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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781621064916 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Microcosm Publishing |
| Publication date: | 09/13/2016 |
| Series: | Good Life Series |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.20(w) x 6.60(h) x 0.30(d) |
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CHAPTER 1
THE SCIENCE OF SPROUTING
Sprouts are very young, living seeds — somewhere between seed and plant. Sprouting entails the beginning stages of life for a seed. It is through the miraculous process of germination that begins a series of changes a dormant seed goes through en route to becoming a plant. By offering seeds adequate moisture and heat, they are activated and begin to come alive.
A sprout prepares itself for new life by sending a radicle (seed or embryonic root) downward to anchor itself in the soil, while sending a plumule (seed or embryonic shoot) upward to photosynthesize in the sunlight. At this early sprout stage, the cotyledons (seed or embryonic leaves) begin to unfurl and take in light for chlorophyll production.
This process can be achieved with or without a medium (see Medium Options section), depending on the seed and the desired outcome. Seeds that are grown with media are know as microgreens. Like sprouts, microgreens are eaten at the cotyledon stage, before true leaves emerge — although some crops may be suited to eat after the true leaves emerge.
There is alchemy underway as the seed germinates, demonstrated by the marked improvement in the amino acid composition, the quality and quantity of vitamins, and the overall digestibility. Vitamins and enzymes are very perishable and deteriorate rapidly once produce is harvested (more details on enzymes and vitamins can be found later in this chapter). The most effective delivery system for these sensitive nutrients is eating food as a living plant source. Sprouts offer this and can be grown in every home or kitchen.
Modern research validates the use of sprouting in high-quality nutrition. For instance, while conducting research at Cornell University in the 1940s, renowned biochemical nutritionist Dr. Clive McCay was one of the first scientists to prove that sprouts had nutritional value. He described sprouts in glowing terms: "A live vegetable that will grow in any climate, rival meat in nutritional value (and tomatoes in vitamin C), mature in three to five days, may be planted any day of the year, require neither soil nor sunshine and can be eaten raw."
This is not new knowledge. Sprouting has played an integral role in numerous cultures for millennia. Edward Howell, a widely respected enzyme expert and author of Enzyme Nutrition, states that the majority of grains eaten historically around the globe before industrial agriculture became common were likely at least partially germinated. Germination techniques were and are used by makers of bulgur in the Middle East, as well as in the making of beer through harnessing the potential of sprouting in the malting process. Citing a more extreme example, Europeans developed vitamin supplements using bean sprouts to help sailors avoid scurvy outbreaks during long sea voyages when fresh foods were scarce. For 5,000 years, the Chinese have been growing and eating mung bean and soybean sprouts to ensure adequate vitamin C on sea voyages, and to aid digestion, reduce inflammation, and calm the nerves. Sprouting was also employed by ancient Jewish mystics known as the Essenes, who made bread from living grains and legumes.
GERMINATION: SUPPORTING OUR DIGESTION & ASSIMILATION
The act of germination is a marvel in itself; it essentially activates seeds, waking them up from a dormant state by soaking them in water. This simplifies nutrients into manageable, bite-size pieces. The germination process transforms stored nutrients into bioavailable vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats that are easily digested and assimilated in the body. In their dormant forms, these reserve nutrients are stable (good for the seed) but not nutritionally accessible to us. As enzyme activity increases, so does metabolic movement. Complex carbohydrates, or starches, are broken down to simple sugars while proteins are broken down to amino acids. These nutrients are transformed through sprouting to become much more bioavailable, allowing the seeds to do a large part of the digestive work for our bodies.
"Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease."
-Hippocrates
BIOACTIVE CATALYSTS: LIFESOURCE NUTRITION
Sprouting is the process that begins most plant life on earth. Given the correct conditions, such as adequate heat and moisture, a seed is transformed through germination from a dense source of stored energy into an active being. As the plant is awakened and the growth process begins, not only are the dormant macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) broken down, but micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, etc.) are activated, increasing in both quantity and availability.
Food guides tell us to follow the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI), but growing research shows that good nutrition is not only about simply getting the vitamins, carbohydrates, and other nutrients, but it's also about understanding where they come from and in what form. How are we connected to and dependent on our environment? A more practical approach than simply reading the RDI is to focus on the bio- availability of foods that we eat. By knowing the basics of this intricate concept, we can support our own body's connection to other life forms through sprouting our food.
When consumed, sprouts offer a cache of accessible vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-carcinogens, and protein, as well as beneficial chlorophyll. The seeds from which the young plant grows are storehouses of nutrients, designed to give the new plant fuel for growth and repair. By eating the germinating seeds and their young shoots, we are able to fully utilize the abundant life and growth contained within them.
ANTIOXIDANTS: THE GUARDIANS OF DNA
Antioxidants are well known for their ability to prevent cellular damage. They were originally an evolutionary trait developed to protect plants from the by-products of photosynthesis and have received significant scientific inquiry in recent years.
