Alfalfa Seeds and the Health Benefits
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Alfalfa, also known as Lucerne in some parts of the world, is part of the pea family of plants. Mainly grown as fodder for livestock, alfalfa can be eaten by humans and it's popular in dishes originating from Southern India.
Although the seeds are not consumed, they are used for growing alfalfa sprouts which is the more popular way to eat alfalfa.
Herbalists consider there to be many health benefits to taking alfalfa, usually in dried herb form in capsules or tea, however, eating alfalfa sprouts is gaining in popularity.
Once your body receives sufficient nutrients it can redirect some of the excess energy into promoting healthy skin and hair.
As alfalfa has long roots, it's particularly efficient in absorbing healthy nutrients and so, by adding alfalfa in some form to your diet, can ensure ample nutrients in the body.
If you are underweight, alfalfa can also help you gain weight when taken as a tonic. The tonic has a high concentration of nutrients and so drinking alfalfa tonic, perhaps combined with ginseng, will assist in gaining weight.
As well as increasing your overall body weight and improving your bone density, alfalfa tonic will increase your appetite, enabling you to eat more.
Alfalfa has been used traditionally as an anti-inflammatory and research shows that this is due to its aerial parts displaying anti-inflammatory activity.
The research concluded that alfalfa could be used as a functional food which could help in reducing the risks of inflammatory disorders.
The thyroid system, as a whole, coordinates many of the body’s activities. The thyroid is specifically responsible for manufacturing hormones which regulate the body’s metabolism.
Although the alfalfa used as animal fodder may be hard on a human’s digestive system, alfalfa sprouts and powder made from the dried alfalfa leaves are easy for the human body to digest and are full of protein.
Alfalfa sprouts and powder are also rich in phytonutrients, including saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, phytoestrogens, and amino acids, plus vitamins C and K.
They can also help in filling the daily requirements of zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and the family of B complex vitamins.
Different parts of the alfalfa plant have differing effects and so the whole plant has various uses. Traditionally, Chinese medicine uses fresh alfalfa juice to help treat kidney stones and the plant’s root is used to control jaundice.
As the alfalfa leaves contain a high proportion of saponin, it is believed they can assist in lowering cholesterol.
It is generally considered that alfalfa can assist in helping estrogen deficiencies, however, excess alfalfa can have negative effects on hormone levels.
Alfalfa has long been considered a great beneficiary to human health by the Chinese, Indians and even herbalists. In the west, however, it has not yet been officially recognized as such by the US Food and Drug Administration.
This is, in part at least, due to the fact that they do not examine herbal remedies as closely as they do traditional medicines and have therefore not undertaken any human trials in order to certify alfalfa.
Whilst alfalfa is claimed to assist with Arthritis, diabetes, high cholesterol, indigestion, asthma as well as bladder, kidney and prostate problems, further human trials will be needed before USFDA recognition.
One of the concerns the USFDA have is that alfalfa may be associated with flare-ups in Lupus disease.
There also may be contraindications when taking contraceptives and anti-diabetes drugs. It is therefore advised to consult a doctor before taking alfalfa as a herbal remedy.
If you are considering growing alfalfa sprouts yourself, as with any microgreens or sprouts, it's important to use uncontaminated seeds such as those provided by Todd’s Seeds.
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