Sprouts and Sun

[TriciaR]

Hi everyone!

I sprouted my first alfalfa seeds and they are ready, but we're cloudy and rainy and I'm supposed to set them in the sun for a bit. What do I do?

Thanks for the help!

Tricia

[DebB]

Yes, it's ideal to set them in the sun the last day they're sprouting to get them good 'n green. But it it's cloudy and rainy - there's not much you can do about that. Go ahead and prepare them however you do (I like to give them a 'bath' and get the hulls off - but that's not necessary if you're juicing them) and pop them in the fridge.

Gotta love those alfala sprouts! *Ü*

[TriciaR]

Thanks! Wasn't sure if it would do to hold them another day and wait for the sun! I'm excited to finish them up today!

:woot:

[TriciaR]

Okay, now - any tricks to getting those stubborn seed casings off? I know they don't have to come off, but they would be prettier that way! I got some off this morning, but there's still a lot there!

Thanks again!

[GoodCat]

You can put them in bowel of water and swish them around. The casing should come off and float to the top. Then drain the water and let them air dry for a little. Then put them in a container in the refrigerator.

I'm so glad your first attempt at sprouting was a success!!

Cathy :throwhearts:

[streetsurfer]

Also, dropping a handful at a time from a foot or so above the wash/rinse water bowl should help to dislodge some of the hulls. This works well for mung beans...not so sure how well it will for alfalfa.

I've not tried this but it ought to work fine. Use a compact fluorescent to green up your sprouts. Use it like a grow light and place six to ten inches from sprouts. I'd spread them on a plate, tray, or collander to expose them evenly, and provide good airflow around them.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Hi everyone!

I sprouted my first alfalfa seeds and they are ready, but we're cloudy and rainy and I'm supposed to set them in the sun for a bit. What do I do?

Thanks for the help!

Tricia

lt doesn't matter if it is cloudy, wet and rain. Where l live l don't see the sun in many months at a time; actually...for most of the year l have hardly seen a sunny day. Much of the year l place my alfalfa under a tree after about 4 or 5 days and leave it to get green for at least 2 days. During the cold of winter l have had alfalfa keep good outside for up to 4 weeks without having to rinse it.

lf it is really cloudy, just keep the alfalfa in the middle of the yard for maximum sun, but make sure it will be cloudy all day.

l have alfalfa most days because it is an amazing source of trace minerals because the roots of the alfalfa tree goes deeper than most plants on the earth. Alfalfa roots go down as deep as 300 foot into the ground.

Also: don't worry about the nonsense written about alfalfa toxicity on the internet, just make sure you fully sprout it so the hulls drop off (very important so you don't overdose on the amino acid ` L-canavanin'), and also don't go eating more than a large suitcase of it a day lol. Lots of misinformation about alfalfa online. l ate half a bucket of alfalfa for a long time and had no problems, but it needs to be completely sprouted so the hulls drop off otherwise a toxic load can develop.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Okay, now - any tricks to getting those stubborn seed casings off? I know they don't have to come off, but they would be prettier that way! I got some off this morning, but there's still a lot there!

Thanks again!
Put them in a bowl of water and fondle them gently in your hands in the water until the hulls dislodge. Some hulls will sink and some will float. Now...move the floating hulls to the side of the bowl with your fingers and scoop up and throw away to there are no more hulls left floating around. Then move all the clean alfalfa out and strain it so all the water drains off it. The remaining stuff in the bowl will be dirty water and hulls at the bottom, so just use this for gardening water/grey water.

Now...make sure you never put wet alfalfa or any other sprouts in the fridge straight after a rinse. lf you do they will rot quickly. lf you want to refrigerate you must let the sprouts dry off abit, so it is best to keep them in the sprouting container for another 12 hours before you place in the fridge.

[joyce09]

Also: don't worry about the nonsense written about alfalfa toxicity on the internet, just make sure you fully sprout it so the hulls drop off (very important so you don't overdose on the amino acid ` L-canavanin'), and also don't go eating more than a large suitcase of it a day lol. Lots of misinformation about alfalfa online. l ate half a bucket of alfalfa for a long time and had no problems, but it needs to be completely sprouted so the hulls drop off otherwise a toxic load can develop.
Mr. Raw, do you mean that alfalfa hulls are toxic? What about the hulls of other sprouted seeds such as mung beans? I thought if I am to juice/blend the sprouts I do not have to get rid of the hulls.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Mr. Raw, do you mean that alfalfa hulls are toxic? What about the hulls of other sprouted seeds such as mung beans? I thought if I am to juice/blend the sprouts I do not have to get rid of the hulls.
The hulls are fine. But the alfalfa with the hulls still on is a rule of thumb to assume that alfalfa is still at a toxic stage of growth. Many sprouts have toxins until certain stages. So 3 or 4 or 5 day alfalfa sprouts are not advised, but 6 or 7 day alfalfa is. 2 or 3 day old lentil sprouts are not advised, but 4 or 5 day lentils are. Blah blah.

