Seed Nutrition Health Benefits of Sprouts Steve Meyerowitz Sprouts have long been famous as "health food" but recent research shows that in addition to being a superb source of nutrients, they also have important curative ability. Sprouts like alfalfa, radish, broccoli, clover and soybean contain concentrated amounts of phytochemicals (plant compounds) that can protect us against disease. Studies on canavanine, an amino acid analog in alfalfa, has demonstrated benefit for pancreatic, colon and leukemia cancers. Plant estrogens are also abundant in sprouts. They increase bone formation and density and prevent bone breakdown or osteoporosis. They are also helpful in controlling hot flashes, menopause, PMS and fibrocystic breast tumors. Alfalfa sprouts are one of our finest food sources of another compound, saponins. Saponins lower the bad cholesterol and fat but not the good HDL fats. Animal studies prove their benefit in arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Saponins also stimulate the immune system by increasing the activity of natural killer cells such as T- lymphocytes and interferon. The saponin content of alfalfa sprouts multiplies

Sprouts and Hypertension Sprouts can play an important role in the lives of those who suffer from hypertension. Our research archive contains the latest thinking on the subject. "Dietary Approach to Attenuate Oxidative Stress, Hypertension, and Inflammation in the Cardiovascular System", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, PNAS, May 4, 2004, vol. 101, no. 18, 7094-7099, Medical Sciences, Lingyun Wu , M. Hossein Noyan Ashraf*, Marina Facci, Rui Wang, Phyllis G. Paterson , Alison Ferrie and Bernhard H. J. Juurlink. "Role of glucoraphanin/sulfurophane from broccoli and broccoli sprouts in protection against cancer and other oxidative and degenerative diseases" 2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana, Session 45, Health benefits of fruits and vegetables: Biological activity of phytonutrients, J. W. Fahey.

Sprouts and Cardiovascular Disease Dietary approaches to cardiovascular disease are receiving a lot of attention in the research community and our collection of further research has the information you need in a single, convenient location. "Broccoli sprouts powder could improve serum triglyceride and oxidized LDL/LDL-cholesterol ratio in type 2 diabetic patients: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial." Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2012 Feb 8. Bahadoran Z, Mirmiran P, Hosseinpanah F, Rajab A, Asghari G, Azizi F. Obesity Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. "Content and Composition of Isoflavonoids in Mature or Immature Beans and Bean Sprouts Consumed in Japan",  Journal of Health Science, 47(4) 394-406 (2001), Yumiko Nakamura,* Akiko Kaihara, Kimihiko Yoshii, Yukari Tsumura, Susumu Ishimitsu, and Yasuhide Tonogai, Division of Food Chemistry, National Institute of Health Sciences, Osaka Branch, 1-1-43 Hoenzaka, Chuo-ku, Osaka 540- 0006, Japan. Dietary histone deacetylase inhibitors: From cells to mice to man. Semin Cancer Biol. 2007 May 5; Dashwood RH, Ho E. Linus Pauling Institute, Department of Environmental

Resources - Data on the Nutritional Value of Sprouts We've gathered nutrient data for a wide variety of sprouts. Our sprout nutritional data charts include info on fiber, protein, minerals, vitamins, lipids (fat) and more. Nutritional Information Related to Sprouts We thank our good friends at the USDA for the following sprout nutrition information. Access nutrition data for sprouts by clicking on the links below. Alfalfa Sprouts Kidney Bean Sprouts Kidney Bean Sprouts, boiled & drained Kidney Bean Sprouts, boiled with salted & drained Lentil Sprouts Lentil Sprouts, stir fried Lentil Sprouts, stir fried with salt Mung Bean Sprouts Mung Bean Sprouts, canned & drained Mung Bean Sprouts, boiled & drained Mung Bean Sprouts, boiled with salt & drained Mung Bean Sprouts, stir fried Navy Bean Sprouts Navy Bean Sprouts, boiled & drained Navy Bean Sprouts, boiled with salt & drained Pea Sprouts Pea Sprouts, boiled & drained Pea Sprouts, boiled with salt & drained Pinto Bean Sprouts Pinto Bean Sprouts, boiled & drained Pinto Bean Sprouts, boiled with salt

