Sprouts and Microgreens (Liver Healing)

Just like the vegetation they would become if they grew to full size, sprouts and microgreens are packed with nutrients like vitamin A, B vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, disease-reversing compounds, and other phytochemicals. When we eat greens in this early phase of life, though, the digestion process is a fraction of what it would otherwise be to assimilate their powers. The most important role that sprouts and microgreens play is to bring back vitality to people who are always exhausting themselves for others. When you put your heart and soul into everything you do, whether at home or work, sprouts have the unique ability to support you. Sprouts and microgreens are wonderful reproductive foods. They are one of the ultimate tools for renewing an exhausted reproductive system and revitalizing a new mom who hasn’t been getting much sleep while caring for her baby. Sprouts and microgreens are phytoestrogenic and critical for rebalancing and restoring hormones such as progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone, and for regenerating hormone production of the adrenal glands, thyroid, and the rest of the endocrine system after a woman has given birth. High in mineral salts that are involved with neurotransmitter chemical production, sprouts and microgreens also support the brain with amino acids and enzymes, pull certain toxic heavy metals from the brain (especially cilantro microgreens and parsley microgreens), and help rejuvenate and strengthen neurons—which ultimately helps the body in reversing Alzheimer’s, dementia, brain fog, and memory loss. Sprouts and microgreens are wonderful for skin repair, and depending on the variety, they can also contain more than 60 trace minerals, including iron, iodine, selenium, zinc, copper, manganese, sulfur, magnesium, chromium, and molybdenum. As antiproliferatives, sprouts and microgreens stave off infection and unwanted cell growth (such as cancer). Further, they are some of the best possible sources of the elevated biotics critical to your body’s production of vitamin B12. And in this early stage of growth, sprouts and microgreens hold thousands of phytochemicals to supercharge your body. Choosing sprouts is like choosing friends; they all have different personalities. Do you have that friend who you know is a great person, and yet is a little edgy—you can only handle him in small doses? That describes the broccoli sprout. Strong in flavor with a bit of bite, broccoli sprouts are wonderful to strengthen digestion by raising hydrochloric acid levels. And do you have a friend whom you sometimes hold back from sharing everything with, because you know that her fiery, explosive disposition will mean she’ll leap to your defense before you’re even finished speaking? That’s the radish sprout, which is remarkable for its ability to purge the liver (an organ that’s fiery in its own right in so many of us). What about the friend who’s very gentle and laid-back, who listens to everything you say and offers words of comfort? This describes the red clover sprout, which is very soothing as it gently cleanses our lymph and blood, removing toxins and purifying our bodies. Then there’s the friend who’s very emotional and cries very easily, whether happy or sad tears. The fenugreek sprout is all heart and soul, perfect for supporting our emotions and the endocrine system, both of which are tied up in the heart, soul, and brain. Fenugreek sprouts are especially helpful for balancing the adrenals’ cortisol production and regulating thyroid hormone production. And we can’t forget about that friend with the muscle, the person you call to show up with a pickup truck and help move you out of your house. This is the lentil sprout. Very dense energetically, high in fortifying protein that your body can assimilate with ease, lentil sprouts also give you a carbohydrate base to help propel you through whatever needs to get done. Lentil sprouts love to pass their brute strength on to you. Eating them is like getting the fortification of a Thanksgiving dinner—and yet having tremendous energy afterward, rather than wanting to fall asleep on the couch. On and on the list goes. Also keep your eye out for alfalfa sprouts, sunflower greens, pea shoots, and micro-kale, among other advocates. Just like the people who support you in life, all the different sprouts and microgreen varieties have special qualities that you’ll discover as you get to know them.