Alfalfa sprouts are popular among natural food shoppers. In addition to sprouts, alfalfa is also available as tablets. The medicinal benefits of alfalfa are poorly understood. Alfalfa leaves contain approximately 2–3% saponins. Alfalfa is the most important forage crop in the United States, accounting for almost half of all the hay produced. Alfalfa contains phytoestrogens and antioxidants.
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Nature's Way Alfalfa Leaves, 405 mg
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) has a deep root system which pulls valuable minerals from the soil. With the aid of sunlight, nutrients including beta carotene and chlorophyll are made available to the body in a usable form. Nature's Way sources tender young plants to supply a high portion of supple leaves and to avoid the inclusion of woody stems. Nature's Way Alfalfa is Organically Grown by Trout Lake Farm, Washington, and Certified Organically Processed in accordance with Oregon Tilth standards and the California Organic Foods Act of 1990. A rich natural source of chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and protein. Alfalfa's deep root system pulls these valuable minerals from the soil.

Alfalfa Supplement Facts
Amount Per 3 capsule:
Alfalfa (leaf) 1,220 grams *

Recommendation: As an addition to the daily diet, take 1 to 3 alfalfa capsules 1 or 2 times daily, preferably with food. Other healthy supplements to consider include curcumin, acai berry, pomegranate, Cacao, and noni.

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Twice a month you will receive an email with several new studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Research updates on alfalfa sprouts or health benefit of alfalfa tablets or supplements, or side effects of alfalfa supplement will be mentioned if such studies are published.

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Health Benefit of Alfalfa Herb
Little human research has been done with alfalfa supplements in human health and disease. Therefore the health benefit of alfalfa sprouts or alfalfa supplements are not well known. One study found alfalfa and sage together were helpful in reducing symptoms of menopause, but we need several such studies to confirm these findings. If we do come across any research regarding alfalfa health benefit, we will mention it in the newsletter.

Alfalfa Side Effects
Since little research has been done in humans regarding the influence of alfalfa ingestion and health, we really don't know the long term benefits or side effects of alfalfa use. Thus far, there have not been any alfalfa side effects reported in the medical literature.

Availability of Alfalfa herb products
You can find alfalfa as a tablet, capsule, in tea form, and of course as alfalfa sprouts. Alfalfa powder and alfalfa juice are also sold. Seed growers sell alfalfa seeds. Ortganic alfalfa is preferable to ingest whenever possible.

Alfalfa Plant Research Update
Evaluation of the estrogenic effects of legume extracts containing phytoestrogens.
J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Apr 9;51(8):2193-9.
Seven legume extracts containing phytoestrogens were analyzed for estrogen activity. Methanol extracts were prepared from soybean (Glycine max L.), green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), alfalfa sprout (Medicago sativa L.), mung bean sprout (Vigna radiata L.), kudzu root (Pueraria lobata L.), and red clover blossom and red clover sprout (Trifolium pratense L.). Extracts of kudzu root and red clover blossom showed significant competitive binding to estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta). Estrogenic activity was determined using an estrogen-dependent MCF-7 breast cancer cell proliferation assay. Kudzu root, red clover blossom and sprout, mung bean sprout, and alfalfa sprout extracts displayed increased cell proliferation above levels observed with estradiol. The pure estrogen antagonist, ICI 182,780, suppressed cell proliferation induced by the extracts, suggesting an ER-related signaling pathway was involved. The ER subtype-selective activities of legume extracts were examined using transiently transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) cells. All seven of the extracts exhibited preferential agonist activity toward ERbeta. Using HPLC to collect fractions and MCF-7 cell proliferation, the active components in kudzu root extract were determined to be the isoflavones puerarin, daidzin, genistin, daidzein, and genistein. These results show that several legumes are a source of phytoestrogens with high levels of estrogenic activity.

Soy and alfalfa phytoestrogen extracts become potent low-density lipoprotein antioxidants in the presence of acerola cherry extract.
J Agric Food Chem. 2001 Jan;49(1):308-14.
Postmenopausal women have an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has been implicated in atherogenesis, and the presence of modified LDL (LDL(-)) in plasma appears to represent LDL oxidation in vivo. Because previous studies have demonstrated a strong antiatherogenic effect of estrogen due to its antioxidant activity and similar antioxidant activity was found for specific isoflavones derived from soy extract, the antioxidant activity of a phytoestrogen extract derived from soy and alfalfa was studied. Copper-mediated LDL oxidation was inhibited in the presence of soy and alfalfa extracts, and this effect was further enhanced in the presence of acerola cherry extract, which is rich in ascorbic acid. Male rabbit aortic endothelial cells pretreated with soy extract were resistant to the toxic effects of high levels of LDL and LDL(-), and a lesser, but significant protection, was also afforded by alfalfa extract. Cell-mediated oxidation of LDL, measured by LDL(-) formation, was inhibited in the presence of soy extract but not alfalfa extract. However, in the presence of acerola cherry extract, both soy and alfalfa extracts potently inhibited the formation of LDL(-). These findings show that acerola cherry extract can enhance the antioxidant activity of soy and alfalfa extracts in a variety of LDL oxidation systems. The protective effect of these extracts is attributed to the presence of flavonoids in soy and alfalfa extracts and ascorbic acid in acerola cherry extract, which may act synergistically as antioxidants. It is postulated that this synergistic interaction among phytoestrogens, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid is due to the "peroxidolitic" action of ascorbic acid, which facilitates the copper-dependent decomposition of LDL peroxides to nonradical products; this synergy is complemented by a mechanism in which phytoestrogens stabilize the LDL structure and suppress the propagation of radical chain reactions. The combination of these extracts markedly lowers the concentrations of phytoestrogens required to achieve significant antioxidant activity toward LDL.

