Sprouts - the short cut to GREAT HEALTH

Renée from Raw for Longer and rRainville.com is at the Marketplace at Simpson Spring every Saturday 10a-2p. Stop by her table for even more health and wellness tips.

SPROUTS

Sprouting grains, beans, and nuts neutralizes their enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid, which make digestion and nutrient absorption a difficult process for your body.

However, with moist and warm conditions, these hard-shelled seeds, grains, and beans begin to soften, open up, and become phytonutrient-rich. As a result, the sprouting stage of growth makes these foods easily digestible, lower on the glycemic index, and nutrient-packed, having increased levels of vitamins and antioxidants.

One ounce (28 grams) of broccoli sprouts contains the same antioxidant quantity as three heads of broccoli and has been shown to be a beneficial part of some cancer treatments. Growing your own sprouts is easy and economical and the taste outweighs any store-bought sprout you'll find. It is estimated that there can be up to 100 times more enzymes in sprouts than uncooked fruits and vegetables.

Enzymes act as catalysts for all your body's functions, extracting more vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and essential fatty acids from the foods you eat. This ensures your body has enough of the nutritional building blocks of life to process your diet. The quality of the protein in the beans, nuts, seeds, or grains improves when it is sprouted.  

Proteins change during the soaking and sprouting process, improving its nutritional value. The amino acid lysine, for example, which is needed to prevent cold sores and to maintain a healthy immune system increases significantly during the sprouting process. The fiber content of the beans, nuts, seeds, or grains also increases substantially. Fiber is critical to weight loss. It not only binds to fats and toxins in our body to escort them out, it ensures that any fat our body breaks down is moved quickly out of the body before it can resorb through the walls of the intestines (which is the main place for nutrient absorption into the blood).  

Vitamin content increases dramatically, especially vitamins A, B-complex, C, and E. The vitamin content of some seeds, grains, beans, or nuts increases by up to 20 times the original value within only a few days of sprouting. Research has shown that during the sprouting process mung bean sprouts (or just beansprouts, as they are often called) increase in vitamin B1 by up to 285 percent, vitamin B2 by up to 515 percent, and niacin by up to 256 percent.

Essential fatty acid content increases during the sprouting process as well. Many of us are deficient in these fat-burning essential fats because they are not common in our diet. Eating more sprouts is an excellent way to help improve your overall health. You can grow almost any edible crop as sprouts. Besides my favorite go-to, mung bean, you should try these:

• Alfalfa: Alfalfa sprouts have a delicate, slightly nutty flavor and are delicious in salads, also serve them as an excellent lettuce replacement on sandwiches. 5-7 days.
• Broccoli: Broccoli sprouts are considered to be one of the best foods you can eat - high in antioxidants, vitamins A, B, and C. 3-6 days, can be stored for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
• Peas: A one ounce serving of pea sprouts provides ten percent of your daily folate requirement, as well as a bit of protein and fiber. 2-3 days.
• Radishes: Sprouts that have great flavor with the true radish-bite, they are fairly high in nutrients, providing decent amounts of vitamin A,B, C, E, and K, as well as calcium. 3-6 days, can be stored for up to six weeks in the refrigerator.
• Wheat: Wheat grass is eaten for health. It is easy to get the same health benefits by sprouting wheat grass seeds on your kitchen counter. 2-3 days, can be stored in the refrigerator for one week. Add them to breads, soups, blended health drinks, or anything else you'd like to sneak in vitamins. 

Important food safety note: there have been warnings issued about sprouts and E. coli, and most articles about growing your own sprouts contain the obligatory warning. There is one surefire way to ensure that you don't have to worry about E. coli. Buy seeds that are specifically labeled both organic and "for sprouting" ("pathogen-free" is another good label to look for.) Seeds that are labeled in this manner have been harvested, cleaned, and tested for pathogens. Several online sources sell pathogen-free sprouting seed, as do health food stores. Want to learn more about sprouting? 
ATTEND OUR FREE SPROUTING WORKSHOP NEXT SATURDAY. To sign up for the Workshop, EMAIL rRainvilleLLC@gmail.com OR comment under this posting of our Newsletter on Facebook. Interested in hosting a private Sprouting Party with your friends and family to get you started? Want to gather the sports teams of your children but feel a pizza party or pasta dinner is too much to handle? Have a group of friends looking to LOSE WEIGHT and want to learn some secret short cuts? Interested in learning how to to make healthier choices when preparing meals? 

Host a DROP SPOT Party - my team will tailor the gathering to meet your needs and will do all the work. Your group will have fun and learn a bit about how a few simple habit-shifts lead to a healthier lifestyle. Parties are held Wednesday afternoons for home-office workers or stay-at-home parents (special gatherings held for EXPECTING MOTHERS) as well as Wednesday and Sunday evenings. Parties feature Simpson Spring beverages (fun alcoholic/lower calorie options AND vitamin rich non-alcoholic recipes great for kids discussed) AND a quick lesson on the benefits of eating RAW FOODS including sprouting. Parties held in your home or our facility. If interested, you have many methods to contact me or to sign up - Send me an email at rRainvilleLLC@gmail.com - Send me a message on Facebook at Raw For Longer - Log on to rRainville.com and register in the Comments Section. Tell me what you would like to learn more about. SIGN UP TODAY!

Renée Rainville
Health improvement and wellness services by:rRainville.com
rRainvilleLLC@gmail.com