Wheat Grass Benefits for Fitness and Health

I initially encountered wheatgrass at Jamba Juice a few years ago. Other than thinking that it was an interesting concept to drink juice coming from grass that didn't taste good at all, I really didn't think much about wheatgrass benefits until I started taking a green food nutritional supplement. This interest encouraged me to look into exactly what is in wheatgrass that may be beneficial to our body. The answers surprised me.

A Little Bit Of Background about Wheatgrass

I can't talk about Wheatgrass without mentioning Charles F. Schnabel. Schnabel was an agricultural scientist who popularized the plant during the 1930s when he fed fresh cut grass to his dying hens. Soon after doing this, the hens recovered magnificently and even produced eggs at a much higher rate in comparison to the healthy hens. Schnabel then began drying out the grass to make powder from it so he can give it to his relatives and neighbors to supplement their diet. He even got couple of large corporations to sponsor additional investigation on the plant and by 1940s, wheatgrass powder began showing in major drug stores throughout America and Canada.

Wheatgrass may be grown indoors and outdoors. The plant is harvested at the jointing stage which is the time prior to when the grass leaf starts to elongate and form a stem. The nutritional analysis I've seen from web sites that sell wheatgrass powder or juice show that here is the moment when the plant's nutrient levels have reached their top. Nutrients like chlorophyll, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes are just a few of the nutrients found in wheatgrass.

You may also buy wheatgrass kits and grow them inside at home. However, mold can grow on seeds that did not germinate when the seeds are planted to close together on indoor trays. A small number of people have described getting anaphylactic shock after taking a shot of its juice because of this mold. Therefore, to be safe, either get a outdoor grown plant or be sure that the plant is screened to be mold-free when you decide to supplement with wheatgrass.

Wheatgrass Benefits

There's still lots of discussion about the benefits of wheatgrass to our health. Some claim that the nutrient profile is comparable to almost any green vegetable you can get at the supermarket. However, my study convinced me that there is much more to this plant.

The one element of wheatgrass that grabbed my interest the most was chlorophyll. You might have heard about chlorophyll when you studied biology in school. It is found in the leaves of green plants and is their main source of energy. Chlorophyll's structure is very comparable to hemoglobin which is a material that transports oxygen in our blood.

Research also discovered that chlorophyll is able to eliminate dangerous chemicals from our bloodstream. This makes it excellent for cleansing. Livestrong.com even said that those who consistently drink wheatgrass juice report elevated energy. This rise in energy may help you exercise longer and harder while burning more calories at the same time. One study on rats discovered that a diet rich in chlorophyll from spinach juice can help prevent colon cancer. This finding is very beneficial to those who eat a lot of beef, rather than white meat, and not plenty of vegetables.However, the research doesn't stop with rats.

One study was done on children with Thalassemia, a genetic form of anemia, who require regular blood transfusions. After taking 100 ml of wheatgrass juice daily for a year, half of the patients only needed 75% of the amount of blood they used to get in order to stay well. Scientists found similar results when 20 adult patients with pre-leukemia began taking 30 mls of the juice daily for 6 months. These patients were able to have longer intervals between their blood transfusions so they didn't require as much blood compared to before they began taking wheatgrass juice.

The benefits of taking wheatgrass has additionally been researched in cancer patients due to its cleansing and antioxidant qualities. One study showed 60 breast cancer patients who took wheatgrass juice everyday during their first 3 series of chemotherapy. The patients were able to reduce toxic chemical build up in their bone marrow and were able to greatly reduce their dosage of the chemicals used during their chemotherapy. The juice was able to give all these benefits to cancer patients without affecting the effectiveness of their chemotherapy.

Should You Take Wheat Grass?

We can easily see from these studies that the nutrients and other components in wheatgrass may offer recovery benefits to people who suffer from some form of illness like cancer, leukemia, anemia, etc. This simply means that healthy individuals who have no apparent illness can benefit from drinking wheatgrass juice even more. But, of course, there's no substitute for eating a healthier diet.

If you decide to supplement your diet with wheatgrass juice or powder, think about making these changes as well for optimal benefits:

• Eating more greens, non-starchy vegetables and fruits.
• Lowering red meat consumption and eating more lean meats.
• Eating less starchy carbs and simple sugars like bread, pasta, sugar, etc.
• Last but not the least, get more exercise or physical activity.

I prefer to supplement with wheatgrass powder because the convenience it offers during times when I'm not able to eat a lot of vegetables. I get my supply from Amazing Grass because they process the plant under low temperatures to preserve its nutrients. They also grow their plants outdoors which assures that there is no mold contamination. I prefer the powder compared to the juice because I get the entire leaf which means I am also getting insoluble fiber combined with other nutrients. I normally either make a green drink and sip it throughout the day or blend it in my smoothies.

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