[Treatment of neurovegetative menopausal symptoms with a phytotherapeutic agent]
Minerva Ginecol. 1998 May;50(5):207-11. Istituto di Ginecologia e Ostetricia, Universita degli Studi-Siena.
Menopausal symptoms include hot flushes, insomnia, nocturnal sweating, dizziness, headaches and palpitations. These symptoms reflect adaptation of the body to estrogen deprivation which affects various central neurotransmitters. METHODS: In this study, the efficacy has been tested of a plant product based on extracts of the leaves of Salvia officinalis (sage) and Medicago sativa (alfalfa) in the treatment of hot flushes in 30 menopausal women with these symptoms. RESULTS: Hot flushes and night sweating completely disappeared in 20 women: four women showed good improvement and the other six showed a reduction in symptoms. GnRH and TRH tests were performed in 8 women to evaluate TSH and Prl responses before and after 3 months of therapy. The plants product induced a significant increase in Prl and TSH response to TRH. Basal levels of estradiol, LH, FSH, Prl and TSH were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Alfalfa and sage seem to have a central slight antidopaminergic action without side effects and appear to be an effective combination in the treatment of menopausal symptoms.

Genetically Modified Alfalfa
A coalition of farmers, consumers and environmental activists sued the U.S. government in February, 2006, over its approval of a biotech alfalfa that critics say will harm farmers and the environment. Opening another front in the battle over genetically modified crops, the lawsuit contends that the U.S. Department of Agriculture improperly is allowing Monsanto Co. to sell an herbicide-resistant alfalfa seed while failing to analyze the public health, environmental, and economic consequences of that action.
The lawsuit asks the federal court to rescind the USDA's decision until a full environmental review has been completed. The suit aleges that the genetically modified alfalfa will probably contaminate conventionally grown alfalfa at a fast pace, ultimately forcing farmers to pay for Monsanto's patented gene technology whether they want the technology or not.

Alfalfa Questions
Q. Can an alfalfa supplement be taken the same day as ahcc, mangosteen, goji, lyprinol extract, saw palmetto herb or graviola?
     A. I have not come across any research that would preclude the use of alfalfa with the supplements.

Q. Is it okay to eat an alfalfa seed? Are alfalfa seeds edible?
     A. Good question. I don't know. Alfalfa sprouts are certainly edible, so I don't see why the alfalfa seeds would not be.

Q. Is it okay to eat alfalfa sprouts daily?
     A. Alfalfa sprouts are a healthy snack, and there is no indication that eating alfalfa sprouts on daily basis would lead to harm, however, just like any supplement or food, it is best to take a break from use just in case your body does not tolerate a particular chemical or substance in the food.

Q. I happened to find one of your e-mail newsletters and looked up "alfalfa" in your hot-links page to see if you recommend it and whether you are aware of the potential dangers of consuming (large quantities of alfalfa sprouts. I myself only came across the information about the harmful substance canavanine being present in alfalfa seeds and sprouts very recently and was consuming several pounds of home-grown alfalfa sprouts every month, and have just stopped. Max Gerson www.Gerson.org already in the 1950's became aware of the harmful effect of alfalfa sprouts on his recovered cancer patients whose cancer came back when they were transferred to another clinic where they were given lots of alfalfa sprouts, so Max Gerson made the patients aware of this need to avoid alfalfa sprouts. This is very specifically written about in a 1986 newsletter that I happened to order from the www.Gerson.org website, with the headline on the cover of the publication. Incidentally, when looking up canavanine on the web I came across information that the canavanine is only present in the seeds and sprouts of alfalfa and not in the adult alfalfa plant, so tablets and capsules of adult alfalfa should not contain any canavanine, and, important for me since I am a broccoli fan, broccoli sprouts do not contain canavanine. On Google.com I found lots of reference articles and books available
on the topic but I have yet to decide to bite the bullet and order the 600-page book that details all the toxic substances found in the food we eat which unfortunately sells for $160.-USD. Wishing you lots of luck in helping as many people as possible to achieve optimal health, from Prague.
   A. Apparently there has been an association of SLE and alfalfa in a volunteer who developed lupus-like autoimmunity while ingesting alfalfa seed for a cholesterol study. Monkeys fed alfalfa sprouts developed SLE. This is one more reason to consume a diet with a wide variety of foods in order to minimize potential exposure to high doses of toxins. L-canavanine, present in alfalfa sprouts can be charged by arginyl tRNA synthetase to replace L-arginine during protein synthesis. Aberrant canavanyl proteins disrupt protein function.

Systemic lupus erythematosus-like syndrome in monkeys fed alfalfa sprouts: role of a nonprotein amino acid.
Science. 1982 Apr 23;216(4544):415-7. Hematologic and serologic abnormalities similar to those observed in human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) developed in cynomolgus macaques fed alfalfa sprouts. L-Canavanine sulfate, a constituent of alfalfa sprouts, was incorporated into the diet and reactivated the syndrome in monkeys in which an SLE-like syndrome had previously been induced by the ingestion of alfalfa seeds or sprouts.

Q. Is it okay to use an alfalfa supplement daily with a week off each month?
   A. An alfalfa supplement has many nutrients, vitamins, chlorophyl, and other compounds. Alfalfa appears to be safe used daily with the occasional breaks as you mention..