As modern humans, we are exposed to a number of free radicals from a wide variety of sources ranging from pollution, chemicals in our water, or improperly prepared or contaminated food. This adds to the burden of the regular effects of aging.
Free radicals are unstable molecules with unpaired electrons; they can be very stressful on the body due to their ability to damage cellular tissue. They are neutralized by antioxidants that donate an electron to pair with the unstable free radical. Thus, by consuming foods with high levels of antioxidants, we are helping protect our cells from damage while maintaining and promoting vitality from within.
VITAMINS: VITAL COMPONENTS TO OUR HEALTH
Vitamins are a group of compounds essential to the body's performance and function. Classified by what they do rather than their physical structure, vitamins take direct actions on our bodies. For example, vitamin E helps to regenerate cells. Antioxidants, such as vitamins C and A, protect the body from free-radical damage. Vitamins in the B-complex group aid in metabolism, energy production, and nerve functioning. On the whole, vitamins are unstable and therefore susceptible to degeneration through oxidization, heating (as in cooking), and light. Due to their diverse actions and the body's inability to synthesize on its own, vitamins are truly vital to our health. They are only fully potent as part of the complex cellular structure of plants, and therefore interact differently when isolated. The state a vitamin is in will directly affect the nutritional level it has to offer.
Isabell Shipard, author of How Can I Grow and Use Sprouts as Living Food?, has found that sprouted seeds are one of the best and most realistic sources of vitamins, since they can be grown nearly everywhere and by nearly anyone. Through her research, she has discovered that "the vitamin content of some seeds can increase up to twenty times their original weight within days of sprouting. The B vitamin content in mung beans increased compared to dry seeds as follows: B1 up to 285%, B2 up to 515% and B3 256%." In addition, vitamin E and beta- carotene (a precursor to vitamin A) are actively produced during the growth process as the seeds wake up and begin growing into new stages. Even without sprouting, increases in vitamin C and B group vitamins are noted after soaking for eight to twelve hours.
Keep in mind that sprouting isn't limited to raw food. If grains or legumes are to be cooked, it is advantageous to sprout or at least soak the seeds before cooking. While cooking does destroy many heat sensitive vitamins and enzymes, cooking sprouted foods is still a better option than preparing grains from their dry state, for reasons noted above as well as others to be explained in later sections.
"Mother Nature is the best physician, and food is the best medicine."
-Dr. Joseph Mercola
ENZYMES: THE FORGOTTEN CAPSTONE IN THE FOOD PYRAMID
Enzymes are large molecules responsible for catalyzing thousands of biochemical reactions in the body, and myriads of functions from blinking to digestion. Enzymes were first named in the late 1870s, stemming from the Greek word for leaven. They are alive, highly active, and specifically designed to carry out certain tasks.
Sprouts are considered living food because they are so rich in enzymes. By consuming highly enzymic foods, such as fresh produce, sprouts, or ferments, we relieve the body of needing to produce its own enzymes. This in turn supports natural cleansing and healing functions, while avoiding the health problems that arise when there is a lack of enzymes such as poor digestion, elimination, toxicity, lethargy, or cellular degeneration.
Digestive enzymes assist in breaking down food, allowing it to dissolve and pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, thus feeding cells. They are co-workers of cells and actually convert food substances into body-building materials. They also help prepare waste to be carried to the kidneys and expelled from of the body. Unlike with vitamins, our body can produce enzymes (in organs like the pancreas), but at an energetic cost and in limited fashion, as the capacity decreases over a lifetime. By reducing the need for the body to produce enzymes, we are reducing the stress load and freeing up energy for regeneration and detoxification.
Ann Wigmore (1909-1994), one of the most significant pioneers in the sprouting movement, spoke of enzymes as worker bees — an integral support of both life and the body. One of her peers Edward Howell played a monumental role in the study of enzymes and their effect on humans, bringing forth the idea that enzymes are promoters of youthfulness and vitality.
People can easily overlook the importance of enzymes in their lives. A lack of enzymes from foods over time results in an overtaxed body that can't properly digest food, leading to low absorption and assimilation of nutrients, and higher levels of free- radical damage, which can ultimately decrease immune function and youthfulness. The solution to overstressing the body's enzyme production is simple: Fill it up with digestive enzymes in the food you eat so they don't need to be manufactured. Eat sprouts!
"All life, whether plant or animal, requires the presence of enzymes to keep it going."
-Edward Howell, from Enzyme Nutrition
MINERALS: THE BONES OF THE EARTH
Minerals are the physical foundation of this Earth — the inorganic substances that form the basis for biological life. Our bodies rely on them to keep our systems balanced and highly functional. Minerals are complex, and serve a wide range of functions (too many to mention here). We can obtain all the necessary minerals (a.k.a. dietary elements) from food. Here are the major ones listed from most to least abundant in our bodies: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. We also need these trace, or minor, minerals in much smaller quantities: iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, molybdenum, iodine, bromine, and selenium.