[MysticTree]

It's all relative to the speed at which they grow. What is day 3 for some sprouts will equate to day 5 of others.

I sprout mine in a jam jar and use a fork to whisk them about to remove the hulls which float to the surface and then I scoop them off.

[joyce09]

Mr. Raw and MysticTree, Thanks for the useful information.

[joyce09]

One further question though: What about seeds/nuts (such as sunflower seeds and pumpkim seeds) and grains (buckwheat grains)? In many raw recipes, sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds are just soaked for a day till they barely sprout before they are used in recipes. And buckwheat grains are just sprouted for 2 days when they are ground to make raw breads. Are they in a toxic stage of sprouting?

[joyce09]

Bump bump

[MysticTree]

I find that all stages are good and don't concern myself with toxic this or non toxic that when it comes to sprouts. I don't eat a diet that is solely sprouted so I'm eating small amounts of sprouts.

I go easy on buckwheat greens as it can cause quite bad photo-sensitivity and other problems in some people but I never used it in the quantities that Ann Wigmore used it for example anyway.

Just sprout them and eat them; you'll be fine.

[joyce09]

MysticTree, Thanks for responding to my question. Mr. Raw's 10/30 does make me a little bit concerned because I regualrly use soaked pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and buckwheats that are only sprouted for 2 days.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

One further question though: What about seeds/nuts (such as sunflower seeds and pumpkim seeds) and grains (buckwheat grains)? In many raw recipes, sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds are just soaked for a day till they barely sprout before they are used in recipes. And buckwheat grains are just sprouted for 2 days when they are ground to make raw breads. Are they in a toxic stage of sprouting?

People say that Buckwheat is toxic, but l wouldn't be too concerned because buckwheat preparations are well known for treating liver complaints.
http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/buckwheat.html

Sprouted nuts and seeds are good.

All these foods fall under the definition of a frugivore diet which we are designed to eat and are less toxic than even algaes and wheatgrass according to the highly knowledgable Dr David Jubb.

[joyce09]

People say that Buckwheat is toxic, but l wouldn't be too concerned because buckwheat preparations are well known for treating liver complaints.
http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/buckwheat.html

Sprouted nuts and seeds are good.

All these foods fall under the definition of a frugivore diet which we are designed to eat and are less toxic than even algaes and wheatgrass according to the highly knowledgable Dr David Jubb.

Mr. Raw, Thanks for your blessings on sprouted seeds and buckwheat. But you raised another red flag: Wheatgrass is toxic?!

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Mr. Raw, Thanks for your blessings on sprouted seeds and buckwheat. But you raised another red flag: Wheatgrass is toxic?!

The regular four grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats) are hybrid grains and are non flower foods that we aren't designed to consume. The problem with these foods is that they all contain non digestable proteins that humans are simply unable to break down. lf you put these grains in a barrol of water for four years the certain proteins still won't break down, and in the body it is the same, so over time accumulations in the body occur and/or it has some negative effect on the body (i'll have to find out more about it). Now l suspect that with wheatgrass juice the undigestable amounts would be quite minimal (l have to do more research on this), but Dr Jubb has said that it is serious enough that we all shouldn't be overdoing it on the wheatgrass. But then again, wheatgrass has an amazing reputation as a healer that DOES improve health to significant levels, but maybe it's better to use sunflower green juice, buckwheat breen and pea shoot juice instead and only use wheatgrass juice sparingly (it's hard for me to say that, but Dr Jubb has done the testing and wouldn't say it if he wasn't sure. He is very well qualified to make these statements).

So yes, wheatgrass is a great things for improving health, but it has been said that it has stuff in it that isn't so good for us and some accumulations are probably occuring. l will try to find out more about this in time.

[MysticTree]

lf you put these grains in a barrol of water for four years the certain proteins still won't break down

What happens if you add protein digesting enzymes (like the ones we have in our digestive tract) to the barrel of water?

Does this experiment involve whole grains or do they get bashed-up a bit first to simulate chewing?

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

What happens if you add protein digesting enzymes (like the ones we have in our digestive tract) to the barrel of water?
lt makes no difference at all. Lots of different proteins in nature (many don't even have names yet), and even the best digestive enzyme formalae doesn't have the correct ones to digest the rogue proteins.


Does this experiment involve whole grains or do they get bashed-up a bit first to simulate chewing?
Jubb doesn't say, but from the way he is talking he has done work both in barrols and human beings, so whole grains and mashed grains.

[MysticTree]

I'd be interested to see his research material and also the research that shows that undigested protein is a bad thing.
Why is this protein called "rogue"? The wheatgrass is happy with it after all.

How does he measure the undigested protein in human testing? If it passes straight through and is measurable then it seem unlikely that it is doing harm. If it isn't passing through, how is he measuring whether it is being stored as a toxin or broken down and used as amino acids?


btw - The best enzyme will always be the one specific to the task in hand. There isn't a one-enzyme-fits-all situation.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

I'd be interested to see his research material and also the research that shows that undigested protein is a bad thing.
An example of some indigestable proteins are `gluten' and `casean', but there are others too. And eventhough some folks don't seem to suffer from the nasty proteins, they are not fully digestable by anyone and do cause problems in all human beings apparently.


