8 Impressive Benefits of Green Moong Sprouts

Green Moong Sprouts Benefits

Green moong, also known as mung beans, is a type of legume (Vigna radiata L.) that is native to Asia and has been cultivated for thousands of years.

Green moong sprouts, the delicate and crunchy sprouts made from mung beans are packed with nutrients that can improve your health in various ways.

Green moong sprouts benefits for health are aplenty, ranging from digestive support to immune boosting, making them an important supplement to any diet.

In this guide, we will learn how green moong sprouts benefits your health, along with nutrients in them.

Nutritional Value

Here is the nutritional value of green moong sprouts per 100 grams along with the percentage of the daily value (DV) based on a 2,000-calorie diet

• Calories: 30 kcal
• Protein: 3 g
• Carbohydrates: 5.9 g
• Fiber: 1.8 g
• Fat: 0.18 g
• Iron: 0.9 mg (5% Daily Value (DV))
• Magnesium: 21 mg (5% DV)
• Phosphorus: 54 mg (4% DV)
• Potassium: 149 mg (3% DV)
• Manganese: 0.19 mg (8% DV)
• Folate (B9): 61 mcg (15% DV)
• Vitamin C: 13 mg (14% DV)
• Vitamin K: 33 mcg (27% DV)

You might have wondered that Green mung beans contain over 20 grams of protein when dry, but sprouted mung beans have only 3 grams.

This is because sprouting increases water content, diluting the protein concentration. The actual protein amount remains similar, but it’s spread over a larger volume.

After sprouting, water content in mung beans grow from 9% to whopping 90.4%.

Health Benefits

1. Rich in Antioxidants

Green mung sprouts are rich in antioxidants. These sprouts are a powerhouse of nutrients, particularly known for their high content of antioxidants such as flavonoids, polyphenols, and vitamin C.

Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals in the body, reducing oxidative stress and lowering the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

The sprouting process enhances the concentration of these beneficial compounds, making green mung sprouts an excellent addition to a healthy diet.

Studies suggest that the content of antioxidants like melatonin, gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, and quercetin and their antioxidant activity increased during germination in mung beans.

What’s more!, sprouting mung beans increases their antioxidant content, boosting your nutritional intake, which can reduce the risk of various types of chronic diseases.

2. Enhanced Digestion and Nutrient Absorption

Sprouting mung beans enhances their digestion and nutrient bioavailability by breaking down complex compounds and activating enzymes.

During sprouting, starches are converted into simpler sugars, making them easier to digest.

The process also reduces anti-nutrients like phytic acid, which can inhibit the absorption of minerals such as iron, zinc, and calcium.

In fact, phytic acid levels decline by 76% during germination, which increases the bioavailability of zinc and iron by 3 and 2.4 times.

The improved bioavailability ensures that the body can better absorb these nutrients. Overall, sprouted mung beans are a nutrient-rich, easily digestible option for a healthy diet.

3. Supports Gastrointestinal Health

One of the standout green moong sprouts benefits is their ability to promote digestive health.

Usually legumes including green mung contains antinutrients, which are naturally occurring compounds that can interfere with the absorption of essential nutrients by binding to them, reducing their bioavailability.

Fortunately, sprouting can decrease these antinutrients and increase the nutritional components such as glucose, amino acids, fatty acids and polyphenols, promoting better absorption of nutrients in the body.

The high fiber content in sprouts aids in regulating bowel movements, preventing constipation, and promoting a healthy gut bacteria.

Green mung sprouts have also been shown to have antibacterial activity against Helicobacter Pylori, one of the most common bacterial infections that cause gastroduodenal disease, which involve inflammation, ulcers, or other forms of irritation in the lining of the stomach and duodenum.

Moreover, mung bean sprouts contain enzymes like amylase and protease that aid in the breakdown of carbohydrates and proteins, improving nutrient absorption and reducing the risk of digestive disorders.

Eating green mung sprouts regularly can keep your stomach healthy, while providing you essential nutrients with enhanced absorption in the body.

4. May Boost Immunity 

Green moong sprouts are loaded with immune-boosting nutrients such as antioxidants, fiber and vitamin C.

Mung beans are high in fiber, primarily made up of non-starch polysaccharides. These polysaccharides play a key role in boosting the immune system.

Studies suggest that when extracted with water and alkali, these polysaccharides can activate macrophages, which are crucial cells in the immune response.

Research showed that treating cells with 200 µg/mL of verbascose from mung beans significantly boosted immune activity. This treatment enhanced the ability of macrophages to consume harmful particles and increased the production of immune molecules.

Additionally, when verbascose was given to mice at 90 mg/kg for 8 days, it improved spleen health, increased lysozyme activity, boosted immune response in the blood, and enhanced immune reaction in immunosuppressed mice.

Regular consumption of sprouts can help improve your body’s defense mechanism, reducing the risk of colds, flu, and other common ailments.

5. May Reduce the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases 

Maintaining a healthy heart is essential for overall well-being, and green moong sprouts can play a vital role in keeping your heart healthy.

Several animal studies suggest that green mung sprouts can regulate cholesterol levels, which is one of the major risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.

In an animal study, rabbits with high cholesterol levels were fed with 70% mixture of mung bean meal and mung bean sprout powder. The mixture was shown to reduce total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, reducing the symptoms of coronary artery diseases.

High blood pressure is another major risk factor of cardiovascular diseases, which can break the walls of blood vessels throughout the body, particularly in the organs with smaller veins like eyes, kidney, brain including heart, leading adverse complications on your health.

An animal study found that high doses (600 mg/kg) of raw, dried, and enzyme-digested sprout extracts significantly reduced systolic blood pressure in rats after 6–9 hours, 3–6 hours, and 3–9 hours of administration, respectively.

