Enhanced bioavailability. Increased vitamins and minerals. Improved digestibility. You can get all this and more from sprouted foods.

What is sprouting? How do sprouted foods differ from non-sprouted foods? And why might someone want to try them? 

Sprouting is a traditional food processing method that has been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and involves germinating seeds, grains, nuts, or legumes in order to enhance their nutritional value. Sprouting starts by soaking seeds in water for several hours, then draining them and allowing them to germinate, usually for two or three days. If you think of a seed as a locked treasure chest, sprouting is what unlocks the treasure. When germination starts, several biochemical changes occur. Enzymes are activated that break down phytates, which are compounds that plants use to store essential minerals. Phytates are helpful for storage of minerals, but they are less helpful when you’re trying to eat something—phytates decrease the bioavailability of minerals. They’re sometimes called “antinutrients” for this reason. When phytates start getting broken down, these locked up minerals can be used by the plant for the growth process (or used by you, if you are eating the sprout).1,2 Sprouting also decreases lectins, which are proteins in foods that also fall into the “antinutrient” category.3 Some diets (especially AIP, the Wahls Protocol, and the Gundry diet) advocate for avoiding lectins entirely. The rationale is primarily that they can reduce the nutritional density of food (and may cause damage to the gut lining).4,5 Sprouting may be one way to reduce the potential impact of lectins for those who have a hard time avoiding grains, seeds, and legumes (and struggle with one of those diets as a result).

 

Sprouting also activates enzymes that can “pre-digest” grains. The seed uses dense proteins and complex carbohydrates as fuel reserves, but breaks them down into simpler forms that can be used for the growth and development of the plant. For example, amylases break down complex carbohydrates like starch into simpler sugars, which provide immediate energy for the growing seedling. Proteases break storage proteins into smaller proteins and free amino acids, which are required for making new proteins. This process also leads to an increase in the levels of vitamins (like, B1, B2, C, and E) and bioactive compounds, like antioxidants and polyphenols.6,7

 

So from a nutritional standpoint, sprouting does three things: it breaks down phytates and other antinutrients like lectins, which helps make nutrients more bioavailable. It breaks down proteins and carbohydrates, making them easier to digest and absorb. And it increases the levels of vitamins and other bioactive compounds that the growing plant uses for growth and protection.

 

Sounds like a pretty good deal.

 

Who might benefit from eating sprouted foods? Sprouting may be very helpful in areas where malnutrition or undernutrition is prevalent, since sprouted foods having increased nutrient concentration and bioavailability.8  What are areas with “high malnutrition”?  I would argue that it is most places, including what we consider the “developed world”. Even if you eat what seems to be a healthy and well-balanced diet, food isn’t what it used to be. A study of foods in the UK between 1940 and 2019 showed substantial declines in micronutrients in food during this time—declines like a 50% decrease in iron, and a 49% decrease in copper. The same is true for foods in the US. Similar trends A similar trend has been seen in the US.9,10 This has happened largely because of industrialized agriculture, which prioritizes high crop yields over nutrient density, as well as declines in soil quality over time. Other groups that might specifically benefit are people with known nutritional deficiencies, vegetarians and vegans, people who are chronically ill, and people who are very physically active—these are all groups that may benefit from higher nutrient density.1,11 So that seems like pretty much everyone.

 

How do you get sprouts?

 

There are a few ways.

 

You can buy them fresh at plenty of grocery stories. Alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, broccoli sprouts, pea sprouts—these are often available. The benefit is that they’re easy to get. The downside is that they don’t last too long in the fridge once you get them home.

 

You can also sprout them yourself. This is more labor intensive, but it’s something you can do for seeds, grains, nuts, or legumes—things like chia seeds, barley, or chickpeas. You can then either eat them raw or cook them like you normally would.

 

But fresh sprouts are not the only option! You can also incorporate dried sprouted grains and sprouted flours into cooking and baking. These are far more shelf stable and still have major benefits. For example, you can find pre-sprouted, dried oatmeal at some grocery stores (and it’s easy to find them online) and swap that in for your standard oatmeal at breakfast. Sprouted nuts, like almonds or walnuts, are great for a snack or as part of a trail mix. You can also get sprouted buckwheat flour, sprouted millet, sprouted lentils, sprouted quinoa, sprouted rye, sprouted amaranth—the list goes on. One brand that I often recommended is One Degree. Others include Shiloh Farms and Second Spring. For nuts, Lark Ellen Farms and Sprouted Nutz are good.

 

In summary, sprouting is traditional food processing method that has been around hundreds, if not thousands, of years and involves germinating seeds, grains, or legumes in order to enhance their nutritional value. If it were developed today, we might call it a food hack or a super-unlock. It enhanced bioavailability. Increased vitamins and minerals. Improved digestibility. Have you had any sprouts today?

References

1.         The Use of Sprouts to Improve the Nutritional Value of Food Products: A Brief Review | Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. Accessed June 18, 2024. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11130-021-00888-6

2.         Can sprouting reduce phytate and improve the nutritional composition and nutrient bioaccessibility in cereals and legumes? - Elliott - 2022 - Nutrition Bulletin - Wiley Online Library. Accessed June 18, 2024. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nbu.12549

3.         Shi L, Arntfield SD, Nickerson M. Changes in levels of phytic acid, lectins and oxalates during soaking and cooking of Canadian pulses. Food Res Int Ott Ont. 2018;107:660-668. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2018.02.056

4.         Vasconcelos IM, Oliveira JTA. Antinutritional properties of plant lectins. Toxicon Off J Int Soc Toxinology. 2004;44(4):385-403. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.05.005

5.         Vojdani A. Lectins, agglutinins, and their roles in autoimmune reactivities. Altern Ther Health Med. 2015;21 Suppl 1:46-51.

6.         Kehinde BA, Majid I, Hussain S. Isolation of bioactive peptides and multiple nutraceuticals of antidiabetic and antioxidant functionalities through sprouting: Recent advances. J Food Biochem. 2022;46(10):e14317. doi:10.1111/jfbc.14317

7.         Foods | Free Full-Text | Sprouted Barley Flour as a Nutritious and Functional Ingredient. Accessed June 18, 2024. https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/3/296

8.         Majzoobi M, Wang Z, Teimouri S, Pematilleke N, Brennan CS, Farahnaky A. Unlocking the Potential of Sprouted Cereals, Pseudocereals, and Pulses in Combating Malnutrition. Foods. 2023;12(21):3901. doi:10.3390/foods12213901

9.         Mayer AMB, Trenchard L, Rayns F. Historical changes in the mineral content of fruit and vegetables in the UK from 1940 to 2019: a concern for human nutrition and agriculture. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2022;73(3):315-326. doi:10.1080/09637486.2021.1981831

10.       Davis DR, Epp MD, Riordan HD. Changes in USDA food composition data for 43 garden crops, 1950 to 1999. J Am Coll Nutr. 2004;23(6):669-682. doi:10.1080/07315724.2004.10719409

11.       Singh AK, Rehal J, Kaur A, Jyot G. Enhancement of attributes of cereals by germination and fermentation: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2015;55(11):1575-1589. doi:10.1080/10408398.2012.706661