Sprouts - a cheap and healthy way to live on a RVAF diet

[TylerDurden]

 I have decided to avoid buying lots of fruit and veg in future. They increase my appetite more than is necessary. Instead I am aiming at sprouts. I am getting them from organic sources from my local organic supermarket.They cost very little indeed and take just a few days or so before they can be eaten. I used to buy them en-masse in the last stages of my fruitarian phase and I think that they are essential on a 100% raw plant foods diet. Anyway, the idea is thet sprouting gets rid of the enzyme blockers that seeds have in them and vastly increases the amounts of vitamins and minerals in them.

More to the point, many beginners complain all the time about how expensive high-quality raw foods are in general. They need not be IF one is prepared to use just a little initiative and search  for every possible source on- or off-line.


Much, much later on, I may use earth and maybe worms(to enrich the soil) etc. with my sprouts.

[dariorpl]

I recently posted about my experience with sprouts and AV's warnings regarding them, here: http://www.rawpaleodietforum.com/general-discussion/potato-sweet-potato-and-high-carb-sources

But in any case, good luck, and let us know how the experiment goes.

[TylerDurden]

The argument re antinutrients in sprouts is a bogus one. For one thing, when the seed starts sprouting, a whole host of antinutrients, such as enzyme-blockers etc. disappear, plus more nutrients become more bioavailable :-

ANTI-NUTRIENTS IN SPROUTED LEGUMES
As far as the sprouts of other legumes go, the only other toxins for which any concern has been raised is for a class know as anti-nutrients. These are substances that bind enzymes or nutrients and inhibit the absorption of the nutrients. The commonly alleged anti-nutrients are protease inhibitors, amylase inhibitors, phytic acid, and polyphenolic compounds such as tannins. With proper soaking and germination, none of these are anything to worry about. Around the world, studies have been and are being conducted on the use of germinated seeds as a low-cost, highly nutritive source of human food. It is well established that when legumes are properly soaked and germinated, their nutritive value increases greatly, usually to levels equal to or exceeding those of the cooked bean. (Nutritive value is the ability of food to provide a usable form of nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals). This has been shown for mung bean, lentil, chickpea (garbanzo bean), cowpea (blackeye pea), pigeon pea, fava bean, fenugreek seeds (a member of the pea family), green & black gram, kidney bean, moth bean, rice bean, soybean, and legumes in general. The increase in nutritive value in the raw sprouted seed is due to an explosion of enzyme activity, which breaks down the storage-protein and starch in the seed into amino acids, peptides, and simpler carbohydrates needed for the seed to grow. The seed is literally digesting its own protein and starch and creating amino acids in the process. Because of this process, sprouted seeds are essentially a predigested food. At the same time, the anti-nutritional factors such as enzyme inhibitors and other anti-nutrients are greatly decreased to insignificant levels or to nothing. Soaking alone causes a significant decrease in anti-nutrients, as the anti-nutrients are leached into the soak water. Soaking for 18 hours removed 65% of hemagglutinin activity in peas.Soaking for 24 hours at room temperature removed 66% of the trypsin (protease) inhibitor activity in mung bean, 93% in lentil, 59% in chickpea, and 100% in broad bean. Then as germination proceeds, anti-nutrients are degraded further to lower levels or nothing. Soaking for 12 hours and 3 – 4 days of germination completely removed all hamagglutinin activity in mung beans and lentil. Soaking for 10 hours and germination for 3 days completely removed amylase inhibitor in lentils. Normal cooking removes most or all of the anti-nutrients.

Granted, cooking removes the remaining antinutrients but also introduces lots of heat-created toxins as well.

[dariorpl]

AV claimed that humans and even birds would die if feasting on nothing but raw sprouts for 3 days. Let us know what you discover from your experiments with them.

[JeuneKoq]

There are anti-nutrients in every food.

Each species and each individual react differently to anti-nutrients present in a same food, depending if 1) it's adapted to it (cows digg grass, not steak), 2)it's body requires certain nutrients also present in the food. If the animal is 1) adapted to the food and 2) needs the nutrients present in the food, then the body will block and manage the anti-nutrients so it can have access to the good stuff. When the body has enough of one type of food, it will stop blocking the anti-nutrients, and the animal will feel the bad taste, texture, smell or gastric sensation, and will stop eating this food. So it doesn't matter how much anti-nutrients a certain (raw whole) food contains. If it tastes good, smells good, and gives you no digestive or bodily issues (eg: cold when eating fruits in winter) , then it's what you need.

ps: Why is this thread off-topic? Seems like it belongs in the raw-omnivorous diet section or something.

[TylerDurden]

AV claimed that humans and even birds would die if feasting on nothing but raw sprouts for 3 days. Let us know what you discover from your experiments with them.

I step  right up to the challenge! I anyway wanted to spend some cash on yet more techno-hardware so was going to  eat only sprouts for the next  3-5  whole days, anyway. You are on!  I wish there was a way I could win money for this bet! I mean, like a bloody disorganised, lazy fool, I did not take a William Hill bet on Britain leaving in the EU referendum despite initially planning to, which made me feel like weeping, afterwards on seeing the result.

*Err, re this AV remark, did AV also exclude the drinking of water for those 3 days? 

[dariorpl]

I don't know if he excluded drinking of water. He didn't specify, but may have specified elsewhere. Also let us know how much you're eating. I'll try and find you the quote.

[van]

i would let you sense of taste be your guide.  For instance, when mixing all sorts of sprouts, especially with tomato, avocado, etc.. you really have no idea as to what each sprout tastes like and when the stop is.  Sun flower sprouts can taste very bad real quick if you eat them by themselves.  The same is true for many other varieties.

