Sprouting

Video

Hello, I am Lucero Mejia and I have an awesome and exciting topic for you today and that is the fascinating world of SPROUTING. This science is not only part of our platform to total transformation but also I want to share with you, the three most important secrets that you would like to achieve by sprouting your beans, seeds or grains:

Would you like to look younger than your actual age?
Would you like to be an energizing bunny? Unstoppable? Never get tired?
And, what about your intestinal flora? Do you know that sprouting gives you tremendous boost in your immune system, and as a result you will rarely get sick?

If you answer yes to all 3 questions, you are on your way to making your own sprouts, find out how you can do your own sprouting at the comfort of your own home. Check it out!!!

SPROUTING

What do you usually have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks? Maybe some carbohydrates, protein and fats, right? And in those meals you might have some carbs made from grains (hopefully whole grains) nuts, seeds and legumes (family of all beans and lentils)

Then, do you know that the majority of grains, beans, nuts and seeds are enzyme inhibitors in their dry form and your body will not be able to absorb all the nutrients they have? However, If you are used to eating processed food, cooked food, and/or genetically modified food, these foods do not contain digestive enzymes at all, then your body is forced to manufacture them (instead of making enzymes that it should be making). After a while, your body’s ability to produce the right enzymes wanes along with its ability to fight off disease. The awesome news is that enzymes from sprouted foods can replace those your body no longer produces. Therefore, by sprouting them, they are easier to digest and your body can access their full nutritional profile.

DRY MUNG BEANS SPROUTED MUNG BEANS

What are sprouts exactly? Sprouting is simply the science of creating life from a dry seed to a live plant.

The Wikipedia.org defines sprouting “as the practice of germinating seeds” and it defines germination as “the process by which an organism grows from a seed”. Thus, by the germination process, that dormant seed starts to become a live plant. And the anti-nutrients are cast away, it changes, inside and out, and when you eat that seed, no longer are you eating just a seed, instead you are eating a tiny little plant.

This amazing process of changing seeds into little plants is easy, but the changes that happen in your body are humongous. Let’s see. Do you know that experts in the world of sprouting estimate that there are up to 100 times more enzymes in sprouts than uncooked fruits and vegetables? And do you know that the quality of the protein, fiber, vitamin content, and essential fatty acids increases exponentially during the sprouting process? This is so amazing isn’t? It is truly fascinating. Then it makes sense to do your own sprouting, right?

SPROUTING HEALTH BENEFITS

Summary:

Sprouting enhances the absorption of vitamins B12, B6, C, A, E, and K. And sprouts contain fiber, manganese, riboflavin, copper, protein, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, iron, and magnesium. Vitamin B12 is ideal for vegetarians because this is a vitamin that usually they are deficient from. And sprouting increases the content of those vitamins and minerals exponentially as well.
Phytic acid and anti-nutrients are much reduced.
Sprouted grains, beans, nuts and seeds prepares the food to be property digested.
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.
For people with gluten intolerance, it is good to know that sprouted gluten grains have much less gluten than non-sprouted.
The fiber content of the beans, nuts, seeds, or grains increases substantially.
Essential fatty acid content increases during the sprouting process.
Sprouts are alkalizing to your body. Many illnesses including cancer have been linked to excess acidity in the body.
The energy contained in the seed, grain, nut, or legume is ignited through soaking and sprouting.
During sprouting, minerals bind to protein in the seed, grain, nut, or bean, making them more useable in the body. This is true of alkaline minerals like calcium, magnesium, and others than help us to balance our body chemistry for weight loss and better health.
Sprouts are inexpensive. People frequently use the cost of healthy foods as an excuse for not eating healthy. But, with sprouts being so cheap, there really is no excuse for not eating healthier.
Sprouts are the ultimate locally-grown food. When you grow them yourself you are helping the environment and ensuring that you are not getting unwanted pesticides, food additives, and other harmful fat-bolstering chemicals that compromise your nutrition values.

