By Brenda Cobb

Broccoli sprouts may come in a small package, but there is nothing small about the powerful properties of these little miracle workers. Just a few decades ago, broccoli sprouts were given very little attention. Today we are aware of their incredible cancer-fighting properties.

It’s easy to assume that broccoli sprouts are nutritionally equivalent to a head of broccoli, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While mature broccoli does have high quantities of vitamins K and C, broccoli sprouts contain a great deal more glucosinolates.

Brassica vegetables, certain plants in the mustard family that include broccoli sprouts, kale, arugula, and radishes, contain myrosinase, an enzyme that can initiate a process to help eliminate disease-causing compounds from the body.

Broccoli sprouts contain very high levels—10 to 100 times more than adult broccoli—of glucoraphanin, a powerful anti-oxidant with cancer-preventing and cancer-fighting capabilities. The compound is a hero when it comes to nutrition: It supports the heart, bones and respiratory system and can help the body fight off infections, detoxify chemicals and combat autoimmune diseases.

Broccoli sprouts can help fight and prevent throat, lung, colon, prostate, breast, bladder and skin cancers. They benefit the heart, support strong bones, detoxify the body, improve respiratory function and help protect the brain.

Extract of broccoli sprout is sometimes used against oral cancer, specifically head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The compounds in broccoli sprouts can also help prevent lung cancer caused by tobacco carcinogens, lower high blood pressure and high triglycerides, and reduce inflammation. Food can be medicine, and broccoli sprouts can help excrete heavy metals and other dangerous chemicals.

A 4 oz. serving of broccoli sprouts contains about 35 calories, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, 0.5 grams of fat, 54 milligrams of vitamin C, 90 micrograms of vitamin A, 78 milligrams of calcium and 720 micrograms of iron.

Grow them yourself

Broccoli sprouts are fun to grow in your own kitchen.

An easy way to grow them is to use a mesh sprout bag. Put a couple of tablespoons of organic broccoli sprouting seeds in the sprout bag and immerse the bag in a bowl of alkaline water overnight. The next morning, take the bag out of the water and rinse the bag and the seeds with fresh alkaline water. Place the bag in a colander and drain well in the sink. Rinse the seeds every morning and evening and let them drain in the colander until you notice small sprout tails emerging. Continue the rinsing process each day until the tail is about an inch to an inch and a half long. Store the sprouts in the refrigerator and they will continue to grow.

Enjoy these sprouts in a salad or just munch a handful. Add them to your smoothies and get the benefits of some incredibly powerful little healers.

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Make this Living Sprout Salad and eat as a salad or put all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend into a delicious, savory smoothie.

Living Sprout Salad

2 cups mixed baby greens 1 chopped tomato 1/2 cup shredded purple cabbage 1/2 cup zucchini slices 1/2 cup carrot shredded 1/2 cup red or yellow bell pepper chopped 1 cup broccoli sprouts 1 cup mung bean sprouts 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 2 Tbs. flax seed oil 1 clove chopped garlic pinch or two of Himalayan salt

Combine all the ingredients in a salad bowl, toss and enjoy.

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Brenda Cobb is author of The Living Foods Lifestyle^® and founder of The Living Foods Institute, an Educational Center and Therapy Spa in Atlanta offering healthy lifestyle courses on nutrition, cleansing, healing, anti-aging, detoxification, relaxation and cleansing therapies. For more information, call 404-524-4488 or 800-844-9876, or visit www.LivingFoodsInstitute.com