Posted on April 20th, 2022.

With the busy and active lives, we tend to live these days, making sure you’re eating well and getting your essential doses of vitamins and nutrients can often be difficult. Many people turn to dietary supplements, but these can be both expensive and often have questionable ingredient lists. Microgreens offer a healthy and natural way to incorporate nutritious veggies into your diet, plus they’re fun to grow and perfect for beginner gardeners!

In this blog we’ll be sharing some of the primary health benefits of microgreens, and if you’d like to learn more about how to grow them, the options available, as well as tips and tricks for incorporating them into your diet feel free to check our separate blogs that cover these topics and more.

Why Are Microgreens Healthy?

There are a few qualities of homegrown microgreens that come together to result in their designation as a ‘superfood’. First, microgreens are healthy because they are nutrient-dense – meaning they are concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Compared to their adult counterparts, they contain up to 40x the vitamins (Source) and a broader spectrum of antioxidants (Source).

Second, microgreens are suitable to eat raw which helps them retain their nutrients, as the high heat in cooking can destroy enzymes, vitamins, and phytonutrients (source).

Finally, when homegrown, they’re fresh! As soon as any plant is harvested, it starts to lose its nutrients. For example, spinach loses 90% of its Vitamin C within 24 hours of harvesting (source). When you harvest moments before eating, you ensure that you’re getting all of the nutrients of the living plant.

Microgreens Nutrition Facts: Microgreens Are A Good Source Of…

Each microgreen variety had its own ensemble of good stuff, but generally speaking, microgreens are a great way to get your vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These are the raw materials that your body uses to perform hundreds of actions every day – from making your skin glow, to healing wounds and shoring up your bones. You’ll also often read they are “high in fiber” and while this is technically true on a percent basis, fiber is really about total volume so you’re better off with big veggies there.

Vitamins: These are organic substances made by plants or animals. Microgreens tend to be rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids (which aren’t vitamins themselves but are used by our body to make vitamin A) (source).
Minerals: These originally come from the earth and water & are then absorbed by plants and stored in their seeds and plant mass. The minerals microgreens tend to be the richest in are potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and copper (2, 3).
Antioxidants: Antioxidants counteract unstable molecules that damage our body’s cells and DNA. One category of antioxidants, called polyphenols, is abundantly rich in brassica microgreens – like our Red Russian Kale – with samples containing 164 unique types (source). Another category of antioxidants, called carotenoids, was found to be about 5 times greater in microgreens than adult leaves (source).

What Are Microgreens’ Benefits For The Skin?

Various microgreens have benefits for our skin, especially sunflower, radish, broccoli, kale, and nasturtium microgreens, as they provide essential skin nutrients: zinc, vitamins A, B, D, E, sulforaphane antioxidants like polyphenols. Microgreens also have anti-inflammatory effects which can be credited to the antioxidants existing within these tiny but mighty plants.

What Are Microgreens’ Benefits For The Hair?

Did you know that microgreens help damaged hair by reducing the chances of them breaking? Microgreens such as beetroot microgreens are particularly healthy for the hair as they are rich in iron, potassium, and electrolytes.

What Are The Most Nutritious Microgreens And What Are Its Benefits?

Most Nutritious Microgreens #1: Pea Microgreens/Pea Shoots

We all know that all microgreens are nutrient-dense, but pea shoots are at the top of this list as they include beta-carotene – which our bodies convert into vitamin A, vitamin C, folate–essential building blocks for the human body, and fiber. These pea microgreens have a very mild taste, but they can add a crisp texture and green color to your salads and sandwich wraps.

Most Nutritious Microgreens #2: Radish Microgreens/Sprouts

Radish microgreens can also be considered the most nutritious microgreens as they are the most nutrient-packed microgreens. Radish microgreens’ nutrition facts include vitamins A, B, C, E, and K. They also deliver calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc to the human body. We put them under pea microgreens, in case you do not prefer stronger microgreens such as radish microgreens. As they are powerful in nutritional value, their taste can also be powerful.

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Samples Analyzed By the University of Georgia - Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories