Steamed or Raw Sprouts: Which One Should You Actually Be Eating?

Sprouts can be consumed raw or steamed, each has its health benefits, the best choice will depend on health and wellness, digestibility, and absorption of nutrients.

Benefits of raw sprouts

Raw sprouts are crunchy, and full of living enzymes, vitamins (C and K), minerals, and fibers. The living-enzymes full raw sprouts promote healthy digestion and metabolism and the crunchiness, taste, and freshness invigoration. Raw sprouts are dangerous to our health, they are grown in warm, moist conditions, which is also where harmful bacteria like E.coli, Salmonella, and others will grow. Eating contaminated raw sprouts therefore has potential food safety issues.

Benefits of steamed sprouts

Steaming makes the sprouts less crisp and therefore more chewable and digestible, especially for those who have sensitive stomachs or if digestion is not at peak form (like during monsoon season). Steaming the sprouts at moderate temperatures destroys the harmful bacteria that will increase foodborne illness risks. Even though steaming may cause slight losses of some heat-sensitive vitamins (like vitamin C), steaming quite likely increases the bioavailability of nutrients, so you can be better rest assured that you are absorbing more vitamins and minerals when consuming better cooked (steamed) sprouts than raw sprouts.

Finding the Right Germination Process

Raw sprouts are packed with enzymes and nutrients, but depending on your personal situation they may not be safe to eat. They represent a nice source of food for (hopefully) strong healthy digestive systems and immune systems, but for creatures not feeling well it is preferable to eat steamed sprouts. The steamed sprouts still provide benefits and excellent sources of nutrition but don’t present the same food safety mishaps as their raw counterparts. 

Children, the elderly, people with auto-immune conditions, unwell pregnant, and immunocompromised people should be eating steamed sprouts otherwise healthy people can ingest raw sprouts.

Regardless if sprouts are raw or steamed, they all contain fiber, protein, anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins that may be helpful with heart health, weight loss, gastrointestinal issues, skin health.

In short, steamed sprouts will still provide a source of nutrients that will be easier to digest and may allow for better absorption of nutrients, while raw sprouts will offer more live enzymes and texture to foods along with a small chance of contamination depending on how they were handled – which sprouts, raw or cooked is a personal choice depending on your health, context, and comfort level.

 This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for medical or dietary advice. Individual tolerance and health conditions may vary. Consult a nutritionist or healthcare professional before making major dietary changes.