Buckwheat Sprout Nutrients Aqua-culture improved buckwheat sprouts with more abundant precious nutrients and hypolipidemic activity. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2009 Jun 30:1-14. Peng CC, Chen KC, Yang YL, Lin LY, Peng RY. School of Physical Therapy. Nutritional values of buckwheat reach maximum on day 8 sprouting by solid-phase cultivation (BSSC). The precious nutrients surveyed included linolenic acid, total polyphenolics, rutin, quercetin, l-ascorbic acid and gamma-aminobutyric acid. To investigate whether a change of cultivation method could improve the nutritional status, we performed aquaculture. By performing chemical, biochemical and animal experiments, we found that maximization of nutrient levels in aquacultured buckwheat sprouts (BSAQ) occurred 2 days earlier than those from BSSC. Simultaneously, their bioactivities were much enhanced, being superior to BSSC regarding antioxidative, free radical scavenging (FRS), anti-low-density lipoprotein lipoperoxidative capabilities and hypolipidemic bioactivity with respect to serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in Syrian hamsters. In addition, serum low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and the ratios LDL-C/HDL-C and total cholesterol/HDL-C were all more efficiently suppressed by BSAQ

Dietary Approaches to Positively Influence Fetal Determinants of Adult Health Dietary approaches to positively influence fetal determinants of adult health. FASEB J (The journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 2006 Feb;20(2):371-3.. Noyan-Ashraf MH, Wu L, Wang R, Juurlink BH. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An imbalance between production and scavenging of oxidants is a commonality found in factors that result in fetal determinants that negatively affect adult health. We reasoned that a dietary intervention that promotes oxidant scavenging through phase 2 protein induction would have positive effects on fetal programming of adult health. Previously, we demonstrated that a diet containing broccoli sprouts high in glucoraphanin (Grn), precursor of the phase 2 protein inducer sulforaphane, decreased oxidative stress and associated problems in male spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats (SHRsp). We hypothesized that placing females on a Grn-containing (Grn(+)) diet would have similar positive effects and that the adult offspring of such females would have lower blood pressures and less tissue inflammation than

Dietary Phytoestrogens Dietary phytoestrogens. Annu Rev Nutr 1997;17:353-81 Kurzer MS, Xu X. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108, USA. Broadly defined, phytoestrogens include isoflavones, coumestans, and lignans. A number of these compounds have been identified in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains commonly consumed by humans. Soybeans, clover and alfalfa sprouts, and oilseeds (such as flaxseed) are the most significant dietary sources of isoflavones, coumestans, and lignans, respectively. Studies in humans, animals, and cell culture systems suggest that dietary phytoestrogens play an important role in prevention of menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease. Proposed mechanisms include estrogenic and antiestrogenic effects, induction of cancer cell differentiation, inhibition of tyrosine kinase and DNA topoisomerase activities, suppression of angiogenesis, and antioxidant effects. Although there currently are no dietary recommendations for individual phytoestrogens, there may be great benefit in increased consumption of plant foods.

Health Effects of Phytoestrogens Health effects of phytoestrogens. Forum Nutr. 2005;(57):100-11. Branca F, Lorenzetti S. National Institute for Research on Food and Nutrition, Rome, Italy. Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant-derived phytochemicals, whose common biological roles are to protect plants from stress or to act as part of a plant's defense mechanism. Although composed of a wide group of nonsteroidal compounds of diverse structure, phytoestrogens have been shown to bind estrogen receptors and to behave as weak agonist/antagonist in both animals and humans. Phytoestrogens include mainly isoflavones (IF), coumestans, and lignans. These compounds are known to be present in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains commonly consumed by humans. IF are found in legumes--mainly soybeans--whereas flaxseed is a major source of lignans, and coumestans are significantly present in clover, alfalfa and soybean sprouts. 8-Prenyl flavonoids are common in vegetables. Bioavailability of IF requires an initial hydrolysis of the sugar moiety by intestinal beta-glucosidases to allow the following uptake by enterocytes and the flow through the peripheral circulation. Following absorption, IF are then reconjugated mainly to glucuronic

Sprouts for Optimum Nutrition Sprouts for Optimum Nutrition healthlibrary.com Sprouts are considered as wonder foods. They rank as the freshest and most nutritious of all vegetables available to the human diet. By a process of natural transmutation, sprouted food acquires vastly improved digestibility and nutritional qualities when compared to non-sprouted embryo from which it derives. Sprouted foods have been part of the diet of many ancient races for thousands of years. Even to this day, the Chinese retain their fame for delicious mung bean sprouts. Sprouts provide all the essential vitamins and minerals. They should form a vital component of our diet. Sprouting requires no constant care but only an occasional sprinkling of water. All edible grains, seeds and legumes can be sprouted. Generally the following are used for sprouting : Grains : Wheat, maize, ragi, bajra and barley. Seeds : Alfalfa seeds, radish seeds, fenugreek seeds, carrot seeds, coriander seeds, pumpkin seeds and muskmelon seeds. Legumes : Mung, Bengal gram, groundnut and peas. Alfalfa, as the name in Arabic