Alfalfa

Botanical Name: Medicago Sativa

You’ve probably encountered alfalfa as sprouts in the produce section of your grocery store, on a sandwich, or at salad bars, but did you know the entire plant is valuable? The sprouts are a tasty addition to many dishes, and the leaves and tiny blossoms of this tall, bushy, leafy plant are used for medications. Herbalist often recommend alfalfa in cases of malnutrition, debility, and prolonged illness. Alfalfa tea and capsules are taken for several months build up the body. Alfalfa contains substances that bind to estrogen receptors in the body. Estrogen binds to these receptors like a key in a lock. If the estrogen level is low, and many of these “locks” are empty, the constituents of alfalfa bind to them instead and increase estrogenic activity. These keys, although similar to estrogen, are not nearly as strong. If estrogen levels in the body are too high, the alfalfa keys fill some of the locks, denying the space to estrogen, thereby reducing estrogenic activity. Because alfalfa may provide some estrogenic activity when the body’s hormone levels are low and compete for estrogen binding sites when hormone levels are high, alfalfa is said to be hormone balancing.

Both alfalfa sprouts and leaf preparations may help lower blood cholesterol levels. The saponins in alfalfa seem to bind to cholesterol and prevent its absorption. Alfalfa is high in vitamins A and C, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, and the minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium. Alfalfa also contains bioflavonoids.

Preparations

Alfalfa is available in capsules, which you may take daily as a nutritional supplement. You can also find bulk alfalfa leaves, which you can infuse to make a nourishing tea. Infuse 1 tablespoon per cup of boiling water and steep for 15 minutes.

Precautions

Excessive consumption of alfalfa may cause the breakdown of red blood cells. Also, a constituent in alfalfa, canavanine, may aggravate the disease lupus. Canavanine is an unusual amino acid found in the seeds and sprouts but not in the mature leaves. Thus, alfalfa tea and capsules made from leaves would not contain canavanine. Avoid alfalfa during pregnancy because of its canavanine content and hormonally active saponins. If you are pregnant, you may put a few sprouts on a sandwich now and then, but avoid daily consumption of alfalfa.