Nurture Your Own

Again, I was reading health reporter Janet Simpsons’ article on eczema and sprouts. She has a recommended a few of the most popular bean sprouts including in our daily diet to combat eczema and also to promote a healthy, glowing skin. This is what she shared:

#1 Alfalfa – is one the more popular sprouts. Alf-al-fa means ‘father of all foods’ in the Arabic language. Alfalfa is one of the richest sources of chlorophyll and magnesium. Alfalfa is mild to taste takes approximately 7 days to fully sprout. Alfalfa is quite often used as a remedy to build strength and correct illness.

#2 Buckwheat – not actually a wheat but a herb. Buckwheat is rich in B-vitamins such as choline and inositol. Buckwheat takes approximately 10 days to mature.

#3 Wheatgrass– Wheatgrass resembles the green grass in your back garden. The grass if very fibrous to swallow. The horses don’t have a problem. Wheatgrass takes 12-14 days to fully sprout.

#4 Mung Beans– They take approximately 5 days to grow

#5 Fenugreek – Fenugreek is a bitter herb. For best flavour mix with alfalfa and clover. Fenugreek grows in 8-9 days and is great for soothing the digestive track.

#6 Lentil– these are easy to grow and take 5 days to sprout.

If you seriously want to eliminate your eczema without the use of drugs, medicines or potions try bean sprouts. It will dramatically improve the quality of your blood, skin and digestion. Have a go!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janet_Simpson

Related Articles:

How Can Eczema be Treated?
What’s so Depressing about having Eczema?
10 Reasons to Eat Sprouts to Cure Eczema
10 Great Benefits to Eating Alfalfa Sprouts
10 Great Benefits of Eating Raw Food & Juice

Finally I took the plunge.. YiPpIe! So far I have been enjoying fresh raw sprouts mostly with other cooked dishes like brown-rice & mashed potatoes (in order to beef up my calories). All the while I was eerily aware of the enzyme-less-ness of the cooked carbos. Now, sprouts are the richest sources of all nutrients EXCEPT carbohydrates.

This may be the manna from heaven for weight-loss enthusiasts but for weight-gain wanna-bes like me - I must confess, I felt a bit stuck with cooked foods STILL un-avoidable in my plate. This was largely because I had no time to learn about how to methodically transition to a complete raw living foods diet. But then destiny intervened & recently I happened to come across this bare comment by a newbie raw-foodist (in some forum) expressing surprise that he never thought potatoes can be eaten RAW!

And that ‘revelation’ kept ringing in the back of my head on & off for a few days untill I gathered enough courage to give it a shot myself. What motivated me further was the fact that I felt so sleepy after almost every lunch; & caffeine is more of a problem than a solution we all know. So one fateful afternoon, too lazy to cook or to go out for eating, & too wary of falling asleep again after a cooked meal, I finally cajoled myself to make the move. After more than an hour of dilly-dallying I finally brought myself before the kitchen counter all set to “bite the bullet”… errr… a mere potato in this case… But yeah, Virgin RAW. (more…)

Janet R Simpson offered 10 reasons why you should include sprouts in your Treatment of Eczema. As an eczema sufferer, I have tried many alternative treatments to lessen the flaring frequency as well as to curb the excruciating itch. The good news is sprouts do help. And it’s very interesting to read that a health reporter also concurred this method. You might want to try out this natural “cure”.

Here’s what Ms Simpson got to share:

Treatment of Eczema reason #1
Each sprouting seed is full with the nutritional and microbiological energy and life force strong enough to create a full grown healthy plant. These seeds contain a higher concentration of proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, bio-flavinoids, etc. than at any other stage of the seed’s life. These nutrients are paramount for the good health of eczema skin. They will fuel, nourish, cleans, detoxify and replenish every cell in your body. Sprouts and any living foods increases vitality, strengthens the immune system and slows down the aging process. Sprouts have the capability to clear eczema, and other ailments such as warts, blemishes and facial spots. (more…)

Breaking News :
“Health, fitness, weight-loss constitute the biggest chunk of all new year resolutions.”
And what’s the story of the weight-loss scene? :-
“… Amongst the ‘busy’ over-worked masses ‘fad diets’ continue to rule the roost.”

