Biggest Nutrition Bang for Your Buck

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Growing your own broccoli sprouts is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve your diet.

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A few years ago, in an analysis of antioxidants per unit cost, I concluded that red cabbage—purple cabbage—was the most nutrition you could get for your money. Yes, there are healthier foods out there, but not healthier foods for the same amount of money. I encouraged everyone to always make sure they have a purple cabbage in their crisper, to slice off shreds to put in whatever they could. It lasts for weeks, is cheap, convenient, and one of the healthiest things on the planet. All still absolutely true. My new calculations, though, suggest they just got one-upped by DIY broccoli sprouts; do it yourself.

Broccoli sprout seeds start out like this. You can buy them online, or at your local health food store in bulk, for about 20 bucks a pound. But that makes about 75 cups of sprouts, so it comes out to be about 25 cents per cup. And as we saw before, in terms of sulforaphane content, that’s equivalent to eating about 27 cups of broccoli. So, that’s like going to the store and buying broccoli for a penny a cup. Even purple cabbage has got to give it up for broccoli sprouts.

Start out with a mason jar with some kind of screen top. Tablespoon of seeds, soak them overnight, drain in the morning, and then rinse twice daily. So day two, day three, day four, and then you can enjoy the bounty. One tablespoon of seeds makes about two cups of sprouts. Since it takes four or five days, though, sometimes I’ll have five jars in constant rotation. Can be in the middle of winter, and I’m growing my own salad. Every day, you get cups of fresh produce, for pennies, without ever having to go to the store.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Images thanks to Buy Whole Foods Online UK and Organic Spark; and Ctd 2005Julie Gibbons, and I Believe I Can Fry via flickr

A few years ago, in an analysis of antioxidants per unit cost, I concluded that red cabbage—purple cabbage—was the most nutrition you could get for your money. Yes, there are healthier foods out there, but not healthier foods for the same amount of money. I encouraged everyone to always make sure they have a purple cabbage in their crisper, to slice off shreds to put in whatever they could. It lasts for weeks, is cheap, convenient, and one of the healthiest things on the planet. All still absolutely true. My new calculations, though, suggest they just got one-upped by DIY broccoli sprouts; do it yourself.

Broccoli sprout seeds start out like this. You can buy them online, or at your local health food store in bulk, for about 20 bucks a pound. But that makes about 75 cups of sprouts, so it comes out to be about 25 cents per cup. And as we saw before, in terms of sulforaphane content, that’s equivalent to eating about 27 cups of broccoli. So, that’s like going to the store and buying broccoli for a penny a cup. Even purple cabbage has got to give it up for broccoli sprouts.

Start out with a mason jar with some kind of screen top. Tablespoon of seeds, soak them overnight, drain in the morning, and then rinse twice daily. So day two, day three, day four, and then you can enjoy the bounty. One tablespoon of seeds makes about two cups of sprouts. Since it takes four or five days, though, sometimes I’ll have five jars in constant rotation. Can be in the middle of winter, and I’m growing my own salad. Every day, you get cups of fresh produce, for pennies, without ever having to go to the store.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Images thanks to Buy Whole Foods Online UK and Organic Spark; and Ctd 2005Julie Gibbons, and I Believe I Can Fry via flickr

Doctor's Note

For why broccoli sprouts are so good for you, check out my videos Broccoli Versus Breast Cancer Stem CellsSulforaphane: From Broccoli to Breast; and The Best Detox. My other recipes can be found in these videos, and more on broccoli can be found on the topic page.

For more context, be sure to check out my associated blog posts: The Best DetoxAre Microgreens Healthier?Uric Acid From Meat and Sugar; and Best Nutrition Bang for Your Buck.

 

If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here. Read our important information about translations here.

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