How can a sprout have literally more nutritional content than the seed itself?
In: 6
There are two aspects of nutrition; quantity and availability. For instance, consider fiber; we eat it, but get nothing from it. There is definitely material there that has the same elements (C, H, O) that are in sugar, but we can’t use it in the fiber form, so we just poop it out undigested.
If we were to take that fiber and cook or ferment it, it would break down into smaller bits or potentially degrade into completely other forms of those elements that we *can* use. Then, even with the same amount of material, we can get more nutrition.
The same happens with seeds. A sprouted seed will have started to break down the nutrients in the seed in order to fuel its own growth; instead of the super compact and stable form, the seed might have activated enzymes to break it down into a usable form, like cutting a slice of cheese off of an entire wheel. If we eat it in this stage, then we can take advantage of that transition and get those nutrients that would otherwise be indigestible and just pooped out.
as the seed absorbs moisture and begins to expand its compressed proteins, those H’s and O’s of the water become part of the proteins that are now dividing.
They can go a week or more without needing to gain nutritional support from the soil
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