Sprouting Seeds at Home

Sprouts are very inexpensive (even when organic), always fresh (they grow until you chew them) and have the potential to help solve hunger and malnutrition problems in our communities and in developing countries, because they are so rich in nutrients, affordable, and easy to transport before sprouting. Sprouts are precious in winter, when the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables is declining as their price increases.

Sprouts are easy to grow in a sprouting tray or jar, at any time of the year. To sprout seeds take as many as you wish to sprout and place in a jar with lukewarm water and leave overnight. The next day drain and rinse them and the jar and then put them back in the jar, covered with cheese cloth and secure with a rubber band. The seeds should be rinsed twice a day. Depending on the type of seed, they take about two to four days before ready to eat. The best seeds to sprout are alfalfa, chickpeas, mung beans, lentils, fenugreek and wheat.

Sprouted seeds, legumes and grains are a cheap and easy way of increasing your intake of vitamins and minerals. Germinating seeds and grains increase their nutritional value. The vitamin C content of wheat increases sixty percent during sprouting.

Mung beans are an important constituent of human diets in Central, Southern and Eastern Asia and have been cultivated in this region for centuries. Mung beans provide a major source of protein in cereal-based diets. The dried seeds may be eaten whole or split, cooked or fermented, milled and ground into a flour. Whole or split seeds are used to make dhall, soups, and curries and are added to various spiced dishes.

Germinated mung bean sprouts are extensively used in Chinese cooking and are becoming popular in Western countries where they are used as a garnish in mixed diets or as a valuable source of protein in vegetarian diets.

Mung beans, apart from being a good source of protein in the diets of millions of people also contain useful amounts of fiber, potassium, and B vitamins. They contain low levels of fat, cholesterol and sodium. The total phosphorus content of the seed is relatively high, but much of this is present as phytate. The phytate ion complexes with zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron making insoluble compounds that are not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Germination, soaking fermentation and cooking all reduce the effect of phytate in legumes.

Mixtures of mung beans and cereals give a more balanced amino acid profile and biological value than the two foods separately. Cooking and processing generally improve the protein quality.

Dried mung bean seeds can be stored for long periods of time and sprouts can easily be obtained by germinating the seeds in the dark for up to 4 days. Sprouting does not require soil or direct sunlight and is not limited to seasonal growth. Large amounts of sprouts can be obtained in a relatively short time. Some vitamins are synthesized in the germinating seeds and sprouts are a very cheap source of vitamins.

Germination of mung beans for 48 hours results in significant reductions in the phytate and tannin contents with a consequent increase in the ionizable iron content.

Blanching has very little effect on amino acid, protein and lipid contents of sprouted seeds. Blanching also has little effect on the total carotenoid content of sprouts, but results in a 50% loss of vitamin C. Canning and bottling sprouts also leads to considerable losses of vitamin C.

An increased consumption of mung bean sprouts, particularly by people consuming Western type diets, could have a significant effect on cardiovascular disease, which is a major problem for these people. An increased consumption of plant seeds would provide a more economical way to feed people than via the animal industry.

[Savage, G.P. Nutritional Value of Sprouted Mung Beans, Nutrition Today, Vol 25:3, June 1990.]

Skin Care Ingredients

Before we have a discussion of specific ingredients, it’s important to educate ourselves a little bit more on skin itself and what makes a product good or poor. Your skin is the largest organ of the body. Anything you put on it can be easily absorbed through the pores. When you use skin care products, they are typically applied all over the face, neck, and body. This covers a lot of surface area and, therefore, a great deal of chemical absorption occurs.

The biggest reason our skin, whether on the face or the rest of the body, develops lines and/or starts to sag, is that the collagen and elastin in our skin begins to break down. Collagen is a protein that is fibrous in nature. What makes collagen different from other kinds of protein is that it possesses great tensile strength, which means, among other things, it provides firmness to the skin.

You don’t need to be a scientist, therefore, to understand that as collagen breaks down due to aging, the firmness of our skin becomes…well, less firm. Wrinkles appear and skin starts to sag.

Elastin, too, is a protein that helps skin stay “flexible” and firm. If your skin is stretched, elastin is the protein that helps it return to its original position.

