Whats up and namste everybody! As many of you know when I am a HUGE advocate of the local food movement, and emphasize on sourcing ingredients from my own garden as well as other farmers in the area I know practice beyond organic farming. One reason being most of the food that we get in the supermarket (including Whole Foods) is completely void of nutrients even if its a vegetable. Now buying fresh broccoli and organic apples is obviously an upgrade from packaged foods, but many of these vegetables are grown on monoculture farms. This means that there are farms where they literally grow only broccoli, or lettuce or carrots. And just because it’s organic doesn’t mean that it’s growing in nutrient dense soil where all the vitamins and minerals actually come from. Like humans plants need to eat. They get their Macros from the sun and water and they get their micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals) from the soil.

Many farming practices leave the soil in pretty rough shape. When planting a lot of the same crop in one area, they compete for nutrients. If farmers do not rotate their crops every season those nutrients are depleted in the soil, and leave future crops prone to invasive pests and disease. The common use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicide used to "guard" plants from harmful pathogens actually kills all of the beneficial microbes in the soil.

Its the same thing that happens in your own gut. When your gut is in balance there is a diverse population of different bacteria, yeasts and protozoa jiving and thriving together in harmony. When we have an overgrowth of a certain type of bacteria then that’s when things are thrown off balance. An example of this would be candida which is a fungal overgrowth. Candida can cause severe sugar cravings, skin issues such as acne and eczema, brain fog, fatigue, anxiety and systemic inflammation. A great remedy for by the way is switching to ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting but that is for a later post. But my point in all that is that SOIL and locality are two missing ingredients to nutrient dense vegetables.

I would love to see a world where everyone was growing the majority of their own food, however, I realize that is somewhat unrealistic BUT... something super super easy that everybody can start to dramatically improve your health and vitality is growing broccoli sprouts. All you need is a mason jar, sprouting lids, seeds, water and 3 minutes.

I began growing broccoli sprouts after hearing my teacher Tom Maltere with the Institute of Anti-aging Medicine lecture to us about the Superhero of all vegetables. He calls broccoli sprouts "DNA whisperer" because of their ability to turn on and off specific genes with a compound they contain called sulforaphane which can be found in all cruciferous vegetables including collards, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, mustard, and arugula. Broccoli sprouts contain about 100x the amount of sulforaphane then its mature form of broccoli and its relative plants Plus they’re delicious, you can grow them on your kitchen counter, and they sprout in 5 days versus 4 months for a decent size head.

Here is 10 reasons why I suggest EVERYONE needs grow and consume them:

Broccoli sprouts up regulate your detoxification and NRF2 pathway. This allows your body to detox and protect against environmental pollutants that are in the air, food, and water we consume, as well as the toxins we produce through metabolism.
Broccoli sprouts has been shown to protect against carcinogen, decreasing damage to your DNA that can lead to cancer
Sulforaphane is a powerful immune modulating compound that can help to regulate the immune system to fight against foreign bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.
They have the power to turn on genes for good health and turn off others that can lead to cancer, autoimmune disorders, and even Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Broccoli sprouts have power to combat cancer, and in certain studies it was shown to decrease the likelihood of developing cancer by as much as 51% for prostate, bladder and breast cancers.
Their super tasty and then all you need is a little serving everyday day to create a delicious meal

If you want to go into more depth on the science behind broccoli sprouts and sulforaphane I suggest listening to Dr. Rhonda Patrick video which I will link to right here.

And if you’re ready to start growing your own at home and feel the benefits within just a few days of regular consumption, Sign up for my newsletter and you’ll get a PDF file with the simple how to do this and materials.

Peace love and nourishing light.

A New Kind of Superhero: Broccoli Sprouts