Sprouts: An Ayurvedic Superfood | Health Benefits and Recipe (2024)

  • November 16, 2019

Sprouts are superfoods that you can easily include in your daily diet! Ayurvedic practitioners, nutritionists, and holistic health coaches highly recommend the power of sprouts because of its nutritional value and numerous health benefits.

Sprouts are considered as super foods as they help in digestion, help lower blood sugar levels, and are linked to reducing the risk of heart disease and many more.

Generally, most edible grains can be sprouted, such as grains, seeds, and legumes.

How to Sprout

To sprout, you don’t need much, just a jar or container, cloth, and pure water can do. Before anything else, ensure that the grains, seeds, and legumes you are using are of quality. Make sure that they are of sproutable type. An example of a non sproutable are soya beans as they become sour. We highly recommend to use grains that are organically grown and avoid those that are chemically treated as this affects the germination rate.

Step 1:Wash the seeds/ grains thoroughly until the water turns clear. I may keep writing seeds below, but same is true for grains and legumes. I make sprouts from mung beans, muth daal or horse gram almost every day and they are all legumes.

Step 2:Soak the seeds overnight in a container of water. Ensure that your container has space for expanding, as the seeds will expand in about four to eight times their original size. Cover the container. The duration of soaking varies according to the seeds, beans or legumes you used. Smaller seeds can be soaked at a shorter time (5 hours) while beans and grains usually for overnight.

Step 3.The following morning, drain the water and rinse the seeds again. Now transfer them to a jar and cover the jar with cheesecloth or window screen flywire mesh, with a couple of rubber bands to hold the cloth or wire in place. I prefer using wire and rubber bands as I don’t need to open the jar. Twice a day I just add some freshwater, rinse the seeds and throw the water so the seeds are moist. I keep the jar horizontal on my kitchen window sill.

Sprouting varies according to the temperature and humidity but in most common cases, the seeds are germinated and ready to eat in 2-3 days.

Step 4:Serve as you would like.

Top health benefits of sprouts according to different sources

  1. Aids in Digestion
  2. Strengthens the immune system
  3. Reduce Acidity
  4. Rich in antioxidants
  5. Good for the heart with its omega 3-fatty acids content.
  6. Great for eyesight
  7. Aids in weight loss
  8. Boosts blood circulation
  9. Reduces high level of acidity
  10. Reduces allergic reactions
  11. Relieve cold sores
  12. Best for eye care

Sprouted Mung Salad Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup mung sprouts
1 lebanese cucumber
1 small tomato
1 celery stick
1 carrot
2 tbsp. chopped fresh coriander
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Preparation:

Dice cucumber, tomato, celery, stick finely. Grate carrot. Add sprouts. In winter, you can steam them for 30 seconds if you like, depending on your body type, but you don’t need to. Mix all the ingredients together. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice and any herbs like coriander or mint if you like.

I also makea variety of sprouts and then grind them, adding grated vegetable to it and use the batter for making savoury pancakes – great, healthy breakfast or snack.

About The Author

Sprouts: An Ayurvedic Superfood | Health Benefits and Recipe (3)

Neerja Ahuja

Neerja is a Trained Consultant, Yoga Therapist and Course Facilitator since 2001, teaching Ayurveda and running her clinical practice. Principal Consultant, Director and Course Facilitator at Ayurveda Awareness Centre (AAC) www.ayurveda-awareness.com.au , Adv. Dip. in Ayu., Dip in Human Values , M.A. (Mathematical Statistics), Grad. Dip. (Computing)

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Sprouts: An Ayurvedic Superfood | Health Benefits and Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to eat sprouts as per Ayurveda? ›

Boiling sprouts with vegetables and herbs to make a nourishing soup is another Ayurvedic recommendation. This method ensures that the sprouts are well-cooked and easily digestible.

What happens if we eat sprouts daily? ›

Cleanses the Body. Sprouts help in boosting the immune system and cleanses the body. The chlorophyll in sprouts is helpful in removing the toxins from the cells and lymphatic system. The enzymes in sprouts ease the digestion process that also helps to get rid of the toxins.