RESEARCH AND REFERENCES ARE FOUND END OF ARTICLE.

NOW IS THE FUN PART: HOW TO SPROUT

What do you need?

Think what you would like to begin with. When buying nuts/seeds/beans/grains, look for the raw kind and also if possible kinds that are labeled “certified organic pathogen-free”. Suppliers of this type of seed include Burpee and Sprout People. Sometimes even if nuts and seeds are labeled “raw” they have actually been pasteurized and irradiated. So these types will “activate” with soaking and improve in terms of digestibility, but will not physically “sprout.”
Buy few of sprouting jars. I own a number of them because I need sprouting jars not only when I do my sprouts, but also when the process is finished, I keep them in the refrigerator in the same container horizontally. And, I continue wash them by rinsing them 3 times, every 12 hours. They will last several days if you keep them clean.
Personal hygiene with your sprouting jars and your environment is a MUST. There is a high level of infection and virus contamination that can easily be prevented at all cost. I have an eco-friendly and toxic free home environment and I disinfect my sprouting jars properly. I use Sol-U-Guard which kills 99.9% all household germs. This powerful disinfectant have as main ingredients tea tree oil, thyme and lemon pure essential oils. So I know that every single of my sprout batches are clean, safe and full of nutrients.

Directions to Sprout:

- Desinfect your sprouting jars and make sure there are completely clean.
- Be meticulously careful about the hygienic of your environment as well.
- When you have your seeds/kernels ready, rinse seeds for one minute and add enough water to cover them.
- Remove floating debris, especially possibly-contaminated fragments of the shells that may be floating around.
- Soak them overnight (overnight is important) with about a third full of clean water in a sprouting jar. The soak time depends on the seed size: five hours for small seeds, and 12 to 24 hours for large seeds and grains. (See specific instructions from Dr. Axe)
- In the morning, drain and rinse them 3 times, turn the jar on 70 degrees on its side, and repeat rinsing every 12 hours, for about 3 days on average.
- A few items to note: Your container should be a quarter to a third full of seeds (they swell to around eight times their original size) and kept at room temperature with good air circulation in a dark room. Once green tips begin appearing on the sprouts, they can be used immediately or refrigerated for several days. Once refrigerated, place them horizontally on the fridge because they will continue to sprout but at a slower pace. And, wash them by rinsing them every 12 hours as well.

I borrowed these charts from Dr. Axe’s website. They are extremely helpful.

THE SOAK AND SPROUT GUIDE

NUTS

Almonds: needs 2-12 hours for soaking. Sprout for 2-3 days if truly raw. The length you choose depends on your purpose; for example, 12 hours of soaking will allow the skins to fall off
Walnuts: 4 hours soaking, do not sprout
Brazil Nuts: 3 hours soaking, do not sprout
Cashews: 2- 3 hours soaking, do not sprout
Hazelnuts: 8 hours soaking, do not sprout
Macadamias: 2 hours soaking, do not sprout
Pecans: 6 hours soaking, do not sprout
Pistachios: 8 hours soaking, do not sprout

BEANS & LEGUMES

Chickpeas: 8-12 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting
Lentils: 8 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting
Adzuki Beans: 8 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting
Black Beans: 8-12 hours soaking, 3 days for sprouting
White beans: 8 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting
Mung Beans: 24 hours soaking, 2-5 days for sprouting
Kidney Beans: 8-12 hours soaking, 5-7 days for sprouting
Navy Beans: 9-12 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting
Peas: 9-12 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting

GRAINS

Buckwheat Grains: 30 minutes-6 hours soaking (time varies), 2-3 days for sprouting
Amaranth Grains: 8 hours soaking, 1-3 days for sprouting
Kamut: 7 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting
Millet: 8 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting
Oat Groats: 6 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting
Quinoa: 4 hours soaking, 1-3 days for sprouting
Wheat Berries: 7 hours soaking, 3-4 days for sprouting
Wild Rice: 9 hours soaking, 3-5 days for sprouting
Black Rice: 9 hours soaking, 3-5 days for sprouting

