Nutritional Content of Sprouts

Presents...

Nutritional Content of Sprouts

It is relatively easy to get many of your vitamins from sprouts. The following chart averages the vitamin content of 8 different kinds of sprouts¹.

Average Vitamin Content of
Sprouts VS the Seeds They Grew From ²

                                       Average
            Sprouts/Seed   Average     % RDA of
             Nutritional  Content in   100gm of
   Vitamin     Ratio    100gm Sprouts  Sprouts    RDA

Vit A          5.53/1      3.13 Re       0.31   1000 Re
Vit C         34.54/1     17.15 Mg        29      60 Mg
Thiamin        3.28/1      0.26 Mg        22     1.2 Mg
Riboflavin     3.71/1      0.16 Mg         9     1.7 Mg
Niacin         5.46/1      1.95 Mg        10      20 Mg
Vit B6         3.97/1      0.18 Mg         9       2 Mg
Folacin        2.45/1      103 Mcg        52     200 Mcg

Understanding the above Chart:

Column 2: Lists how many more times the nutrient is found in sprouts than in the seeds they grew from.
Column 4: Lists the RDA percent of the amount in column 3.

You will notice from the above table:

Vitamin A: Even though sprouts have over 5 times the vitamin A of the seeds they came from, there is such a small amount of the vitamin that 100gm of sprouts doesn't even give 4 percent of the RDA.
Vitamin C and the B vitamins thiamin and folacin: It is relatively easy to get these vitamins from sprouts. Continue to read below to see which sprouts are especially high in these vitamins.
The B Vitamins riboflavin, niacin and Vitamin B6: Although they are found in sprouts, these vitamins aren't as easy to get. If we were to get a full RDA of these vitamins from sprouts, we would have to eat about a kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, something I don't expect we are likely to do. See the table below for the sprouts that are higher in these areas.
There is no Vitamin B12 in sprouts or any other plant, for that matter.

The following table includes 100 grams each of 9 different sprouts with the chief vitamins found in them. The RDAs have all been color coded dark red to make the table a little less confusing. The amount of dry beans required to make 100gm of sprouts has been approximated and is colored dark blue. The RDA percentage of the vitamin content of dry beans is given here to help you make a quick comparison of the increase of vitamins in the sprouts VS the seeds they came from. Look below the following table for other general comments.

Vitamin and RDA content of Sprouts³



                            Vit  Vit          Ribo-            Vit         Cal
 100 Grams of Sprouts        A    C  Thiamin  flavin  Niacin   B6  Folacin      Protein
                             Re   Mg    Mg      Mg      Mg     Mg    Mcg   KCal   Gms
                           -------------------------------------------------------------
                  Male RDA 1000|  60 |  1.2 |   1.7 |  20  |   2   | 200 |2900|  63  |
                  -------- | - |  -  |  --  |  ---  |  --  |  ---  | --  | -- |  --  |
        Alfalfa Sprouts Raw| 16| 8.2 | 0.076|  0.126| 0.481|  0.034|  36 | 29 |  3.99|
                      % RDA| 2%| 14% |  6%  |    7% |   2% |    2% | 18% |  1%|   6% |
                           |   |     |      |       |      |       |     |    |      |
    Radish Seed Sprouts Raw| 39| 28.9| 0.102|  0.103|  2.85|  0.285| 94.7|  43|   3.8|
                      % RDA| 4%| 48% |  7%  |    6% |  15% |   14% | 47% |  2%|   6% |
                           |   |     |      |       |      |       |     |    |      |
Sprouts Kidney Beans Cooked| 0 | 35.6|  0.36|   0.27|  3.02|  0.093| 47.4|  33|   4.7|
                      % RDA| 0%| 59% |  24% |   16% |  16% |    5% | 24% |  1%|   8% |
   Sprouts Kidney Beans Raw| 0 | 38.7|  0.37|   0.25|  2.92|  0.085| 58.9|  29|   4.2|
                      % RDA| 0%| 65% |  31% |   15% |  15% |    4% | 29% |  1%|   7% |
10gm Dry Kidney Beans % RDA| 0%|  1% |   4% |    1% |   1% |    2% | 20% |  1%|   4% |
                           |   |     |      |       |      |       |     |    |      |
        Sprouts Lentils Raw| 5 | 16.5| 0.228|  0.128| 1.128|  0.19 | 99.9| 106|  8.96|
                      % RDA| 1%| 28% |  19% |    8% |   6% |   10% | 50% |  4%|  14% |
     15gm Dry Lentils % RDA| 0%|  1% |   4% |    1% |   1% |    2% | 19% |  1%|   4% |