And a one-month study tested treatments with fresh sprout powder, dried sprout powder, and concentrated sprout extracts. The results showed that sprout powders were less effective than concentrated extracts.

Rats treated with concentrated fresh sprout extracts had significantly reduced systolic blood pressure from weeks 1 to 4, while those given dried extracts saw reductions from weeks 2 to 4.

While these results are promising, more research on humans is needed, especially on cardiovascular diseases.

6. May Regulate Blood Sugar Levels 

For individuals with diabetes or those at risk of developing the condition, green moong sprouts offer a natural way to help regulate their blood sugar levels.

There are some studies looked into the anti-diabetic properties of green mung sprout extracts.

A 2014 study on type 2 diabetic mice. They were given mung bean sprout extract (2 g/kg) and mung bean seed coat extract (3 g/kg). The results showed that the extracts lowered blood glucose levels, at the same time both treatments improved glucose tolerance and increased levels of insulin in the blood.

Alpha-amylase is an enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates into sugars, leading to increased blood sugar levels. By speeding up carbohydrate digestion, it can contribute to spikes in blood sugar, impacting glucose control, especially in diabetics.

A 2014 study looked at how bio-processed extracts affect alpha-amylase and H. pylori, linking these effects to diabetes and peptic ulcer management. The study found that the sprouts extract inhibited alpha-amylase more effectively from days 4 to 10, with higher inhibition correlated to higher phenolic content in the extracts.

While promising, more human studies are needed.

7. Liver-Protecting Properties 

Mung bean sprouts are known for their liver-supportive properties. The sprouts contain enzymes and antioxidants that help protect the liver from damage and support its detoxification functions.

Free radicals and oxidative stress can worsen non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Recently, it was found that germinated mung beans can reduce oxidative stress by boosting antioxidant genes and neutralizing free radicals in mitochondria, helping prevent the progression of NAFLD.

In a study, rats were fed a diet supplemented with germinated mung beans (1000 mg/kg body weight) for 4 weeks, in comparison to that of methionine-choline deficient diet, which can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and a normal diet.

The mung bean diet showed protective effects against liver damage by preventing excess fat buildup in the liver, promoting healthy blood vessels in liver tissue, and preventing inflammation and fat-related liver damage.

Many studies have shown that several components in legumes, such as bioactive compounds, dietary fiber, and specific proteins, which can protect the liver. These benefits are due to their unique amino acids and bioactive peptides, which help support liver health.

Besides NAFLD, alcohol can cause severe liver damage through oxidative stress. Germinated and fermented mung bean extracts have been shown to reduce liver damage markers and boost antioxidant defenses in alcohol-induced liver injury.

In traditional medicine, mung bean sprouts are often used to alleviate liver-related conditions, highlighting their role in promoting overall liver health.

Interestingly, it was observed that germinated and fermented mung beans exhibited better liver-protecting properties compared to raw mung bean.

What’s more! Just have a few servings of mung bean sprouts in a week, which may protect your liver from whether it is NAFLD or even alcohol induced damage.

8. May Reduce the Risk of Cancer 

Research suggests that the foods we eat can influence the risk of developing cancer at various stages of the disease.

Many studies have shown that natural dietary phenolics can help fight cancer and green mung are a great source of them. These compounds are known to prevent tumor growth and spread.

In a cellular study on phenolics from mung bean and adzuki bean sprouts enriched with probiotics, it was found that mung bean sprouts had a decent effect on preventing the growth and killing of cancer cells.

Mung bean sprout extracts were also found to be effective against melanoma cells in cellular studies.

Melanogenesis is the natural process of melanin production in the skin, which provides protection against UV radiation. However, abnormal melanogenesis or excessive exposure to UV light can lead to mutations in melanocytes, potentially contributing to the development of melanoma, a type of skin cancer.

For instance, a study examined the ability of ethyl acetate extract from mung bean seeds and sprouts to inhibit melanogenesis (the process of melanin production) in melanoma cells.

The study found that a 10 μg/mL concentration of the extract from 1-day germinated sprouts significantly reduced melanogenesis by 56.5% when combined with melanocyte-stimulating hormone. The main active components, vitexin and isovitexin, were identified, with vitexin showing a stronger inhibitory effect on melanin production than isovitexin.

However, these effects are limited to cellular studies, more research on humans and animals is needed to find the efficacy of green mung sprouts on stomach cancer and skin cancer.

Takeaways 

Green moong sprouts are a nutritional powerhouse that offers an array of health benefits for both body and mind.

Whether you’re looking to improve digestion, boost immunity, protect liver, or enhance heart health, sprouts can be your go-to solution.

With their impressive nutrient profile and versatility in culinary applications, green moong sprouts deserve a prominent place on your plate.

So why wait? Embrace the goodness of green moong sprouts benefits for health and embark on a journey to a healthier, happier you!

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FAQs

What is the best time to eat moong sprouts?

You can eat sprouts at at time of the day. If you take them as breakfast or lunch, they provide you energy for the whole day. You can also have them as dinner as they are easily digestible and absorbable.

Does boiling sprouts reduce protein?

Boiling sprouts in water can cause some of the soluble proteins to leach out into the cooking water. The longer the sprouts are boiled, the more protein may be lost in the cooking water.

Despite some loss of protein during boiling, many of the proteins in sprouts still remain intact and retain their nutritional value.

Boiled sprouts can still be a good source of protein, but with a slightly reduced protein content compared to raw sprouts.

How many calories are in 100g of mung sprouts?

100 grams of raw green moong beans contain 347 calories, which is 11 times more than their sprouted counterparts, which is just 30 calories.

Sprouted green moong beans are lower in calories compared to their raw counterparts due to the sprouting process, which can increase nutrient availability and decrease the caloric content.

References:

Sourced and summarized from

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