Hi everybody this is Monica Reinagle and you're listening to the

nutrition diva quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous this

week's episode is about sprouted grains and what they can do for your diet.

But first, I want to share some really exciting news with you. The Nutrition Diva

podcast was named to the iTunes Best of 2008 lists and so was my fellow quick and dirty

podcaster grammar girl. As a new podcaster I was just thrilled that our show

got selected from all of the great podcasts out there.

Thanks to all of you listeners for subscribing to the podcast and posting your reviews on iTunes

and just being such a fun and interactive group of fans.

That makes it really fun for me too.

One of my fellow opera singers, Jason, called me a while back with a great question.

Hello, Monica. My question is about sprouted wheat. I was wondering if that is considered whole grain and

if you would happen to know what other benefits of sprouting in sprouted wheat bread

might bring. Thank you very much.

Jason, a lot of other listeners have emailed with similar questions about sprouted wheat too, so let's tackle this topic today.

The first part of your question is easy. A sprouted grain is definitely a whole grain, because all of the parts, the the endosperm and the bran are still there.

The second part of your question gets a little bit more complicated.

Are sprouted grains more nutritious than unsprouted grains?

Well, let's take a closer look.

First, what exactly do we mean by a sprouted grain?

Well, grains are basically seeds that you could theoretically plant in the ground and they would grow into a new plant.

You can sprout most grains and seeds by keeping them moist for a couple of days,

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