Sprouting Grains : How To

Sprouting grains is a fantastic and simple way to get superb nutrition in your diet.

When you know how to sprout grains you can live off of a years supply of wheat. As long as you also have water, of course.

Sprouting your grains is kind of like getting your fruits and vegetables from your grains. Sprouted grains have even more nutrients than the un-sprouted grains. For instance whole wheat kernels have lots of nutrients, but they lack Vitamin C. If you sprout them, they suddenly have Vitamin C. Also sprouts are easier to eat, and to digest, than the whole grains.

Here are the simple steps to sprouting grain.

Soak the grain in water over night. (8 to 12 hours at room temperature).

Then rinse and drain the water off of them approximately every 6 to 8 hours. (Keep them moist, but not sitting in water, at room temperature.)

I do this in a glass jar with netting over the opening, held in place by a rubber band. I invert the jar at an angle and let it set in a small bowl. The jar (on it's side) is longer than the bowl is wide, so that keeps the jar tipped so that all the water can drain out of it. The netting, of course, keeps the grains in the jar, but allows the water to drain.

You can eat the sprouts at any time throughout this process. Taste them at different times and see how you like them. Some like them best just right after the initial soaking. I usually like mine about a day later. You can continue this process as long as you like, but eventually you will have grass.

When the sprouts reach the point that you like them best, move them to the refrigerator. This doesn't stop the sprouting process completely, but it does slow it down drastically.

One more note about sprouting. You can also sprout beans.

My mother taught us that if you sprout the beans before making chili, it takes the gas out of them. Now that's useful information!

Thanks Mom!

Health Basic Missed By Many Nutritionists

There is a basic fundamental of health that is missed by many nutritionists.

I understand why they make the mistake, but it is most unfortunate.

It is natural to start from where you are, and it's a good idea to do so. Where else would you start from? But when you are looking at what is optimal nutrition, you need to start from an optimal position. The optimal position to start from in regards to human nutrition, is whole grains fresh from the fields.

You see, because grains in our modern world have mostly been processed and destroyed before being put into our food products, they have been made very unhealthy for us. That is why many nutritionists will tell people to avoid grains in their diet. Unfortunately that is a very big mistake.

Whole grains, that have not be processed to death, should be the base of your food supply. Grains do wonderful things for the body that have often been overlooked. They contain lots of fiber, which we now know is key to good health. They contain the essential amino acids for building healthy bodies. Grains contain the best kinds of carbohydrates for fueling the body. They contain many vitamins and minerals.

Whole grains are digested slowly, thereby giving you long term energy. This slower digestion also has several other advantages that have only more recently began to be understood. Besides being good for helping to keep blood sugar levels balanced, it helps to balance the pH of the body.
Wheat in particular is very balancing for the body. It even contains a combination of proteins, carbs, and fats, that help to balance and maintain healthy intestinal flora. Thereby helping your digestion to be more efficient, and allowing you to get more of the nutrients from the foods you eat.

One of the more recent discoveries that you may find interesting is that whole grains contain just as many antioxidants as most fruits and vegetables. These antioxidants had not be recognized previously because of the method used to measure antioxidants in food. It turns out that the whole grains kind of act like time-release capsules for antioxidants. As the grains digest, they gradually release the antioxidants into your system. Thus you have a sustained antioxidant effect over a longer period of time. That is definitely good for your body.

Grains are the ideal base for a healthy diet. They also store very well, so that you can stock a supply for years without worrying about them going bad.

I strongly suggest that you base your diet on whole grains. Buy whole grains. They are very inexpensive and are easily used at home for healthy meals. They are delicious, and even more nutritious when they are sprouted. Sprouting grains is very easy! Or you can just soak whole grains overnight for a delicious breakfast cereal in the morning.

I perhaps should mention one other mistake that many people make in regard to grains. There is a saying, that has been repeated many times, to the effect that farmers feed their livestock grains to fatten them up. This simply is not true. Grains are used to promote health and vigor. Yes, grains give animals what they need to grow and mature and produce. But if a farmer really wants to fatten animals just before going to market, he feeds them polyunsaturated fats.

Grains are natures time-release capsules to give health promoting nutrition to the body. They are fairly low in fat. But our ancestors ate them with raw milk and eggs, thereby enhancing the effects with good and healthy fats.

So just remember that when a nutritionist speaks negatively about grains, they are only speaking of processed, denatured grain by-products. Whole grains are some of the best nutrition you can get.