The Nutritional Value Of Eating Alfalfa Sprouts

The thin green threads of alfalfa sprouts offer a tasty crunch for salads and other dishes. You can purchase these sprouts in the produce aisle of your grocery store, or you can grow them in your own kitchen. Use them for the fresh flavor they add to recipes or for their nutritional value -- sprouts are low in fat and calories but serve up vitamins and minerals.

Calories and Fat

A 1-cup serving of alfalfa sprouts contains 8 calories, making this a good choice for low calorie diets. You may burn those calories off just eating the sprouts -- the act of eating while seated burns roughly 30 calories in an hour for a 150-lb. female. This food is low in fat as well, with 0.2 g per serving. You do need fat in your diet, however, so aim for an intake of 20 to 35 percent of the calories in your daily meal plan from fat.

Carbohydrates and Protein

Have a serving of alfalfa sprouts, and you will not satisfy a great deal of your needs for carbohydrates and protein. With so few calories, you get low amounts of macronutrients. You take in 1.3 g of protein, or 2.3 to 2.8 percent of the amount of protein you should consume each day. Consider serving alfalfa sprouts as a topper for a chicken salad to boost your protein intake. A serving of these sprouts contains 0.6 g of carbohydrates. Your meal plan should include 225 to 325 g of carbohydrates per day. Both carbohydrates and protein provide energy.

Vitamins

Despite having fairly low amounts of macronutrients, alfalfa sprouts serve as a good source of vitamin K. Each serving contains 13 percent of the daily recommended intake of this vitamin, which is important in blood clotting. It may also serve to strengthen your bones. A study published in the March 2011 issue of the journal "Bone" correlates high vitamin K consumption with excellent bone integrity. Researchers theorize that this may help prevent osteoporosis, which can develop as you age; consume alfalfa sprouts to keep your skeleton healthy. You also take in smaller amounts of vitamin C, folate, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, niacin and vitamin A.

Minerals

Alfalfa sprouts contain small amounts of minerals. Each serving provides 3 percent of the copper and manganese you require each day. You also get 2 percent of the daily recommended intake of zinc, phosphorus, magnesium and iron and 1 percent of the calcium and potassium.

Considerations

Before eating alfalfa sprouts, keep in mind that this food is sometimes associated with bacterial contamination. Evidence in the January 2008 edition of the "Journal of Food Protection" reveals that bacteria such as Enterobacteriaceae, Oxalobacteraceae, Moraxellaceae, and Sphingomonadaceae are often found in sprouts. These bacteria can cause E. coli and salmonella infections.