprouty Sprout SPROUTS.
What are they? Why do they look like weeds you pull out of your front yard? What do they taste like? What are the benefits of sprouts?
When someone tells me they would eat more green veggies but they just can’t afford to dedicate so much of their budget to them… well, just back up because my response is probably going to be shouting the word SPROUTS right in that persons face.
If you’ve never gone out of your way to buy them or hunt them down, you might not have ever thought about them. You may have never even tried them. Have you ever ordered a bowl of Pho? When they bring out the plate of fun things to add, those white root looking things on the plate? Those are sprouts!
That particular sprout is a mung bean one. It’s one of the few that is sturdy enough to handle hot soups.
There are all sorts of sprouts, not just mung bean. They come in varies shapes and sizes and each variety tastes just as different from one another as each mature vegetable they grow into.
First things first.
What are Sprouts?
Plants start as seeds. Those seeds break apart and start to “sprout”. That window of a few days they have while they are still teeny tiny?
That’s a sprout.
If something comes from a seed, chances are you can stop and nommm it early on in the growing process.
Grains. Nuts. Legumes. Veggies. All sproutabulous. I don’t apologize if I start making up a dozen new words to describe these guys. hahaha.
Think about all the different benefits to eating a bean or a vegetable. Now double or triple that and you are close to why sprouts rock. Here is a list of the benefits of sprouts.
1 – Cost
Sprouts are inexpensive. Seeds can be purchased cheaper than full grown veggies, and once you sprout them, you have a product that’s more than 2-5x the size of what you started with. If you can’t afford fresh produce, growing seeds could be an option.
2 – Sickness Fighting Badasses
They help fight cancer and illness. Broccoli sprouts are number one in my book. (I listen to a lot of Dr Rhonda Patrick). A compound in some foods, called Sulforaphane, reduces the spread of cancerous cells and helps eliminate harmful substances. Broccoli has it, but the raw young sprouts contain the precursor to sulforaphane, called glucoraphanin as well… and they are 50x more powerful than mature broccoli.
3 – Hormone Regulation
That same compound, sulforaphane, does even more. (I really wanted to start this with the ShamWow guy thing BUT WAIT THERES MORE. I won’t though.) Sulforaphane and something in most cruciferous veggies called Indole-3-carbonol helps regulate and balance estrogen levels by assisted the liver with extra hormones. Which means broccoli sprouts could reduce pms symtoms, and possibly hormonal acne.
4 – Gut Health
Sprouts are good for your gut. When we consume seeds, it’s usually a little tough on our digestive system (anyone who has accidentally eaten too much of something like sunflower seeds in one sitting can attest to that stomach ache). When we SOAK seeds, we’re increasing the amount of enzymes and fiber in them. The initial soak of your sprout seeds helps them break down food efficiently, making them digestion friendly so you can gain yet another one of the benefits of sprouts.
5 – Hangover Cure
When I was in my early 20s, my room mate drank heavily on the weekends. Like, really heavy. He wasn’t super healthy. His mom was though. She is raw vegan and full of good advice. She would always make sure he had wheatgrass. I was never into it because it tasted like the front lawn… but the morning after a heavy drinking night he would always blend up a wheatgrass shot. Why? Again, Sulforaphane. That whole “helping the body eliminate the garbage” thing it does? Yeah, it works with your liver in this cool helpful way to get rid of the by-products that cause symptoms from alcohol like nausea.
I used to think he was crazy. 10 years later, I’m reading about sprouts and I’m all “holy shit his momma was on to something!” Turns out, curing a hangover is on the list of things people talk about.
6 – Improve Insulin Resistance
There have been some researchers studying folks with type 2 diabetes, and they’ve found that those who ate sprouts had an improvement in insulin resistance. They can regulate the enzyme amylase which helps the body digest sugars. Wooah.
7 – Immune System Boost
Sprouts are loaded with vitamins A and C! Our friend sulforaphane is also really cool at helping to activate the body’s immune response against viruses too. One clinical study, people were given a flu shot. Half were handed a broccoli sprout shake. Those with the shake had more potent immune cell function, and an increase in things I don’t understand at all called NK cells and granzyme B. Basically, this means it helped remove virus-infected cells from the body.
It’s 2021 at the time I originally wrote this. Have you looked outside? You should be taking vitamins C, D, zinc, and any other measures you can to boost your immune system. Broccoli sprouts are here to add to your arsenal.
8 – Low in Calories, High in Nutrients
Sprouting increases nutrient levels of the seed making them higher in protein, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, vitamin c, vitamin k, and more. amino acids, antioxidants. The amount of fiber helps you feel full longer.
easier to digest because sprouting reduces the antinutrients (things that decrease your bodys ability to absorb plant nutrients).
9 – Heart Health
They may reduce risk factors for heart disease, like high blood cholesterol levels. They increase the good HDL and reduce the bad LDL. Most of this is due to the amount of Omega 3 fatty acids they contain, as well as potassium.
10 – Boosts Blood Circulation
They help maintain your red blood cell count, as well as help repair capillaries due to the amount of iron and copper.
There are a ton of other great things that sprouts can do, I just tried to break down a few of the ones that you might be the most interested in learning about.
They’re easy to grow, and even easier to consume. Toss them on everything from salads to toast!
Are you ready to take advantage of the benefits of sprouts? What’s your favorite thing to sprout? Head over to instagram and let me know, or head over to the rest of my healthy content to find a fun recipe.
