A lot has changed in our world since our last newsletter in January. Rest assured, Farm Doc Microgreens continues to produce fresh grown, highly nutritious microgreens. And speaking of nutrition, we are all now trying to fill our diet with foods to help boost our immune system. Fortunately, microgreens is one way to achieve those goals. The microgreens we grow contain up to 40% more nutrients per weight than the mature vegetable with the same taste. Radish, red cabbage and pea shoots have very high amounts of bio-available vitamin C. This is an important vitamin to include for a healthy immune system Another contender which we have talked about before is sulforphane. Along with its anti-cancer and weight management benefits, it also is excellent for a strong immune system. Clinical studies have shown that natural sulforaphane can activate the Nrf2 Pathway in our bodies to produce the most powerful antioxidants that boost our immune systems to fight off viruses. . Nrf2 is activated when the body needs it. Cellular signals essentially turn on a switch when the body needs to produce antioxidants to fight damage. Unfortunately, not everyone’s Nrf2 pathway operates with the same level of efficiency. Sometimes, a nutritional boost is needed to trigger activation, leading to faster response times against free radicals and celldamage. At this point, you may be wondering why you can’t simply consume more antioxidant-rich foods to reduce cellular damage. Despite many phytochemical sources being known (such as turmeric, milk thistle, and cruciferous vegetables), the best antioxidants are produced by the body itself. By triggering the Nrf2 pathway, the body will start to produce more of its own powerful antioxidants, making it better able to fight the precursors of disease and illness.
This pathway is currently one of the most heavily researched systems in the body. Scientists believe that being able to activate Nrf2 on-demand will open viable pathways to solve many of today’s medical problems caused by cellular stress. Put simply, the Nrf2 pathway could be the most important disease-fighting mechanism in the human body to boost your immune system! There is no better source for sulforaphane than microgreens. Clinical studies by John’s Hopkins Medical has shown that broccoli microgreens contain up to 100x more sulforaphane than any adult cruciferous vegetable. Our Basic Microgreen Mix and Spicy Microgreen Mix contain broccoli as well as other cruciferous vegetables such as Kale, Kohlrabi, Red Cabbage and Arugula. We also sell broccoli sprouts by themselves. Microgreens give a lot of options for not only flavor but for making a powerful immune defense system to fight bacteria and viruses.