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There are many health and environmental reasons to grow your own sprouts (check out my article for 10 reasons). While you can purchase them at your local grocery store or health food store, it is so easy to grow them at home.  Growing your own is a great way to have a supply of gourmet varieties, ensure access to high quality fresh foods year round if you live in a colder climate, or simply to become more aware of the food you are eating.

I prefer the jar method which involves using a wide-mouth mason jar and either sprout lids from a health food store or cheesecloth and a rubber band. 

You’ll need only a few basic supplies to get started sprouting.  They include:  organic sprouting seeds, nuts, legumes, or grains (such as mung beans, alfalfa seeds, clover seeds, broccoli seeds, and garbanzo beans.)  Avoid sprouting kidney beans as they are poisonous if eaten raw or sprouted.  Make sure the seeds you choose are from a reputable supplier that can guarantee they haven’t been heated during processing, which prevents them from sprouting.

You’ll need:

-Large wide mouth mason jars or the Sprout Jar

-Sprouting lids for jars (Sprouting lids are typically available in most health food stores but you can use cheesecloth and rubber bands over the top of the jars if you prefer)

-Sprouting seeds of your choice. 

Now you’re ready to get sprouting.

Grow Your Own Sprouts

For hygiene’s sake, wash your hands before handling seeds.  Use seeds, grains, nuts, or legumes.  For simplicity, I’ll be referring to any of these items as seeds throughout the instructions.

Remove any broken or discolored seeds, stones, twigs, or hulls that may have found their way into your sprouting seeds.

Place one type of seed in the jar.  Use about a teaspoon of seeds or one-third cup of beans.  Remember they will grow in size during the soaking and sprouting process.   

Cover the seeds with pure water.  If you are using a few tablespoons of seeds, cover with at least one cup of water.  If you are using beans, nuts, or grains, use at least three times the water of the amount of seed.  In other words, one cup of water for one-third cup of mung beans, for example.

Allow the seeds to soak for about 6 to 12 hours. I find it easiest to start them before going to bed.  They absorb the water while I’m sleeping and are ready to start sprouting in the morning. 

Cover the jar with the sprouting lids or cheesecloth.  If you’re using cheesecloth, secure over the top of the jar with a rubber band.  Drain off the water.

Rinse thoroughly with fresh water and drain off the water again.  Set upside down in a clean, cool spot in your kitchen area, preferably on a slight angle to allow excess water to drain off.  Alternatively, use a stainless steel dish drying rack which gives the sprout jars the perfect angle for draining.

Rinse the sprouts a few times a day.  Be sure to drain them well each time.

Once the sprouts are ready to be harvested (this amount of time differs for each variety; alfalfa or mung bean sprouts are ready in about a week), place them in a large bowl of cool water and stir them around to loosen hulls and skins from the seeds (this is an optional step).  They’ll usually come to the top so you can remove them.  Don’t worry about removing every hull.  Doing so helps prevent spoilage so the sprouts will last longer.  Drain sprouts well and store in the refrigerator covered for a week to ten days, depending on the sprout type.

TIP:  To increase the mineral content of your sprouts, add a piece of kelp or other type of seaweed to the water while the seeds are soaking.

Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, DNM is the international best-selling & 17-time author of the books The Probiotic Promise, 60 Seconds to Slim, and Weekend Wonder Detox, a registered nutritionist, and a board-certified doctor of natural medicine.  Subscribe to my free e-magazine World’s Healthiest News to receive monthly health news, tips, recipes and more.  Follow my blogs on HealthySurvivalist.com and DrMichelleCook.com, and Twitter @mschoffrocook and Facebook.

When we think of cancer in our Western world, we tend to think of harsh chemicals or toxic radiation as the treatments.  But promising new research published in the journal Phytomedicine suggests that we might want to give serious consideration to the humble mushroom cordyceps that quietly rears its head deep within our forest floors. 

Photo credit:  Terry Willard

Cordyceps (cordyceps militaris) is also known as caterpillar fungus and has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine as a lung and kidney tonic and for loss of stamina, fatigue, shallow breathing, wheezing, and as an aphrodisiac.

According to the Phytomedicine study on human leukemia cells, a compound found in cordyceps known as cordycepin seems to have a toxic effect on cancer cells while also working causing cancer cells to commit suicide—a process known as apoptosis, without having a toxic effect on healthy cells.

The study examined the anti-cancer properties of a tea made from the mushrooms versus the mushrooms themselves and found that both had anti-cancer activity but the actual cordyceps mushrooms had stronger activity.  There are many different types of products on the market including:  powdered, tea, alcohol extract (tincture), dehydrated whole cordyceps, glycerine extract (glycerite), and capsules.

Additional earlier research in the Japanese journal Fitoterapia has also shown that cordyceps works against cancer in many different ways, including:

-Blocking the ability of tumors to grow (anti-tumor);

-Blocking the ability of cancer cells to multiply (anti-proliferative);

-Stopping cancer from spreading to different parts of the body (anti-metastatic);

-Improving the immune system’s ability to fight cancer (immunomodulatory); and

-Attacking free radicals before they can damage cells and tissues, which would otherwise make them vulnerable to cancer (antioxidant).

Research in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology showed that cordyceps was also effective against prostate cancer.  A study in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology found cordyceps to cause lung cancer cells to die.  Other research found that cordyceps reduced cell growth of a type of skin cancer known as melanoma.

Earlier research in the journal Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin found similar anti-cancer activity in an herbal tea made from dried cordyceps mushroom.  The researchers found that, like the Phytomedicine study, cordyceps caused cancer cells to commit suicide, suggesting a sixth method by which the mushroom works against cancer (apoptotic).

According to mycologist, herbalist, and author of The Fungal Pharmacy Robert Rogers, “(the mushroom) has a spicy, cinnamon fragrance that lends itself to soups and broths.”  If using cordyceps in capsule or supplement form, 600 mg/day is a common therapeutic dose.  Be sure to choose a supplement that is a 5:1 extract to ensure a high potency product.  Select one that is confirmed organic cordyceps sourced from a clean location. I like Herb’s Best Nutrition since the company uses only organic cordyceps sourced from Tibet (considered the cleanest place on earth) in a 5:1 extract. The company is offering my fans 15% OFF all their products with the COUPON CODE:  MC2399. 

Discover other natural remedies that are showing tremendous promise against cancer in my new book The Probiotic Promise.

Check out my new books Weekend Wonder Detox, 60 Seconds to Slim, and The Probiotic Promise. Subscribe to my free e-magazine World’s Healthiest News to receive monthly health news, tips, recipes and more.  Follow my blog on my sites HealthySurvivalist.com and DrMichelleCook.com, and Twitter @mschoffrocook and Facebook.  Copyright Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD.  Take the FREE WEEKEND WONDER DETOX QUIZ to determine which detox is best for you.