Nutritional Superstars
Microgreens are more nutrient dense than the mature versions of the vegetable. A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2012) reports: “The present study determined the concentrations of essential vitamins or Provitamins A, C, E, and K1 in 25 commercially available microgreens. Results showed that different microgreens provide widely varying amounts of the four vitamins, but regardless they generally have significantly higher concentrations of these phytonutrients in comparison with mature leaves from the same plant species.”
More Studies
•“..buckwheat microgreens, which, in addition to high protein, are considered high in antioxidants, flavonoids, carotenoids, and alpha-tocopherol.” ARS food technologist Yaguang Luo with the Food Quality Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland.
•Broccoli sprouts: “ In a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trial, daily oral administration for 18 wk of the phytochemical sulforaphane (derived from broccoli sprouts) to 29 young men with ASD substantially (and reversibly) improved behavior compared with 15 placebo recipients.” Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Kanwaljit Singh, Susan L. Connors, Eric A. Macklin, Kirby D. Smith, Jed W. Fahey, Paul Talalayand Andrew W. Zimmerman PNAS 2014 October, 111 (43) 15550-15555. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1416940111
From the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivors Network
•Cancer Protection
Consuming broccoli sprouts has been shown to decrease the risk of developing stomach, breast, prostate, colon, skin, lung and bladder cancers in research studies. For example, a 2005 research study published in the Journal “Lancet” concluded that there is strong evidence for a protective effect of cruciferous vegetable consumption on lung cancer.
Which Greens are the most nutritious?
We get this question often. The answer depends on what nutrients you are most interested in. Radish micros are high in vitamin C. Broccoli microgreens are high in the cancer fighting nutrients. All microgreens studied have had higher concentrations of some nutrients than the mature vegetable-some much, much higher. In the above study, the varieties that ranked most often in the top 5 (out of 25) for the 7 nutrients studied were: Amaranth-6 times, Cilantro- 5 times, Red Cabbage-4 times, Pea shoots-4 times, Red Radish-3 times. It is interesting to note that Kale and Broccoli microgreens were not included in the study.