Which sprout has the highest protein? ›

Sprouted chickpeas can be eaten raw as a quick and nutritious snack or blended to make raw hummus. They can also be cooked into soups or veggie burgers. Chickpea sprouts are particularly high in protein and isoflavones, a phytoestrogen that may help treat menopause symptoms.

What is the healthiest sprout? ›

Bean sprouts

These sprouts are the easiest to grow and offer a number of health benefits. They are a rich source of proteins, amino acids, vitamins, calcium, folate, phosphorous and iron. Being a powerhouse of nutrients, bean sprouts help to enhance your mood and reduce the probability of depression and anxiety.

What is the healthiest way to eat sprouts? ›

Many people consume raw sprouts daily and yet have never faced any trouble. However, for your safety, put some oil in the pan and saute the sprouts for a while to kill the bacteria or can either boil in salt water for 5-10 minutes. Cooking them is even better for your digestive system and the absorption of nutrients.

When should I eat sprouts morning or evening? ›

Benefit #5: The best time to eat sprouts is in the morning on an empty stomach. This allows your body to absorb all the nutrients and enzymes present in sprouts.

When should you not eat sprouts? ›

Due to the high number of outbreaks, sprouts have been labeled as a “high risk” food. This means that people with compromised immune systems, such as children, elderly, pregnant women and those who are sick or taking medications that impair the immune system, should avoid eating sprouts.

Should sprouts be eaten raw or boiled? ›

Boiling them renders them easier to digest, making the nutrient-rich sprouts more tolerable for sensitive digestive systems. Additionally, the boiling process significantly reduces the risk of foodborne illnesses associated with raw sprouts, ensuring safer consumption.

Do sprouts help in hair growth? ›

Packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, sprouts offer a range of benefits for your hair, including stimulating growth, strengthening strands, revitalizing the scalp, and enhancing shine and luster.

Which has more protein eggs or sprouts? ›

Eggs are much more rich in protein than sprouts. While an average egg weigh up to 40 -60 grams containing 6- 8 grams of protein level, Sprouts contain 3–4 grams of protein for every 100 grams of sprouts.

Which sprouts are anti inflammatory? ›

Test subjects who ate 2.5 ounces of broccoli sprouts every day showed lower levels of ulcer-causing bacteria than those who munched on alfalfa sprouts instead. They also had less inflammation. Some studies have shown sulforaphane to be an effective treatment for a number of mental health disorders.

Which sprouts are highest in sulforaphane? ›

Broccoli sprouts contain 10–100 times higher levels of sulforaphane than mature plants, something that has been well known since 1997.

Which is better broccoli or sprouts? ›

Both broccoli and broccoli sprouts are full of healing antioxidants, although broccoli sprouts has 50-100 times more healing properties than the big bundles of broccoli you might buy. The mystery healing ingredient is known as sulforaphane, which is extracted when chewing and breaking down the sprout into healing bits.

Which sprouts are best for antioxidants? ›

These antioxidants include polysulfides, compounds that have anticancer and heart-protective effects. A new study found that young broccoli sprouts may offer myriad health benefits, as they have a significantly higher concentration of polysulfides than mature broccoli.

What is healthier, sprouts or microgreens? ›

Additionally, sprouts are better sources of amino acids, pectins and sugars than microgreens. Microgreens were characterized by high content of carotenoids and chlorophylls, and organic acid, without any sugars, exhibiting higher anti-diabetic and anti-cholinergic activity than sprouts.

How to avoid gas after eating sprouts? ›

Certain ingredients like a few tejpatta (bay leaves), a generous pinch of jeera (cumin) or kala namak (black salt) will reduce the nasty after-effects. Also, sprouts are rich in fiber so as you increase your fiber intake, also be sure to increase your water consumption.

How do you make sprouts digestible? ›

Sprouting grains

overnight in plenty of cold water. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar/lemon juice or whey to the water to help improve digestibility even more. I leave them to soak overnight on the bench during cooler weather, but in summer you'd be best to pop the covered bowl/jar into the fridge.

How many spoons of sprouts per day? ›

Choosing how much broccoli or broccoli sprouts to eat is really up to individual tolerance. Isothiocyanates are inherently bitter, and the human body naturally resists the intake of bitter foods. Aiming for 2 to 4 ounces of sprouts per day is a reasonable and healthy goal.

References

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