                            Vit  Vit          Ribo-            Vit         Cal
                             A    C  Thiamin  flavin Niacin    B6  Folacin     Protein
  Sprouts Mung Beans Cooked| 1 | 11.4|  0.05|  0.102| 0.817|  0.054| 29.3|  21|  2.00|
                      % RDA| 0%| 19% |   3% |    6% |   4% |    3% | 15% |  1%|   3% |
     Sprouts Mung Beans Raw| 2 | 13.2| 0.084|  0.124| 0.749|  0.088| 60.8|  30|  3.04|
                      % RDA| 0%| 22% |   7% |    7% |   4% |    4% | 30% |  1%|   5% |
  10gm Dry Mung Beans % RDA| 0%|  1% |   5% |    1% |   1% |    2% | 31% |  1%|   4% |
                           |   |     |      |       |      |       |     |    |      |
      Sprouts Green Pea Raw| 17| 10.4| 0.225|  0.155| 3.088|  0.265| 144 | 128|   8.8|
                      % RDA| 2%| 17% |  19% |    9% |   15%|   13% | 72% |  4%|   14%|
  16gm Dry Green Peas % RDA| 0%|  0% |  10% |    2% |   2% |    1% | 22% |  2%|   6% |
                           |   |     |      |       |      |       |     |    |      |
    Sprouts Pinto Beans Raw| 0 | 21.7|  0.23|  0.175|  2.28|  0.171| 118 |  62|  5.25|
                      % RDA| 0%| 36% |  19% |   10% |   11%|    9% | 59% |  2%|   8% |
 12gm Dry Pinto Beans % RDA| 0%|  1% |   6% |    2% |   1% |    3% | 30% |  1%|   4% |
                           |   |     |      |       |      |       |     |    |      |
   Sprouts Soy Beans Cooked| 1 | 8.3 | 0.205|  0.053| 1.092|  0.105| 80  |  81|  8.47|
                      % RDA| 0%| 14% |  17% |    3% |   5% |    5% | 40% |  3%|   13%|
      Sprouts Soy Beans Raw| 1 | 15.3|  0.34|  0.118| 1.148|  0.176| 172 | 122|  13.0|
                      % RDA| 0%| 26% |  28% |    7% |   6% |    9% | 86% |  4%|   21%|
   12gm Dry Soy Beans % RDA| 0%|  1% |   9% |    6% |   1% |    2% | 23% |  2%|   7% |

                            Vit  Vit          Ribo-            Vit         Cal
                             A    C  Thiamin  flavin Niacin    B6  Folacin     Protein
        Sprouts Navy Cooked| 0 | 17.3| 0.381|  0.235| 1.263|  0.198| 106 |  78|  7.07|
                      % RDA| 0%| 29% |  32% |   14% |   6% |   10% | 53% |  3%|   11%|
           Sprouts Navy Raw| 0 | 18.8|  0.39|  0.215|  1.22|  0.191| 132 |  67|  6.15|
                      % RDA| 0%| 31% |  33% |   13% |   6% |   10% | 66% |  2%|   10%|
  13gm Dry Navy Beans % RDA| 0%|  1% |   7% |    5% |   1% |    2% | 19% |  1%|   6% |
                           |   |     |      |       |      |       |     |    |      |
          Sprouts Wheat Raw| 0 |  2.6| 0.225|  0.155| 3.087|  0.265| 38  | 198|  7.49|
                      % RDA| 0%|  4% |  19% |    9% |   15%|   13% | 19% |  2%|   12%|
      21gm Dry  Wheat % RDA| 0%|  0% |   9% |    1% |   6% |    4% |  5% |  2%|   6% |

Comments about the information in the above table.

Vitamin A: Alfalfa, Radish, and other sprouts that should be greened before eating are touted as being high in this vitamin, yet the USDA tables show one would have to eat 2 1/2 kilograms of radish sprouts to get a full RDA. There are much better foods to eat for this vitamin. (This information taken from USDA tables is in direct contradiction with most sprout information sources. Perhaps the samples of sprouts the USDA tested hadn't been permitted to green before the nutritional analysis was made.)
Ascorbic Acid: Kidney beans have the highest amount of Vitamin C, requiring only 150 grams for a full RDA. Pinto beans follow next, requiring twice as many sprouts.
Thiamin: Kidney beans and Navy bean sprouts are the highest and have about the same amount. To get the full RDA, one must eat 320 grams of either of these sprouts.
Riboflavin, Niacin and Vitamin B6: Although sprouts have some of these vitamins, the vitamins are so low it would be wise to plan on getting them from another food source. Of the different sprouts, green pea sprouts are probably as good as any of them, yet requires about 1 kilogram of green pea sprouts to give a full RDA of these three vitamins.
Folacin: Most of the sprouts are quite high in Folacin. For example, one would need to eat 270 grams of green pea sprouts to get a full RDA of folacin. Sprouts made from Lentils, pinto and navy beans are not far behind, requiring about 400 grams of sprouts to get this vitamin.
Calories and protein: A quick look at the Food Energy and Protein columns tell us sprouts are a low calorie food yet are moderately rich in protein.
Steaming Sprouts: If the USDA tables are to be believed, cooking sprouts made from navy or pinto beans had a negligible impact on the nutrient value. However, almost half the nutrients were lost when cooking soy bean sprouts, and it was mixed when cooking mung bean sprouts.
325 grams of raw kidney bean sprouts give an RDA of 209% vitamin C, 100% thiamin, 48% riboflavin, 47% niacin, 14% vitamin B6 and 95% Folacin.

References:
1. Average taken from 100gm each of sprouts made from kidney beans, lentils, mung beans, green peas, pinto beans, soy beans, navy beans and wheat.
2. Information compiled from USDA tables found at http://www.fatfree.com/
3. ibid.

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Al Durtschi, E-mail: mark@waltonfeed.com
Home Page: http://waltonfeed.com/
All contents copyright (C) 1996, Al Durtschi. All rights reserved.
This information may be used by you freely for noncommercial use with my name and E-mail address attached.
Revised: 26 Nov 1996