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Wheatgrass powder is a food prepared from the cotyledons of the common wheat plant. It is sold either as a juice or powder concentrate and available from www.ecogreenstore.co.uk. Wheatgrass differs from wheat malt in that it is served freeze-dried or fresh, while wheat malt is convectively dried. It provides chlorophyll, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and enzymes. Claims about the health benefits of wheatgrass range from providing supplemental nutrition to having unique curative properties, though few if any have been scientifically proven. Some consumers grow and juice wheatgrass in their homes. It is often available in juice bars, alone or in mixed fruit or vegetable drinks. It is also available in many health food stores as fresh produce, tablets, frozen juice and powder. Wheatgrass contains no wheat gluten.
Indoor grown wheatgrass 8-10 days before harvest.15 Ways to Care for your Joints
If you are suffering from aches in the joints or osteoarthritis, try Apple-cyder vinegar!! This recipe is simple, cheap and can potentially help you. 1 table spoon Apple cyder vinegar (you can buy this from the supermarket), add to 1/2 glass of luke-warm water and sweeten with 1/2 spoon runny honey. Drink this very refreshing drink once or twice daily for 6 weeks – and feel the difference.Ditch the high heels. Follow Posh’s example and move to flats. Heels put extra stress on your knees and may increase your risk of developing osteoarthritis.Avoid neck pain. Document holders attached to computer monitors and positioned at eye-level, and hands-free telephone headsets, can reduce neck strain.Sit and stand. Neither sitting or standing on your feet all day is good for you. When possible, alternate between the two to prevent locking yourself in one position.Rest your wrists. Purchase a wrist rest for your computer.Handle heavy loads. When you lift or carry items, use the palms of both hands or use your arms instead of your hands. Hold items close to your body as it’s less stressful for your joints. For joint safety, slide objects whenever possible rather than lift them.Lose weight. You won’t just look better, you’ll feel better too. Every extra pound you carry puts four times the stress on your knees.Build strong bones. Boost your calcium intake with food such as yoghurt, broccoli, kale, figs and salmon. Go for Vitamin C. Reach for an orange and Kale Juice also wheatgrass powder. This juicecontains Vitamin C at 200% the RDA! and also other antioxidants and may help your risk of osteoarthritis.Add colour to your diet. Choose fruits and vegetables in a wide range of colours to ensure maximum nutrients, fibre, disease fighting antioxidants and an abundance of phytochemicals.Cut back on caffeine. Avoid that caffeine kick in the morning; opt instead for Wheatgrass Juice, herbal teas and water with lemon to stay hydrated.Take the plunge. Strength training, jogging and swimming allow you to keep doing many of the exercises you love, while taking a loads of your joints. But remember to warm up.Throw some fish on the grill… Or take Udo’s Choice – a vegetarian alternative to stocking up on Omega 3 and 6. Nothing like a well oiled Stretching isn’t just for workouts. Yoga hasn’t been the hottest trend (for the last 5000 years) for nothing.
The consumption of wheatgrass in the Western World began in the 1930s as a result of experiments conducted by Charles Schnabel in his attempts to popularize the plant. By 1940, cans of Schnabel’s powdered grass were on sale in major drug stores throughout the USA and Canada.
Extracting wheatgrass juice with a manual juicing machine.
Outdoor grown wheat grass grows slowly through the winter in a climate like that of Kansas in the United States.
Research was conducted with wheatgrass grown outdoors in Kansas. His wheatgrass required 200 days of slow growth, through the winter and early spring, when it was harvested at the jointing stage. He claimed that at this stage the plant reached its peak nutritional value; after jointing, concentrations of chlorophyll, protein, and vitamins decline sharply. Harvested grass was dehydrated and made into powders and tablets for human and animal consumption. Wheatgrass grown indoors in trays for ten days contains similar nutritional content. Wheatgrass grown outdoors is harvested, dehydrated at a low temperature and sold in tablet and powdered concentrates. Wheat grass juice powder is also available either spray-dried or freeze-dried.
| Nutrient | Wheatgrass Juice | Broccoli | Spinach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | 860 mg | 800 mg | 810 mg |
| Beta-carotene | 120 IU | 177 IU | 2658 IU |
| Vitamin E | 880 mcg | 220 mcg | 580 mcg |
| Vitamin C | 1 mg | 25.3 mg | 8 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.30 mcg | 0 mcg | 0 mcg |
| Phosphorus | 21 mg | 19 mg | 14 mg |
| Magnesium | 8 mg | 6 mg | 22 mg |
| Calcium | 7.2 mg | 13 mg | 28 mg |
| Iron | 0.66 mg | 0.21 mg | 0.77 mg |
| Potassium | 42 mg | 90 mg | 158 mg |
Proponents of wheatgrass make many claims for its health properties, ranging from promotion of general well-being to cancer prevention. These claims have not been substantiated in the scientific literature. There is some limited evidence of beneficial pharmacological effects from chlorophyll, though this does not necessarily apply to dietary chlorophyll.
There are a number of other small studies and pilots on the possible benefits of wheatgrass juice. According to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, there may be a need for further study of wheatgrass therapy for ulcerative collitis; they cite a small pilot study which showed regular wheatgrass juice therapy significantly reduced rectal bleeding and overall disease activity.
It has been claimed that wheatgrass helps blood flow, digestion and general detoxification of the body. These claims have not been reliably substantiated, or are no different from similar vegetables. However, in one pilot study of children with thalassemia(a hereditary form of anemia which often requires blood transfusions), of the patients who were given 100 ml of wheatgrass juice daily, half showed reduced need for transfusions. No adverse effects were observed. Another small study of transfusion-dependent patients suffering from myelodyplastic syndrome responded similarly to wheatgrass therapy; that is, the intervals between needed transfusions were increased. In addition, the chelation effect (removal of heavy metals from the blood) was studied for the same patients; the wheatgrass therapy showed a significant iron chelation effect.
In another pilot, which was not placebo controlled, breast cancer patients who drank wheatgrass juice daily showed a decreased need for blood- and bone marrow-building medications during chemotherapy, without diminishing the effects of the therapy.
The food has demonstrated in vitro cytotoxicity to HL-60 (Human promyelocytic leukemia cells).
Wheatgrass proponent Schnabel claimed in the 1940s that “fifteen pounds of wheatgrass is equal in overall nutritional value to 350 pounds of ordinary garden vegetables”, a ratio of 1:23. Despite claims of vitamin and mineral content disproportional to other vegetables, the nutrient content of wheatgrass juice is roughly equivalent to that of common vegetables.
Wheatgrass powder from www.ecogreenstore.co.uk is also claimed to be superior to other vegetables in its content of vitamin B12, a vital nutrient. Contrary to popular belief, B12 is not contained within wheat grass or any vegetable, rather it is a by product of the micro organisms living on plants. Analysis of B12 content in wheatgrass has confirmed that it contains negligible amounts of the compound.
