>As for alfalfa sprouts, Laurel Robertson, Carol Flanders, and Bronwen
>Godfrey (graduates of U.Cal. at Berkeley and authors of "Laurel's Kitchen"
>some years ago) report that these sprouts are somewhat toxic in large and
>frequent amounts but Ok occasionally, and thus repeat the age old adage,
>"moderation is the key to all good things".They don't relate the effects of
>too much, merely saying that they enjoy and eat them and have never had and
>difficulty

Hi Pat,

I'm no authority, but I did call up an author (Steve Meyerowitz -
the "Sproutman") after I read about the alfalfa toxicity in one of his books.
The book reported some research which indicated that consuming "large"
quantities of alfalfa sprouts could result in "lupus-like symptoms. "
The author told me that similar concerns on his part had caused him to
contact the original researchers in question directly. I don't know the
Sproutman's research credentials, but the following scoop is based on
the original researcher's comments to him:

(1) The alfalfa used in the studies was only partially sprouted.
More accurate to call these "seeds" rather than "sprouts".
(Cannot be extrapolated to humans eating "real" sprouts.)

(2) The animal subjects were fed inordinate amounts of these "sprouts"
in a compressed/dehydrated format. (Cannot corelate this to humans,
since the size of one's digestive system would prevent one from
ingesting sufficient quantities of alfalfa sprouts (real sprouts,
not seeds) that would be necessary for the ill effects.)

(3) The ill effects are "lupus-like symptoms". NOT LUPUS.
Furthermore, these symptoms go away when one stops this abusive sprout
habit. (I don't recall if these "lupus-like" symptoms occurred only
in lab animals, or if they also occurred in humans "abusing" sprouts.
I think I recall him saying that the occurrences in humans were not
solely attributable to the sprouts in the diet.)

In summary, my understanding from that conversation is that the
researchers resisted extrapolating the results of their studies
to humans eating normal alfalfa sprouts.

Thats all I know. I would be interested if any real people have had
serious side effects from eating large quantities of alfalfa sprouts.

[BTW, the Sproutman advocated only eating seed sprouts. He was really
against sprouting larger legumes and stuff, such as garbanzo.
I used to love raw hummus made out of sprouted garbanzo.
I don't remember exactly, but I think the Sproutman's objections to
raw, sprouted garbanzo was more from the stand point of digestability
rather than the natural toxin content. But I'm not sure.
I don't care, since I have no trouble digesting them. But I really
enjoyed talking to the Sproutman. He is not a total raw foodist,
but recommends a mostly raw diet with small quantities of cooked food.]

Disclaimer: This phone conversation happened more than a year ago.
I hope I haven't mis-quoted the Sproutman. I would encourage anyone
with serious comments and concerns to contact him directly.

Personally, I think I need to train my senses, instincto-style,
to determine which sprouts are good for me, and in what quantities.

Regards,  Roy