It’s possible these fancy diets may have something useful in them “backed by scientific evidence & latest research” and promoted by professionally qualified authors. But based on what I see around, many are akin to the get-rich-quick scams : long on dreams, short on results. What do you want?

Why is it so difficult to believe that - best things in life are indeed free.

I suppose… (more…)

My dad unfortunately had to go through an emergency heart bypass surgery recently. He had mostly followed an average dietary lifestyle all along. In a general medical check-up 1 of the major arteries was found to be 90% clogged.

(photo courtesy : buffalo.edu)

The operation was successful & he recoverd remarkably well, thanks to my mother’s support. But his appetite levels were low, prompting me to advice him certain sprouts beneficial for his situation. Raw sprouts are rich with enzymes and don’t need any digestion. They provide all the nutrients with minimal calories so even with low food intake he can be assured of his body getting all the essential micro nutrients. I was pleased to find him game for them . Here are my 3 recommendations for everyone’s benefit: (more…)

This impacts all of us directly without exception - Right Now! Today! At this very moment!

Yeah, It’s not just about strokes. Or about what else ‘can’ or ‘might’ happen in the senior most years of ones life. Blame it on “old age”, blame it on anything but abysmal levels of awareness on this issue - generally speaking. And it pains me no-end to see & say that. A ’stroke’ (or any similar malady involving our circulatory system in any way whatsoever) is like an accident almost fated to happen at some point in the semi-conscious jaunt of a drunken driver; drunk with ignorance. My apologies for the bluntness but what can be more irresponsible than not taking care of our own health & thereby “unintentionally” causing pain to our near & dear ones? besides losing years of quality life, enjoyment, productivity & contribution to others in what could truly be the seasoned prime of one’s life.

That one image showcases the entire story inside of us. It may be happening right now in your body but you don’t know it as yet.
As you can see - this is a schematic of a section of a typical capillary network carrying blood. Only red blood cells are shown for simplicity sake. The blue arrows point in the direction of blood flow. You can see some cells bunched together & sluggishly pushing through in capillary no. 3. But capillary no. 4 is one of the thinnest ones - & hence most susceptible to blockage sooner or later. Alas!

And why do some of these blockages go undiagnosed? (more…)

I am afraid but I bet, in all probability it does.

When was the last time you checked your own blood UNDER MICROSCOPE with your OWN eyes. I did sometime back & got THE BIGGEST SHOCK of my life. And I challenge you for the same. I promise, you may be in for a surprise as well - even if, like me, you are following what’s considered a healthy diet in common perception - lotsa veggies, fruits, little or no non-veg & minimum oil. So what’s amiss?

The above image depicts how blood cells react to THAT ONE THING WE ALL MISS OUT all-in-all in the foods we eat.

Oh! What a heavy price to pay. You wonder what? Here’s the laundry list :

Short term :
Bloating, acid-reflux, gas, stomach pain, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, colitis, menstrual cramps etc.

Long Term :
High cholesterol, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, obesity, hypoglycemia, under-weight, high blood pressure, stroke, etc….

And by the way, this blood-condition is NOT detectable UNTIL IT’S TOO LATE. Even for short term symptoms - the causes are usually not attributed to this one aspect of our diet we all habitually neglect. So unless one directly see’s their blood they can’t be sure this isn’t the case for them. (Here’s the hint : We are all in the same boat).

If you are still wondering what’s wrong with the above shot - compare it with this image of a healthier scenario :-

Photo Courtesy : www.medicine.uiowa.edu

Can you see the difference? Would you like your blood to look like this instead?

Yes, it’s possible to restore the blood cells back to this state naturally & ensure peak performance. And that discovery altered my dietary preferences for ever.

But when I talk to people in my life, alas! I am so appalled to find how very few people have realized this. Is it because it’s a direct attack on our mundane dietary conditioning? Or is it because it can’t be exploited commercially by the big MNC’s? Maybe this isn’t a “juicy” enough scoop for the mass media to report? Perhaps a combination of all these…

And all this inpite of everybody getting so “health-concious” these days. The rising awareness is indeed inspiring, but we are still so much OFF THE MARK that I am taking it as a major initiative to propogate these doozie insights (yeah! there’s more to come). I promise you a surprise every so often.