What all of this means for you as a consumer is you do want to avoid buying products that are nothing more than wrinkle or fine line ‘fillers.’ Some creams will give the appearance of plumper fuller skin while it still sits on the surface, but once absorbed or removed, the illusion is gone. Want you want to look for is a product that actually stimulates new collagen and elastin production in your skin. If you achieve this, you will, in reality, begin to turn back the clock.

Unfortunately, some cosmetic manufacturers will include some great ‘active ingredients’ while filling the majority of the product with inferior filler. Because these active ingredients are beneficial for the skin, they include just enough to be allowed to legally list them on the product label. This way, the typical consumer thinks they are getting a great product of high-quality. But, because these ingredients are expensive, and because, many well known companies spend much of their budget on marketing, the amount of these ‘active ingredients’ is limited to have any real benefit for your skin.

So, when choosing a skin care product, it’s not just about selecting one with good ingredients; it’s also about choosing one with a high concentration of these good ingredients.

• Collagen

After the brief review of the importance of collagen, you would think that buying a product with collagen in it would be a great thing. And the marketers who sell products that contain collagen know this. But, again sadly, collagen molecules are much too large to penetrate into the skin when applied topically and there presence in a beauty product has no effect whatsoever. To be of any benefit, you must purchase a product with ingredients that have been shown to stimulate your body’s own collagen production.

• Phytessence Wakame

Phytessence Wakame is an exotic kelp, native to the Japanese Sea. It works by blocking a harmful enzyme in your body called hyaluronidase. Hyaluronidase breaks down hyaluronic acid in your skin. Without hyaluronic acid, the elastin and collagen fibers lose their “glue,” which leads to a loss of youthful appearance and dark eye circles. Hyaluronan is a major component of skin, where it is involved in tissue repair.

• CoQ10

If you look at the ingredient list for some of the better skin care products, you’ll often see CoQ10 listed. CoQ10 is short for Coenzyme Q10, so you may also see it listed this way. CoQ10 is a vitamin like substance that is found in all of our body’s cells and is very important for healthy skin. CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant. A lot of skin damage and aging comes from free radicals wreaking havoc in our body’s cells. CoQ10’s antioxidant ability can counter these free radicals before damage occurs.

Unfortunately, like many other vital substances, as we age, the amount of CoQ10 in our bodies becomes depleted.

Although CoQ10 is a great ingredient, not all forms are equal. One in particular stands head and shoulders above the rest. This version of it is called Nano-Lipobelle H-EQ10.Most of the CoQ10 you buy in a typical skin care products are not readily usable when applied topically to the skin.

• Nano-Lipobelle H-EQ10, on the other hand, is a special nano-emulsion form of CoQ10, which penetrates far down into the skin, thereby providing much greater benefits for skin health. In fact, Nano-Lipobelle H-EQ10 has been shown to penetrate seven layers deep into the skin, making it extremely effective at gobbling up free radicals in your skin. The result is a powerful anti-wrinkle effect.

Natural Remedies for Acne

Acne is not a new problem; people have been suffering from it for many thousands of years. In ancient Egypt for instance, natural oils were often used to soften and smooth the skin. It is only in recent times that people have begun to use acne creams made of chemical ingredients like benzoyl peroxide, among others. These can not only have unwanted side effects, like the drying of healthy skin or the bleaching of clothing, but can be very costly. Read more

Healthy Body- Healthy Skin

Skin Care is the first step towards achieving a healthy body. Skin care is an essential part of most people’s daily routine.

Skin care specialists say any imbalance in the protective barrier that envelops the human body provides a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, resulting in many types of skin irritations and accelerating the aging process.

Natural skin care is the care of the skin (the largest organ of the body) using naturally-derived ingredients (such as herbs, roots, essential oils and flowers) combined with naturally occurring carrier agents, preservatives, surfactants, humectants and emulsifiers (everything from natural soap to oils to pure water).

Skin care treatment is going green, but you still have to make sure you read the labels. Skin care treatment may be the least of your problems if you’re a middle-aged male, but many dry skin remedies will also raise testosterone levels. The latest craze in skin care is also the oldest: herbal products.

Natural skin care has its roots in the 4th millennium BC in China and the Middle East. Natural body lotion has become a big business in recent years as more and more consumers seek a gentler, healthier alternative for their skin care needs.

The best skin care beauty tips are not only the right products but also healthy diet. People who use natural skin care products are less concerned with artificial beauty enhancements, as they feel that natural beauty is healthy beauty.