   That's one of my criticisms of AV,, making such bold statements, which lead people to believe he knows what he's talking about.  I bet you many people have eaten sprouts to the exclusion of other foods for more than three days.  For there are all sorts of extremists,, that have narrowed their diets.   I've never heard of anyone even getting ill on sprouts.  I used to grow large trays ( not only for my chickens ) and ate plenty when i thought they were the 'answer'. 

[eveheart]

I think sprouts are great for three reasons: (1) they are a fast crop; (2) they don't require much space to grow; and (3) they have a wide range of flavors. I never was so hot for alfalfa sprouts - they are thin and bland and available in every market in my area. Sprouts in the allium (onion) and brassica (mustard/cabbage/radish) family are zippy.

Dedicated sprout eaters usually include a variety of sprouted items, such as sprouted legumes, sprouted grains, and sprouted nuts. I don't see why that would be lethal.

I was living in a forested area a while back and grew sprouts because it was too shady for a good vegetable garden. I made a self-misting sprouter with an electric timer and some misters inside a plastic bin with a sprouting medium of GroDan from a hydroponics supply store. It wasn't all the greatest set-up because it was prone to moldiness because there was really no air circulation.

If I were to set up a producing sprouter now, I'd use a vertical rack stacked with gardening trays that are gravity-watered (dripped from a reservoir on the top so that the dripping down waters each level) and rotated so that the newly seeded tray is at the bottom and the one that is ready to eat is at the top for a little sun exposure. I've seen this set-up used by commercial growers of wheatgrass for juicing.

[TylerDurden]

Yeah, AV made so many outragous statements that I stopped beleiving almost anything he said. A mistake, though, since it took me 3 more years to try "high-meat" as a result.

Tomato/avocado? Wow! All I can  easily get right now  are mainly legumes and grains(just 10 varieties of organic seeds that are guaranteed to sprout. The only one I genuinely like the taste of  is watercress.  I am buying another  4 cylinder sprouting  "garden"  which allows some ventilation from outside air, apparently.

[dariorpl]

Yeah, AV made so many outragous statements that I stopped beleiving almost anything he said. A mistake, though, since it took me 3 more years to try "high-meat" as a result.

I also believed he was full of it, but right on some things. And as time goes by I keep discovering that he was right about more and more things. So now my default position is that he was right on just about everything, until proven otherwise. The only claim I really can't get behind is the spontaneous generation.

Tomato/avocado? Wow! All I can  easily get right now  are mainly legumes and grains(just 10 varieties of organic seeds that are guaranteed to sprout. The only one I genuinely like the taste of  is watercress.  I am buying another  4 cylinder sprouting  "garden"  which allows some ventilation from outside air, apparently.

He meant actual tomatoes and avocados, not their sprouts.

[TylerDurden]

He meant actual tomatoes and avocados, not their sprouts.

Sorry, I tend to skim posts and articles very quickly  these days. I should pay more attention!  Obviously, tomatoes need a bit more than just a petri dish!!!

[dariorpl]

I've been looking for that quote but haven't been able to find it so far.

[cherimoya_kid]

I also believed he was full of it, but right on some things. And as time goes by I keep discovering that he was right about more and more things. So now my default position is that he was right on just about everything, until proven otherwise. The only claim I really can't get behind is the spontaneous generation.

Let me tell what the shortcut is. If most or all of the longtime raw foodies here agree with something about nutrition, it's almost certainly true. The consensus knowledge here is far more reliable than any one guru.

There's a reason so many of us hang around here for so long. It's because we've discovered the value of this place's consensus knowledge.

[svrn]

any update on the sprout experiment tyler?

[TylerDurden]

Err, I had forgotten just how sharp the sprouts were that I used to eat  over 13 years ago. I found I got sick and tried of the taste. But perhaps I was eating too much on the 1st day. Anyway, there are sproutarians who seem to eat them as a staple or  100% of their diet:-

http://www.thesproutarian.com

etc.

[dariorpl]

So you only made it one day? Interesting results.

I'm still looking for that AV quote, I can't seem to find it. I wonder if I just dreamed it. But probably not. I'll find it eventually.

[TylerDurden]

So you only made it one day? Interesting results.

I'm still looking for that AV quote, I can't seem to find it. I wonder if I just dreamed it. But probably not. I'll find it eventually.

This had nothing to with malnutrition, just that I found the taste of the sprouts far too sharp in sizeable quantities. I am well aware  I could handle eating just a couple of handfuls of raw sprouts once a day for 3 days and others seem to do fine with 100% raw sprouts diets judging from online comments.

[dariorpl]

What AV said is you'd die if you ate a lot of raw sprouts and no other foods for 3 days.

[TylerDurden]

What AV said is you'd die if you ate a lot of raw sprouts and no other foods for 3 days.

Many sproutarians have done that and certainly not died.....

[dariorpl]

Many sproutarians have done that and certainly not died.....

I don't know them. There are also plenty of breatharians / sungazers who claim to have lived without food or water for years upon years. It's obviously not true, but plenty of people believe them.

[Iguana]

I don't know them.

Do you know someone who ate a lot of raw sprouts and no other foods for 3 days and died the next day?

What AV says is obviously not true, but plenty of people believe him!

[svrn]

I believe he said chickens die from eating nothing but sprouts for 3 days not humans.

Also the stage in the sprouting process used for the experiment would affect the results as well as well as whether or not water was consumed.

[dariorpl]

2 years and 2 months later...

I finally found a clip where AV talks about sprouts. It was 3 to 5 days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKs1LRaW6cg

0:50 to 2:10

[TylerDurden]

It would be a nuisance to try but I could easily  handle eating just raw sprouts for 15 days or more. I  actually did so prior to experimenting with RVAF diets. Prior to being a sproutarian, I had been a raw vegan, then fruitarian, and they had not worked. The existence of sproutarians is more than enough to show that AV was spouting lies.