When "bean sprout" is mentioned, many immediately think of the mung sprouts used in traditional Asian cuisine. But many different types of bean seeds can be germinated and sprouts harvested, including kidney, navy, pinto, mung, lentil and soy beans. All types of bean sprouts are excellent sources of nutrition.
Definition
A sprout is the young growth, or shoot, from a seed. The taste and texture of sprouts vary depending on the bean. With only a few exceptions, all bean sprouts contain the same basic nutrients, but not in the same amounts.
This article considers the nutritional value of mung, lentil and soybean sprouts. To fairly compare them, portion sizes of 100 grams are used. This does not necessarily represent a typical serving size because a one cup serving is different for each bean sprout. One cup of lentil sprouts weighs 77 grams, mung sprouts are 104 grams, and soybean sprouts are 70 grams.
Basic Nutrition
The caloric value of the three types ranges from mung sprouts with only 30 calories to lentil sprouts with 106 and soybean sprouts with 122. Their protein values range from three grams (mung sprouts) to 13 grams (soybean sprouts). This makes them a good source of protein because three grams represents 6 percent and 13 grams equals 26 percent of the recommended daily value (DV). They're all low in total fat and carbohydrates. Of the three, soybeans produce the only sprouts that have enough dietary fiber to be significant, providing 4 percent of DV.
Vitamins
Bean sprouts are a great source of vitamin C, providing 22 percent to 28 percent of the daily value. They're also good sources of six of the eight B vitamins. They're especially high in folate, with mung beans providing 15 percent, lentils 25 percent and soybeans 43 percent of the daily value. Lentil and soybean sprouts are a good source of thiamine (15 and 23 percent of DV, respectively), with mung sprouts containing 6 percent of DV. They provide 4 percent to 9 percent of the daily value of riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and B6.
Minerals
Lentil and soybean sprouts provide higher amounts of most minerals: iron (18 and 12 percent DV), magnesium (9 and 18 percent DV), phosphorus (17 and 16 percent DV), potassium, (9 and 14 percent DV), zinc (10 and 8 percent DV) and copper (18 and 21 percent DV). Both are also a great source of manganese, with lentil sprouts having 25 percent and soybean sprouts providing 35 percent DV. All three contain small amounts of calcium. Mung sprouts provide all the same minerals in a range of 3 to 9 percent DV.
Mung Sprouts
Mung sprouts are the only one of the three that provide several other important nutrients, including 41 percent of the daily value of vitamin K. They have six micrograms each of alpha and beta carotene and one percent of the daily value of vitamin E. Mung sprouts also supply 15 mg of phytosterols (plant estrogens).
Essential Fatty Acids
Bean sprouts are rich sources of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Mung sprouts provide 16 mg, lentil sprouts 38 mg and soybean sprouts 445 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. While mung sprouts have 42 mg and lentils have 181 mg of omega-6 fatty acids, soybean sprouts provide a huge 3,338 mg.
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