We have all heard that microgreens are nutritious and offer many health benefits.
The statement which resonates in my head is: “Microgreens contain 40% more beneficial nutrients than their full-grown counterparts.
But what does that mean besides that we will get 40% more nutrients if we eat the same amount of microgreens?
Which nutrients?
What are the health benefits?
Is this true for all microgreen varieties?
Reasons for Creating the Microgreen Nutritional Resource
The questions above are only a few of the reasons why I created the Microgreen Nutritional Resource (MNR). If you are looking for a resource that provides you with concise information on the essential vitamins and minerals, the Daily Value, and % Daily Value that microgreens and leafy greens provide then the MNR is for you.
You can watch the short video below to learn more about the MNR. Or you can scroll down below to see why I took the time to create the Resource and the personal experience that convinced me to care more about nutrition.
Searching the Internet is a Pain
As you may know firsthand, searching the internet rarely gives you a page with all the information. It takes a lot of time and effort to find what you are looking to learn.
Then, if you find a web page gives you an idea of what a microgreen might contain but not exactly how much.
Or if they have numbers, it might list the nutrient values in a cup of microgreens. Yet another tells you how much is in 80 grams.
It’s hard to compare the results.
I find volume measurements useless because are the microgreens placed in the cup loosely or packed down?
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here is why I wanted the information.
When I Knew I Needed to Care
I admit, I didn’t start caring about my nutritional needs until something terrible happened. My girlfriend at the time was diagnosed with cancer. Seeing someone go through a health scare makes you more concerned with what everyone you love is eating.
When I heard about microgreens I was intrigued. Here is a fresh green I can easily add to our meals and gain a wide variety of nutrients. Yet I had no idea what each vitamin and mineral did for us.
What Does That Vitamin Do?
Of course, I knew vitamin C helped fight off colds, and magnesium helped with my leg cramps after hiking all day. However, I had no clue what vitamin B1 did.
This is when I started to do some research on our nutritional needs. I found it confusing, even the switching of names like vitamin B2 or riboflavin. No resource was concise and most were vague, obviously only trying to outsmart the Google algorithm.
The video above shows images of the tables, charts, and functions of the Home Microgreens Nutritional Resource!
What, How Much & How Much is Too Much?
I had no clue, only that we needed vitamins and minerals. I didn’t even know how much of each we needed or if we could take too much.
I figured the recommended daily values change depending on age and it seems like males and females would require different amounts. But finding the information all in one spot was impossible.
I mean, not only was I trying to be healthy for myself, but I was caring for my girlfriend who was now recovering from cancer surgery, and her three children.
To top it all off, her Dad, who was on blood thinners would come over for lunch, and from my limited research, I knew some of the greens we were eating had a lot of vitamin K which isn’t good for those on blood thinners.
Did the greens on his sandwich go over his recommended amount? Would it be better if purposely left them off?
At the time, I didn’t even want exact values, only some reassurances that someone on medications could eat a particular green or vegetable and not have any worries.
These are all the questions I had swimming around in my head. All I wanted was some clue of what to be careful about.
The Vagueness of It All
But still, there were always questions about the nutritional benefits of microgreens. Are they overstated? What exactly does being loaded with vitamins or high in vitamin E and calcium mean?
Why use relative terms instead of absolute values?
I decided to change that by creating the Microgreen Nutritional Resource.
I started to research all of the elementary questions I asked myself at the time and set out to create a resource to answer those questions.
The Benefits of the Microgreen Nutritional Resource
Here are the benefits of the Microgreen Nutritional Resource (MNR).
An explanation of the USFDA Daily Value (DV) and %Daily Value (%DV) are. Not only is this helpful for microgreen nutrition but to helps us understand the food labels posted on food packaging.
A quick resource that has 2023 updated recommended DV and %DVs for all essential vitamins and minerals.
Speaking of the essential vitamins and minerals, the MNR is organized into categories listing all vitamins, macro minerals, trace minerals, and ultra-trace minerals. Did you know that there are 34 essential nutrients?
For each of the 34 essential nutrients, the MNR explains what the nutrient is and how it benefits the body.
On food labels and most websites (including the FDA site) only one recommended DV value is listed. However, the National Institute of Health (NIH) provides recommendations based on life stage (age) and sex. This makes complete sense if you think about it. The MNR has a table listing the life stage DV recommendations for each essential nutrient.
There is an old idiom stating that you can have too much of a good thing. This is true for vitamins and minerals too. Eat everything in moderation. The MNR provides the FDA-recommended upper limit for each nutrient.
Some people are more at risk for toxicity than others. If those data are available for any particular nutrient the MNR lists the conditions or life stage that may need to watch their intake.
The part of the resource that took the most time and effort to compile is the tables for each of the 34 essential nutrients listing the %DV per 100 grams for 40 different microgreens (or greens) (1).
To make it easier to use, there is also a calculator that you can use based on your personal serving size to calculate the %DV and mass of the nutrient contained in your serving size. The calculator will give you a much better idea of the nutrients you eat than the numbers listed in any data table.
For example, a microgreen may provide 12% of the DV of vitamin B1 per 100 grams. But you will not eat 100 grams. You might only eat 9 grams or â…“ or an ounce of that microgreen. By entering 9 grams and 12 (for 12%) into the dedicated calculator you will find that you consumed 1.1% of the daily value or 0.01 micrograms of vitamin B1 in that serving size. As long as you know the weight and the %DV for any food you can use the calculator to determine your nutrient consumption.
At the bottom of each essential nutrient page, there is a link to the NIH website where you can find out more about that nutrient if you need more detailed information.
Lastly, the MNR has a library resource with many downloadable PDF journal articles on the nutrition and phytochemicals contained in microgreens and other leafy greens. There are also links to websites. Both the articles and websites are the sources for much of the information in the Microgreen Nutritional Resource.
- Not all of the data in the tables are exclusive of microgreens but of the mature raw leafy green. After all, no one is paying a researcher or institution to run the nutritional analysis of Lovage microgreens. The USDA does a lot of testing, but again, often it is on the mature raw leafy green not necessarily the microgreen stage of growth.
However, I did look at several examples in all but one case the resulting analysis of the microgreen was higher than the mature leafy green stage. Therefore, we can consider the data listed as the minimal amount obtained.
All of the data was painstakingly normalized to 100-gram samples. The reason for this is easier math without the calculator. Much easier to mentally divide a number by 100 than by 60 or 80.
I just updated and added a new web page to the resource as I go deep into the nutritional benefits of each of the microgreen varieties I sell in the Home Microgreens Store. I will continue to add to this resource!
The Microgreen Nutritional Resource is Now Available!
The Home Microgreens Nutritional Resource is available for Domestic and International* readers. Use the form below to purchase the MNR for lifetime access.
For a limited time price of the Resource is $19.99 USD
You will have instant access to the Resource.
There is a 14-day refund policy, if you are not happy you will get a full refund within the 14-day window.
Currently, we are only accepting payment via PayPal for courses. You can of course use a credit card with PayPal.
* International sales will depend on whether Stripe (CC processor) or PayPal accepts your country’s currency.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me at to**@ho*************.com and I will get right back to you.