I was reading a great site the other day, The Nourishing Gourmet (www.thenourishinggourmet.com) and found some great food advice: If you want to boost your immune system instantly and improve your overall health quickly and easily, eat sprouts and foods made from sprouted grains.

While they can be expensive in the stores, there’s no need to buy them. You can make your own. Sprouting in your kitchen is like having a mini garden in the house year round. It’s easy to do and the end product is so good for you.

But before going into the specifics of why sprouting is so good for you, here’s a visual of what’s happening in the sprouting process. The nutrition in a seed (or grain or legume) is locked up tight by anti-nutrients (such as phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors).  The seed is almost like a mini treasure chest, but you have to be able to find the right key to open it.

Sprouting is the key. Once you start the germinating process, that dormant seed starts to become a live plant. In fact, another name for sprouts is microgreens. Anti-nutrients are cast away and the seed changes, inside and out, and when you eat that seed, no longer are you eating just a seed, instead you are eating a tiny little plant. The process of changing seeds into little plants is easy, but the changes that happen are huge.

Phytic acid binds with calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc, making it hard to impossible for you to absorb those nutrients.  It’s also irritating to your digestive system. By sprouting your grains, legumes or seeds, you are effectively neutralizing phytic acid. You will also be neutralizing enzyme inhibitors, which unfortunately not only inhibit enzymes in the actual seed, but can also inhibit your own valuable enzymes once they have been eaten.

This is one of the biggest advantages and best reasons for sprouting your seeds/grains/legumes. Digestion is enhanced and nutrient assimilation is increased once they are sprouted.

Germination not only produces vitamin C, but it also changes the composition of grains and seeds in numerous beneficial ways. B vitamin content (especially B2, B5, and B6) is greatly increased. And carotene increases by eightfold.

And when I say sprouting is easy, I’m not exaggerating. And it’s frugal as well. All you need to do is place 2 or 3 tablespoons of what you want to sprout in a quart mason jar and cover it with warm water. Place a sprouting screen (available at natural food stores or online) or a piece of clean nylon stocking or cheesecloth over the jar opening. If using a piece of nylon or cheesecloth, secure this with a rubber band. Let this sit overnight.

In the morning you drain the jar and rinse your grains, seeds, or legumes (doing so right through the screen or nylon stocking). Then invert your jar at an angle, allowing it to drain and air to circulate within your jar. All that’s required after this first rinsing is to continue rinsing 2-3 times per day in warm water. After one or two days whatever you’re soaking will turn into sprouts. It’s that easy.

Finally, they’re also extremely easy to use in meal prep. Just toss a handful into your salads, soups or stews. Add them to your blender when making your morning smoothie. I even fold them into muffin batter. This is one ingredient you don’t need a recipe for!

Food trend forecasters all agree on this point: sprouts and foods made from sprouted grains are going to become more mainstream. The bottom line just can’t be ignored: Sprouting creates enzymes that make plant proteins, essential fatty acids, starches, and vitamins more available for absorption. If you want to improve your health, eating sprouts and foods made from sprouts is the way to go.