SEEDS

Radish Seeds: 8-12 hours soaking, 3-4 days for sprouting
Alfalfa Seeds: 12 hours soaking, 3-5 days for sprouting
Pumpkin Seeds: 8 hours soaking, 1-2 days for sprouting
Sesame Seeds: 8 hours soaking, 1-2 days for sprouting
Sunflower Seeds: 8 hours soaking, 2-3 days for sprouting

RESEARCH:

According to Dr. Axe, “For many people, eating grains, beans, nuts and seeds is problematic when it comes to digestion and frequently causes inflammation (which is the root of many diseases). A major benefit of sprouting is that it unlocks beneficial enzymes, which make all types of grains, seeds, beans and nuts easier on the digestive system. This also helps increase beneficial flora levels in the gut so you experience less of an auto-immune type of reaction when you eat these various forms of seeds”. Dr. Axe website has tremendous amount of Sprouting information that it would be very beneficial to extend your knowledge on sprouting.

According to Dr. Mercola’s Total Health Program (Dr. Joseph Mercola and Nancy Lee Bentley), Sprouting enhances the absorption of vitamins C, A, E, and K. And “sprouts contain fiber, manganese, riboflavin, copper, protein, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium”. Thus, the beauty is that all of those vitamins and minerals are being absorbed in our body and make us feel by far more efficient, energetic, disease protected and prevented.

Also Mercola indicates that “When you eat sprouted foods, you increase highly concentrated proteolytic enzymes that make carbohydrates and proteins digestible. Even little sprout as young as three days old contain 10 to 100 times the glucoraphanin, the main enzyme inducer, compared to the mature vegetable, protecting against chemical cancer-causing agents”. Furthermore, as Mercola says: “Eating sprouted foods not only boosts the antioxidant content, but also increases the chlorophyll content, which creates a hostile environment for harmful bacteria and detoxifies your body while boosting your oxygen and immune system levels”. Dr. Mercola sells all kind of sprouting kits with video demonstration on how to do them in your back yard.

According to experts from the Weston A. Price Foundation, “One of the most well-known and problematic anti-nutrients found in grains, beans, nuts and seeds is called phytic acid. Phytic or phytate acid locks up calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc and can stunt growth. Phytate can lock up 80 percent of phosphorous, cause calcium excretion; inhibit zinc absorption by 80 percent and magnesium by 40 percent. Anemia, bone loss and a host of health conditions can result from deficiencies of these minerals. Phytic acid also inhibits our digestive enzymes called amylase, trypsin, and pepsin. Amaylase breaks down starch, while both pepsin and trypsin are needed to break down protein”.

In another study from the PubMed.gov regarding the phytic acid, indicates that sprouting grains, legumes, beans, and seeds increases the availability of calcium, iron, and zinc, plus reduces polyphenol, lectin, and tannin content by an average of 50 percent!

From the same study here are the definitions from polyphenols, lectics, and saponins

Polyphenols- these can inhibit digestion of copper, iron, zinc and vitamin B1, along with enzymes, proteins and starches found in plant foods.

Lectins and Saponins- these are anti-nutrients that affect the gastrointestinal lining, contributing to leaky gut syndrome and autoimmune disorders. Lectins are particularly resistant to digestion by humans: they enter our blood and trigger immune responses. Lectins can cause GI upset similar to classical food poisoning and immune responses like joint pain and rashes. Improperly prepared raw grains, dairy and legumes like peanuts and soybeans have especially high lectin levels.

According to the Phytic Acid Organization, soaking beans for just 18 hours can reduce the content of phytic acid in beans by up to 70% depending on the kind. The level of phytic acid differs between different food groups, and even within the same food group, but all beans, nuts, seeds, and grains can benefit from soaking and sprouting.

If you have questions and do not know how to start to change or improve your lifestyle, just contact us and we will be happy to assist you.