GOING GREEN

I have sensed my calling to go back to the roots since I was a child who grew amidst farmlands, hailing from a small countryside in Western India, my heart belongs to agricultural norms. It’s time to reinforce the practices I grew up observing in my effort to reinstate the environment from decades ago. Spending my childhood in western India’s largest agro-terra, and growing up in a cosmopolitan like Mumbai, I truly had the best of both worlds. Now, I’m all geared up to get my fingers green and earthy and adapt the same organic lifestyle that the ‘little me’ enjoyed, looking up towards the foliage of tall palm trees. I staunchly believe in winning this battle by cooperating with nature, instead of the detrimental practices we have done in the last few years. But, how would I do this in a bustling city?

I recently ordered a vertical garden set from Amazon and learned all about cultivating my own microgreens. With the lack of space and luxury for farming, a rack in the wall or windows can help harness healthy little greens. Being totally free of chemicals, there can be no better alternatives to consume green vegetables, ergo gaining pure nutrients, harmonizing our body and lifestyle with good health. And this is becoming widespread all over. Gisele Bundchen, one of the highest-paid models in the world, whose breakthrough on the modelling stage for Victoria’s Secret was dubbed as ‘The Return of the Sexy Model, took an initiative to plant 40,000 trees on her 40th birthday. This is a perfect example of not confusing being modern and educated with being ignorant about the significance of healthy existence. Like her, many philanthropists and public figures have started spreading awareness for environmental benefits and organic choices in life. Living greener and more holistically is actually the coolest thing one can do today. And looking back at last year, I’d say surrendering ourselves to these healthy greens will result in us finding great joy in the new year.

“I have a lot of fruit trees and my own little vegetable garden and chickens. And every time I eat, I bless my food; I say I’m grateful for it and let it nourish every part of my body.” – Gisele Bundchen

THE ECOSYSTEM

Understanding the element ‘carbon’ is the first step to grasp basic ecological principles. We’re made up of carbon, and soil microbes are run by carbon. It is the driver that runs the thriving of plants. We emit carbon, as do fossil fuels, which plants absorb. Humans are 16% carbon, consisting of eating vegetation and things that eat vegetation. Sunlight acts as the energy for plants to absorb CO2 and turn it into fuel for themselves. As per ‘Kiss The Earth’ – a documentary on Netflix, 40% of this carbon-fuel is sent down to the plant’s roots. This is then leaked out strategically for microorganisms in the soil who feed on carbon and in-turn expel mineral nutrients for plants. These microorganisms create a carbon glue, forming a miniature habitat in little pockets of soil to allow air and water flow. In a nutshell, this extraordinary mechanism of the ecosystem where soil sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere sending it underground in nature’s amazing little laboratory where an entire universe of life exists is the ultimate tool to cleanse the planet. The soil has more organisms than the number of people who’ve ever lived on Earth. These organisms process organic matter in the soil and put nutrients into a form that plants need. Comparing the soil’s microbial diversity to the microbial diversity of humans, we have more bacterial cells in our body than human cells. As per Mark Hyman, Director – Cleveland Centre for Functional Medicine, we are 1% human and 99% microbes. Our food gets broken down in our gut by good bacteria. Therefore, when we eat greens, the bacteria use them as an energy source to work harder in solidifying our digestive systems. The bugs in our belly just love greens, so you better feed them that unless you want to be served as the peace offering.

BENEFITS OF MICROGREENS

Benefits of Sprouting – Just like the plants, different sprouts of microgreens have different health benefits, but there are some common ones:

Lower Anti-Nutrients & Phytic Acid

Sprouting microgreens helps in breaking down naturally occurring anti-nutrients in nuts, grains, and seeds that make them difficult to digest.

Anti-nutrients like phytic acid bind to magnesium, zinc, calcium, and iron, thus not making them easily digestible. Soaking and sprouting microgreens for even one day can reduce the anti-nutrient content by 90% or more. At the same time, microgreens increase the content of many beneficial nutrients and amino acids by making them more available to the body.

Ever gotten gas from consuming beans? Consume properly soaked and sprouted legumes; the compounds that cause digestive disturbances and gas get broken down.

More Beneficial Enzymes

It is said that there are around a 100 times more beneficial enzymes in microsprouts than in raw vegetables. Microgreens are also a wonderful source of enzyme-inducers that protect us against chemical carcinogens.

More Vitamins & Minerals

Microgreens increase the vitamin and mineral content of nuts and seeds and also the nutrient absorption of these foods. Sprouting greatly improves the content of B-vitamins, carotene, and vitamin C. 

Creates Protective Compounds

When you consume sprouts, you essentially consume all the benefits of that plant. Microgreens contain antioxidants and enzymes that support healthy cell regeneration and protect against free radical damage. Different sprouts help the body in many ways:

Broccoli sprouts contain 10-100x as much sulforaphane, a cancer-fighting compound that has been extensively studied, than adult broccoli plants.

Alfalfa sprouts grow very quickly and are a good source of vitamins C and K, as well as B-vitamins. They are also a source of saponins, which help balance cholesterol.

Most sprouts house quite a lot of hydrolytic enzymes that help the body assimilate food like clover sprouts are a good source of isoflavones, sunflower sprouts are high in protein, phytosterols, essential fatty acids, and fibre, and lentil sprouts are an excellent source of protein.

GARDEN OF EDEN

Our peace and health are deeply connected with the health and peace of the planet. Our choice of a healthy, happy lifestyle will manifest into nature giving us more of it back. Plants, animals, and us, we’re all creatures of the same creator who made the sparkling night sky, the crimson sunrise, the glow of morning dew, and the mystical reefs in the silent blue ocean. Our ancestors preserved this soil, this paradise to pass on to us. Through hardships and adversities, they made it easy for us to carry the treasure of this green and blue, beautiful planet, Mother Earth. It is far more precious than plastic-coated, shiny objects, rotten chemicals, and artificial food. It’s time to combat devastation with biodiversity. Being a fashionista who cooks, cleans, and loves to plant trees, making my own micro-greens, I’m certain you all can do your bit too. Going agro is therapeutical – believe me, more so than any retail shopping we splurge on. We’re all in this together; every step we take forward will affect the other person living among us, like a ripple in the pond. So, let’s make decisions that are fruitful for this beautiful planet, and our body and mind. Let’s consume what we were made to consume before we retreat back into this earth. Let’s plant and harvest within for coming generations, to pass on the fortune as we got from our previous inhabitants, so that our children can play under the old oak and banyan trees and swing under the open sky, swim in crystal-clear, deep blue water and be able to gulp in purity while swimming. The habits we evince today will be what our children exhibit tomorrow. Let’s toughen our role in deciding the food we eat. Eating can’t be about religion or politics or cast and race. It’s only about love, peace, and harmony. Let’s straighten the approach to give back the love that we’ve got from nature. Let’s protect what has protected us! From the tiny microbes to the most ripped fruits and bloomed flowers, our garden pulses with flavours, colours, and nourishment; for millions of years, vegetation has self-bloomed and self-balanced. Let it harness the regenerative beauty itself and let’s go back to the earth we were born from. So, in the new year of 2021, with new hopes, aspirations, and positivity, let’s give microgreens a hearty welcome into our lives!

“Be more loving, compassionate and understanding with ourselves, with others, and with the planet, because we are all connected. We are one.” – Gisele Bundchen