Minerals appear in many forms and are most available to our bodies if they are chelated (bound to a protein). Sprouting greatly increases the chelation of minerals by unlocking them, which allows them to be used by us for our growth and development.
CHLOROPHYLL: NATURE'S HEALING ELIXIR
All sprouts with leaves have the potential to produce chlorophyll if given access to sunlight. This means that you can grow your own nourishing foods, and use the potent abilities of nature to heal and flourish, anywhere you have moderate access to light.
Chlorophyll may be the most miraculous substance on the planet; it plays a crucial role in converting sunlight to usable forms of energy that fuels life on Earth. Commonly seen as the green pigment in leaves, chlorophyll is able to absorb most of the sun's light (green is second to black in light-absorbing qualities). Chemically, chlorophyll is nearly identical to hemoglobin, differing only in that it has a center element of magnesium rather than iron. Its natural cleansing properties have been used by medical doctors for 70 years, both internally and externally to treat wounds, infections, and toxicity.
Due to its similarity to hemoglobin, it acts as an effective blood cleanser by supporting repair and regeneration of red blood cells (which are lacking in anemic people), and allowing for more oxygen to be carried in the bloodstream. Chlorophyll also creates an alkaline environment where toxins are processed and eliminated, and where disease-causing anaerobic bacteria cannot survive. This oxygenating effect has particular merit in regards to toxins and carcinogens stored in the liver (e.g. the aflatoxins in moldy grains and seeds). This highly oxygenated, alkaline environment, therefore, combats infection and boosts overall immunity.
One of chlorophyll's primary actions is to limit the metabolism of harmful compounds that may become carcinogens, thus preventing potential damage to DNA. Chlorophyll has an amazing ability to combine itself with harmful compounds to form large molecules that the small intestines are unable to absorb. A true agent of blood regeneration and youthfulness, chlorophyll revitalizes our bodies from the inside out. Other beneficial effects include improved digestion, decreased inflammation, to a calmer demeanor. Our bodies are meant to consume chlorophyll and green plants are the most accessible source.
PHYTOCHEMICALS: DEFENDERS OF HEALTH
Along with their vitamin- and chlorophyll-production capacities, plants also produce compounds known as phytochemicals. These are produced to protect the plant from pathogens (agents that cause harm or illness), pests, and other natural stresses of the environment. These compounds are often concentrated in the seeds in order to ensure the health of future generations.
Many of these chemicals have immense healing potentials for humans; they protect us against carcinogens and other free-radical damage, and are known sometimes as phytonutrients due to their nourishing qualities. In general, newly germinated plants are more susceptible to predators and stress than mature plants, so they often have higher levels of phytonutrients. These levels are diluted over time as plants take up water and become bulkier.
All vegetables contain beneficial phytonutrients, but broccoli sprouts seem to top the list when it comes to potency. Broccoli has been proven to prevent hypertension, osteoarthritis, heart disease, allergies, ulcers, and diabetes. Broccoli sprouts have also recently been linked to the detoxification of environmental pollutants in the body — awakening and supporting the body's capacity to "take out the trash." In a world where exhaust from cars and all sorts of other air pollutions are nearly unavoidable, you benefit from increasing your body's detoxifying capacity.
Concentrated in the seed and activated during germination, phytochemicals are highly valuable. One such chemical is sulforaphane, which is found in cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, watercress, cabbage, etc.) and alliums (onions, garlic, etc.), as well as their seeds. Sulforaphane is an effective anti-carcinogen because it's capable of inhibiting tumor growth, killing cancer cells, and acting as an antimicrobial agent. In 1997, Dr. Paul Talalay headed a major study through John Hopkins Institute to measure the effectiveness of sulforaphane on known carcinogens. He states: "Three- day-old broccoli sprouts consistently contain twenty to fifty times the amount of chemoprotective compounds found in mature broccoli heads, and may offer a simple, dietary means of chemically reducing cancer risk."
According to alternative-medicine proponent Dr. Joseph Mercola, sulforaphane also supports DNA's methylation by helping cells "remember who they are and where they have been." Imagine photocopying a document. Over time, that document may become smudged, and if you continue to make copies, the smudges manifest and become accentuated. By regulating gene expression and DNA methylation, sulforaphane helps cells make copies of the clean, original source, not of the smudged copy.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Sprouts"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Ian Giesbrecht.
Excerpted by permission of Microcosm Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction,
The Science of Sprouting,
Get Sprouting,
Hydroponic Sprouting,
Indoor Greens,
Growing Grass,
Mylks,
Non-Dairy Cultures,
Conclusion,
Glossary,
Sprouting Chart,
Works Cited,
Resources,
About the Author,