And if you are wondering how I came into this revelation - here’s the antecedent incident, for your reading pleasure; enjoy.

(What? You haven’t read my earlier post?
Sprouts for body-building? )

I think it is about time I shared my experience with sprouts. More accurately, with growing sprouts and of course eating them.

When my friends first started on this new lifestyle thing, I was along for the ride. Of course, we all chipped in and bought the sprout growing stuff. I think the experts called them “sprouters”. So, I followed the instructions and grew some sprouts. Confession: I never ate that first batch.

Sure, I read all the good stuff about enzymes and vitamins and all the sprouting goodness. I even read those eat raw stuff posts like “10 Great Benefits of Eating Raw Food & Juice“. But somehow, growing up with meat and potatoes has taken its toll on my ability to do what is good for me!

Anyway, to cut a long, really long story short - I did it. Over the weekend, last week, I decided to try. So, what I did was to get this recipe: “Chicken-Alfalfa Sprout Sandwich To Go“, and got down to it. This was my maiden attempt at eating raw, eating sprouts. I was proud of myself. Now, I would declare myself a national hero if this thing tasted as bad as I imagined it would. Unfortunately for my award-hungry self, the chicken-alfalfa sprout sandwich actually tasted quite good. I have always enjoyed a salad or two. But deliberately looking to eat sprouts, especially raw ones, well, I don’t do that too often.

For those of you who are as chicken (stubborn!) as I was, I would suggest to try. Eating sprouts ain’t half as bad as you think. In fact, I think I will try the curry recipe next - Sprouted Lentil Cucumber Curry Salad!

Highly Recommended for Additional Wisdom:

The Raw Secrets - The Raw Food in the Real World by Frederic Patenaude

Why do I sprout? And why do I encourage people to sprout? Well, these are the 11 reasons I can think of:

1. LOW COST Seeds can multiply at least 7 times their weight, and some seeds can do 15 times. At USD2.50 per 500 g for a packet of organic seeds, you can yield many, many plates of self-grown organic greens that will last you for weeks.

2. HIGH NUTRIENTS Sprouts harvested at 3 -5 days are at their prime. Baby Sprouts when eaten raw are best. Raw foods are considered “live food” because of the high concentration of enzymes, minerals, proteins, vitamins, T-cells, RNA, DNA, bio-flavinoids, etc. The nutrients your body absorb is much more when compared with matured vegetables. Check out my previous on benefits of eating raw food.

3. CLEAN & ORGANIC No chemicals, no pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers or fumigants. No artificial man-made stuff that can make you sick. Lots of harmful bacteria and germs are in the non-organic food we consume.

4. FAST ACCESS. To enjoy “live” food anytime, anywhere, grow them yourself. You don’t have to worry if your nearest supermarket doesn’t carry stock or they look limp and yellow.

5. QUICK GROWTH You only need a jar, a strainer or a flour sieve from your kitchen, water 2-3 times a day and ordinary room light, and the seeds will sprout within days. You definitely don’t need green fingers to grow and harvest sprouts. Guaranteed. These pictures here are moth beans and black bean sprouts at 3-day old. Lovely, aren’t they?

6. GREEN & FRESH You harvest and you eat. Guaranteed no loss of nutrients. Those vegetables that’s sitting in hot warehouses and transportation trucks will lose some of their vitality when brought to the stores.

7. DIGESTIBILITY The delicate cell walls of baby sprouts release elemental nutrients. Abundant enzymes make them easy to digest even for those with weak digestion (NOTE: very young children, the elderly and those with known medical conditions should consult their physician)

8. WIDE VARIETY You can find all sorts of seeds to sprout. From sunflower seed, red lentil, wheat grass, buckwheat, lettuce, mung bean, alfalfa, moth beans and more. Click here for the list of sprouting seeds you can sprout.