Why is this protein called "rogue"? The wheatgrass is happy with it after all.
l call it a rogue protein. + wheatgrass doesn't get rid of all the gluton to my knowledge because not all the protein is pre-digested, so there is a very small amount left over.


How does he measure the undigested protein in human testing? If it passes straight through and is measurable then it seem unlikely that it is doing harm. If it isn't passing through, how is he measuring whether it is being stored as a toxin or broken down and used as amino acids?
Let me do more research into this and let me write to him also. l do recall him saying some of the proteins had some effect on the liver [or something] as well as other complications, i'll take some notes on his talk when l get time to listen to his 2 hour talk again. l'll also be buying his books when l work out how.

l feel he does know what he is talking about, he has an impressive background and l feel confident he wouldn't make stuff like this up because he has a good scientific background to be able to find evidence to back up his claims. So yes, he does have a reason for saying what he does.



btw - The best enzyme will always be the one specific to the task in hand. There isn't a one-enzyme-fits-all situation.
Yes, but due to humans eating cooked food for much of their life a good enzyme supplement is highly recommended. The enzyme supplements do digest the major proteins (so they are very very good and do the major work by digesting the major proteins).

[joyce09]

Mr. Raw, Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[streetsurfer]

And I'd like to thank mystictree for her common sense, wisdom, tact, and patience; the fine qualities she is showing in presenting her counterpoint in the discussion.

[Revvell]

And I'd like to thank mystictree for her common sense, wisdom, tact, and patience; the fine qualities she is showing in presenting her counterpoint in the discussion.

Hear! Hear!

[MysticTree]

Thank you Streetsurfer and Revvell

[streetsurfer]

One great thing about this forum as opposed to sites based on other topics is that folks can most always discuss differing opinions on things calmy. I attribute that to the calm that the lifestyle provides. And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

[Living Food]

The regular four grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats) are hybrid grains and are non flower foods that we aren't designed to consume. The problem with these foods is that they all contain non digestable proteins that humans are simply unable to break down. lf you put these grains in a barrol of water for four years the certain proteins still won't break down, and in the body it is the same, so over time accumulations in the body occur and/or it has some negative effect on the body (i'll have to find out more about it). Now l suspect that with wheatgrass juice the undigestable amounts would be quite minimal (l have to do more research on this), but Dr Jubb has said that it is serious enough that we all shouldn't be overdoing it on the wheatgrass. But then again, wheatgrass has an amazing reputation as a healer that DOES improve health to significant levels, but maybe it's better to use sunflower green juice, buckwheat breen and pea shoot juice instead and only use wheatgrass juice sparingly (it's hard for me to say that, but Dr Jubb has done the testing and wouldn't say it if he wasn't sure. He is very well qualified to make these statements).

So yes, wheatgrass is a great things for improving health, but it has been said that it has stuff in it that isn't so good for us and some accumulations are probably occuring. l will try to find out more about this in time.

Yeah, I'm bumping this up, but that's because I think something has to be said about that...undigestable proteins are bad and can cause autoimmune problems, but the minute quantities present in cereal grasses are insignificant, as the immune system can break them down (even though digestion can't). The problem with undigestable proteins is that they can escape from your digestive tract into your bloodstream, where they are seen as "invaders" and attacked by the immune system. This forms "circulating immune complexes", as many antibodies latch onto these proteins to prevent them from "attacking" you. Eating large amounts of these proteins results in your body being overburdened, and it unable to eliminate the CICs faster then you are eating them. Just like it does with all toxins when it is overloaded, your body then stores the CICs in soft tissue to protect you from them. Unfortunately, this leads to your immune cells attacking those tissues, mistaking them for invaders (hence autoimmune conditions).

"Large protein molecules (such as those found in wheat, corn, and dairy) that are only partially digested in the small intestine are absorbed into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the immune system treats them as invaders provoking an immune reaction. Antibodies couple with these foreign protein invaders to form circulating immune complexes (CIC's). In a healthy person, these CIC's may be neutralized in the lymphatic system. But if the immune system is in any way compromised, or if their build up is too massive, CIC's accumulate in the blood, where they initiate an "allergic" reaction. As the number of CIC's builds, the kidneys max out and can no longer excrete all of them, so they begin to accumulate in the body's soft tissues, causing inflammation -- and even triggering autoimmune disorders (since the body's immune system starts attacking the tissue that contains the CIC's).

Proteolytic (protein digesting) enzymes produced by the pancreas (or taken in supplements) break down CIC's in the bloodstream and soft tissue so that they can pass through the kidneys for excretion."

The key here is that a healthy, optimally functioning body can easily handle small amounts of undigestable proteins present in the diet, just like you can handle small amounts of toxins like cyanide.