The Scoop on Sprouted Grains and Beans

The Scoop on Sprouted Grains and Beans

Sprouted grain and bean products are shooting up all over the grocery store, from sprouted flours, and the breads, cereals, crackers and chips made from them, to fresh sprouted mung beans, lentils, rice and quinoa, and more.

It might seem like a new trend, but sprouting is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. Sprouted grains and beans have an intriguing mystique, but are they really any better for you? I dug into the research to find out.

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What are Sprouted Grains and Beans?

Remember those beans you brought home from grade school in a little paper Dixie cup, and how, if you remembered to water them, they’d eventually grow a shoot that split the bean apart? Well, that is the stage in a plant’s life cycle-- when a sprout has formed but before it grows into a full-fledged plant-- that it is said to be “sprouted” or “germinated.” Sprouted grains are defined as whole grains which are sprouted just long enough so the sprout does not grow larger than the seed kernel.

Real Nutritional Benefits