9. NEW MENU You can experiment making sprout breads and buns from sprouted wheat, rye, or barley. Snacks from sprouted peanuts. Do a Chinese stir-fry with mung bean sprouts (if you really need to cook it, do it fast and light).

10. ECOLOGY Be nice to our planet. By growing your own sprouts, you know you don’t contribute to high energy consumption and pollution. There will not be airplanes or fuel/oil consumed to deliver this food to you. Plus No petroleum based pesticides or synthetic fertilizers will be used.

11. CURES & TREATMENTS Another reason which we sprouting enthusiasts firmly believe in: Cure Diseases and Ailment like cancer and osteoporosis, acne, ezcema. I dare not vault for the rest but as an eczema suffer, I know taking a decent amount of sprouts does help to clear the skin. If you are a fellow-sufferer, I’m sure you understand why I bother to try out any holistic and alternative treatments just to stop the stinging and frustrating itch! So besides observing other do’s and don’ts , I’ve added sprouts as one of the must-have to keep my eczema at bay.

Highly Recommended for Additional Wisdom:

AmazingSprouts.com : the best course in sprouting.

Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days

Healthy-E-Meals.com for easy to prepare healthy recipes.

The Raw Secrets - The Raw Food in the Real World by Frederic Patenaude

Recent and related posts at this blog:

What About Eating Raw Foods?
When Do You Eat the Sprouts You Grow?
Nutrients in Alfalfa Sprouts, Mung Bean, SoyBean, Wheat & Radish
10 Great Benefits to Eating Alfalfa Sprouts
10 Great Benefits of Eating Raw Food & Juice
Alfalfa Sprouts Protect Against Cancers & Osteoporosis
Is it Safe to Grow Your Own Sprouts?
Sprouts for body-building?
Eat Sprouts To Cure Eczema
Eat Sprouts to Treat Acne

Technorati Tags: sprouts, sprouting, alfalfa, enzymes, raw food, live food

These are the frequently asked questions people put to me:

When do you eat the sprouts you grow?

Do you trim off the roots?

Do you eat with the husk?

When can one eat the sprouts they grow? Well, it all depends on your taste buds. You can eat it when it is young at 3-day old or slightly more matured at 5-day old. The best time to harvest your sprouts is between 3 and 5 days. The moth bean sprouts you see here are only 3-day old and they taste yummy as it is, without cooking, salad sauce or any seasoning. The Crash-course in Sprouting @ Home has more specific information on this & a best harvest times for a long list of sprouts.

Does one eat with or without the roots? Again it’s your preference. Chinese eat mung bean sprouts (commonly know as “tow gei”) with the head, body and tail all in tact. However, fine Chinese restaurants would normally trim off the yellow heads and the root portions to make it a neat stack of silver rods. They look gorgeous, taste wonderful, when lightly stir fry with green spring onion, red chilli, yellow, orange carrot, small cubes of salted fish with a little oil and garlic. So there’s no hard and fast rules, you can eat it all or trim it off.

Do you eat with the husks? You can if you want for added fibers. But getting rid of the husks from the grown sprouts are rather tedious. My friend, Taarak (who graciously put his e-report on enzymes for free download at this site - see sidebar for more info) has a technique shared in his sprout e-book which is expected to launch in Dec’07. I’ll keep you posted when the time comes.
Sprouting is easy even when I work 10-days a week. Raw vegetable and juice gives us more enzymes and help to revitalize and rejuvenate our body better and faster.

Technorati Tags: when to harvest sprouts, sprouts

Highly Recommended:

AmazingSprouts.com to start enjoying sprouts with less than 20 min a day.
Healthy-E-Meals.com for easy to prepare healthy recipes.
The Raw Secrets - The Raw Food in the Real World by Frederic Patenaude

Recent and related posts at this blog:

What About Eating Raw Foods?
Nutrients in Alfalfa Sprouts, Mung Bean, SoyBean, Wheat & Radish
10 Great Benefits to Eating Alfalfa Sprouts
10 Great Benefits of Eating Raw Food & Juice
Alfalfa Sprouts Protect Against Cancers & Osteoporosis
Is it Safe to Grow Your Own Sprouts?
Sprouts for body-building?
Eat Sprouts To Cure Eczema
Eat Sprouts to Treat Acne

How did you grow your sprouts?

