I have been sprouting seeds and grain since the ’70s and thought I was in the forefront of good nutrition, but then found out that Capt. James Cook, around 1772, grew sprouts to feed his sailors to keep them from getting scurvy, a disease caused by lack of vitamin C. I grew up with my mother telling us to eat our morning papaya or we would get scurvy. It is a disease my sister and I feared and did not want to ever get, especially because we were constantly reminded about it. But my mother never came home from work to say that a patients had scurvy, nor have I met a person with scurvy yet.
I have been sprouting seeds and grain since the ’70s and thought I was in the forefront of good nutrition, but then found out that Capt. James Cook, around 1772, grew sprouts to feed his sailors to keep them from getting scurvy, a disease caused by lack of vitamin C. I grew up with my mother telling us to eat our morning papaya or we would get scurvy. It is a disease my sister and I feared and did not want to ever get, especially because we were constantly reminded about it. But my mother never came home from work to say that a patients had scurvy, nor have I met a person with scurvy yet.
Think about Chinese food; there are often mung bean sprouts. It is also very common in Korean, Vietnamese and Thai food. You cannot have Vietnamese pho soup without mung bean sprouts. The Chinese were sprouting 5,000 years ago.
My son Dean swears by sprouted brown rice. He claims it improves the flavor, is easier to digest, as well as increase the nutritional value. He soaks the brown rice in water for three days. The outer bran softens and absorbs the water. At the end of the three days, he drains the rice, and adds the same amount of water as rice (not double the amount if you did not soak it). The cooking time is cut in half and the there is a nice nutty, sweet flavor. Soaking breaks down some of the sugars and proteins in the rice grain.
Dr. Hiroshi Kayahara, a biochemsist at Shinshu University in Nagano, Japan, has studied sprouted brown rice and found that the sprouts deactivates an enzyme protylendopal, that causes Alzheimer’s disease. He also found that sprouting activates some dormant enzymes that are good for our health. The essential amino acid aCilysine increases by three times; the gamma aminobutyrice acid or GABA , which improved kidney function, increases by ten times.
Various studies show that calcium increases in sprouting from 7.5 mg to 30 mg, with the magnesium, potassium, zinc also increasing. Ferulic acid, which fights cell damage from free radicals within our body also increases with sprouting.
Vitamin levels increase also. In wheat, the B-12 increases four times; some B vitamins from three to twelve times; vitamin E three times; and dietary fiber, three to four times!
The proteins levels of sprouted lentils jump to 7 grams, in navy beans to 6 grams and soybeans, to 9 grams. If sprouted beans and legumes are eaten to replace meats, it certainly can lower cholesterol. In addition, sprouted lentils have 25 mg of iron; mung bean sprouts contain 155 mg of potassium, and 14 mg of vitamin C
I received my latest copy of Food and Wine magazine and there was an interesting article about sprouting and a recipe for sprouted salad. You can be as creative as you want and take any salad recipe, sprout the legumes or beans before making it and add an extra nutritional punch to that same salad.
When making a rice salad, treat the rice as you would when making sushi. Remember that the vinegar dressing must be added when the rice is hot for better absorption. Here is brown rice salad you can make with rotisserie chicken.
Sprouted Brown
Rice and
Chicken Salad
Serves 6
Soak 2 cups uncooked brown rice in water for three days.
After three days, drain and add 2 cups water. Cook until grains are fluffy, about 30-40 minutes.
While rice is cooking, mix together:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
When rice is cooked, mix to fluff, add:
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add dressing to hot rice to combine.
Allow to cool.
Add:
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken meat
Toss lightly and serve for a nice one dish meal.
All you need to start sprouting is a one-quart wide-mouth Mason jar. Place 1/2 cup of dried beans or lentils and cover with water. I lost my cover with a wire mesh, so a piece of cheesecloth secured with a rubber band works (keep the rubber bands from the asparagus you purchase. They are nice and thick). After 24 hours, drain and rinse the beans through the cheesecloth. Store in a dark place on its side, propped a little to allow the excess water to drain onto a paper towel at the mouth of the jar. Rinse and drain twice a day for three days. The tails should be about 1 1/2 times the length of the beans. They are ready on the third day. Rinse and serve in a salad or in a sandwich. Leftovers can be refrigerated in a container with a paper towel on the bottom, for three days.
We don’t have to worry about snow in the winter, only rain destroying our vegetables, so try sprouting as a good way to get your vitamins and minerals.
Oxalic Acid
Update
Thank you Lynne Penek-Holden, RD, for emailing me that kale, at 0.2 gram/100gram of oxalic acid, is very low. However, Colleen wrote that her green drink in the morning, with all the wonderful vegetables, has made the arthritis in her hands get worse. So know your body and listen to it.
Please feel free to e-mail me at wilson.audrey@hawaiiantel.net if you have a question. Bon appetit until next week.