I did it really simply without spending a single cent, thanks to the amazing Crash-course in Sprouting @ Home. I made use of what I already have in the kitchen. I used a strainer, a pair of chopsticks and a plate. To keep insects off the growing sprouts, I would cover the strainer with a piece of netting. You can even improvise by using soup bag, woollen laundry bag or the likes as long as there’s tiny holes to allow air circulation.

However, you can do the more professional ways by getting a sprouting jar or the multi-tier beauty called dome sprouter.

There is honestly no hard and fast rules on sprouting. The only rules are get organic seeds, grow them with care and eat them with love.

Eat Greens, Eat Healthy, Be Healthy.

By the way, if you haven’t download Taarak’s The Secret of Longevity, you can fill up your name and email at the sidebar. That free ebook discloses why and how the enzymes in sprouts help us to stay healthy and live longer. BTW, it’s just a free ebook that my sprout enthusiast friend wrote in response to us harassing him for weeks. So, there is no ads whatsoever to get you to buy this or that.

Highly Recommended:

The Ultimate Crash-course in Sprouting @ Home
Healthy-E-Meals.com for easy to prepare healthy recipes.
The Raw Secrets - The Raw Food in the Real World by Frederic Patenaude

Recent and related posts at this blog:

Nutrients in Alfalfa Sprouts, Mung Bean, SoyBean, Wheat & Radish
10 Great Benefits to Eating Alfalfa Sprouts
10 Great Benefits of Eating Raw Food & Juice
Alfalfa Sprouts Protect Against Cancers & Osteoporosis
Is it Safe to Grow Your Own Sprouts?
What About Eating Raw Foods?
Sprouts for body-building?
Eat Sprouts To Cure Eczema
Eat Sprouts to Treat Acne

Technorati Tags: sprouts, sprouting, sprouting equipment, dome sprouter, sprouting jar

Do you know what are the nutrients in various sprouts like Alfalfa Sprouts, Mung Bean, Radish, Soybean and Wheat? Find out now! Check out this table:

(Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Sprouts have gained much popularity in the past decade as more people become aware of the value in healthy eating and healthy living. You might be surprise to know that many people in China and Middle East have been eating sprouts for thousands of years. To illustrate, Mung beans (Vigna radiata - aka green beans) have been used in Chinese foods since recorded history–though usually in cooked dishes and deserts.

Today, sprouts in the United States are a $250-million market. Some 475 U.S. sprout growers produce 300,000 tons of sprouts every year, according to the International Sprout Growers Association. As many as 10 percent of Americans eat sprouts regularly. There are just so many benefits of eating raw sprouts and raw food and juice.

To know more about sprouts and how the enzymes found in them can help to achieve better health and longevity, you would definitely want to download this FREE REPORT entitled “Secret of Longevity” written by Taarak, a Sprouts Enthusiast. It was written as many of his friends have been asking him why he sprouts and eats them every single day. So for the sake of sharing this information that he has discovered, he wrote this eBook. It is a very simple eBook, and, don’t worry, there are no advertisement or whatsoever in it to prompt you to buy this and that.

Just fill in the form below and “The Secret of Longevity” is yours totally free.

Get Your FREE eBook HERE

What you don’t eat can harm you, silently but surely!

Other Recommended Readings:

Crash-course in Sprouting @ Home
The Raw Secrets - The Raw Food in the Real World by Frederic Patenaude

Healthy-E-Meals.com for easy to prepare healthy recipes.

Recent and related posts at this blog:
10 Great Benefits to Eating Alfalfa Sprouts
Alfalfa Sprouts Protect Against Cancers & Osteoporosis
10 Great Benefits of Eating Raw Food & Juice
What About Eating Raw Foods?
Sprouts for body-building?
Eat Sprouts To Cure Eczema
Eat Sprouts to Treat Acne
Is it Safe to Grow Your Own Sprouts?

Technorati Tags: sprouts nutrients, why eat sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, mung bean, soybean, radish, wheat