The Health Benefits of Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass is great food product. It is a natural source of vitamins and minerals and is an excellent source of calcium,iron,magnesium,phosphorus,potassium,sodium,sulphur,cobalt,and zinc.

Wheatgrass is thought to have a higher vitamin B12 content than other vegetables. This is an essential nutrient,though the vitamin is not contained within the wheatgrass but is a by-product of the micro-organisms living on it. Vitamin B12 is absent from many other leafy green vegetables

Supporters claim that wheatgrass is not only a good source of nutrients,but also provides antioxidant protection,supports the immune system,reduces cholesterol and promotes detoxification.

Wheatgrass is a healthy super food that has been used traditionally in cultures around the world. It is not,however,a substitute for eating a variety of organic fruits and vegetables. So is best used as part of a healthy diet.

Wheatgrass is a leafy green plant and is different altogether from the grain and refined grain products that people often develop allergies to. It is good for those on a gluten free diet

Wheatgrass is an effective tonic,here are some of its healing qualities,it is beneficial for:-

skin allergies
greying or hair loss
weakness
kidney stones
weak eyesight
pyorrhoea
dental infections
fatigue,and
acne (along with an improved diet)

As if that is not enough,there is a body of opinion that says it is good for prostate cancer. So it may be worth adding it to your list of remedies for prostate health because it is so beneficial in many other ways.

Wheatgrass juice is one of the best sources of chlorophyll available. Like all green plants that contain chlorophyll,it is high in oxygen. The brain and all body tissues function at an optimal level in a highly-oxygenated environment.

Chlorophyll is anti-bacterial and can be used inside and outside the body to heal and cleanse. Wheatgrass can also be digested very quickly which means that it uses up very little energy.

Why not try the health benefits of wheatgrass for yourself?

You can buy wheat seeds,(or berries as they are often known) at your local heath foods store,or order them online. Amazon stock wheatgrass growing kits which inlude seeds,a how-to book and a growing medium (or flat block/tray). This makes it easy to grow wheatgrass indoors.

You will need a juicer that is suitable for wheatgrass and other leafy vegetables. Your regular juicer that pulps up carrots,beetroot,and fruit is not suitable for wheatgrass juicing. Wheatgrass needs to be pressed or squeezed to get the juice just right. There are electric juicers available but a manual juicer is ideal. The kind that reminds you of the mincers that a 1950/60s home would have,except of course,they are more attractively designed these days and made from modern materials. A hand juicer costs around $40.

Wheat seeds will sprout and grow in a shallow dish of water. But it is useful to remember that if you have a good growing medium,you will have good quality wheatgrass. Wheatgrass is able to absorb most of the nutrients we need from the soil. So make sure that you have a good organic soil. You can use the topsoil from your garden and if you have a good compost,use that too. Those of us who live near a garden centre can buy a good bag of potting compost that will last for ages. You may also be able to buy the individual items there if you don't buy a kit.

1. Many home-growers soak the seeds in water for 24 hours.

(some will wait until the seeds start to sprout before going to steps two and three)

2. Place about an inch (2.4 cms) of soil across the bottom of the seed tray

3. You can then spread out the seeds in the growing tray so that the seeds cover the service of the soil.

4. Cover the seeds with a light layer of soil

5. Place a cover on the tray for two or three days,keep the soil moist and the tray in a warm place (this will force the sprouting)

6. When the shoots are about an inch (2.4 cms) -uncover the tray and place outside in the sunshine or on a sunny window sill

7. The grass will then green up and grow to about 8 -10 inches (about 20 cms) in 7 -10 days depending on conditions

8. Cut the grass as near to the soil as possible (you can keep it for up to seven days unwashed) best to use immediately.

9. Squeeze or press the grass

10. Drink the green nectar neat,or mix with your favourite juice.

It is important once you start growing your own,to operate a regular system for a continuous supply. You will gradually find by trial and error how much you need to grow and which is the best size seed tray.

If your enthusiasm for this home grown venture starts to wane,remember the health benefits of wheatgrass juice. It is a natural source of vitamins and minerals and is an excellent source of calcium,iron,magnesium,phosphorus,potassium,sodium,sulphur,cobalt,and zinc. So it is a great way to get most of the nutrients your body needs and is so easy to digest.

Get your children involved in the growing process. You may find that getting them to drink this sweet grassy drink is a whole lot easier than getting them to eat their 'greens'.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be difficult at times. But cost does not need to be a factor because you can grow your own food at home,in your kitchen or in your garden. Wheatgrass is a case in point. Grow your own on a sunny windowsill and with the help of a juicer,you can enjoy fresh,nourishing wheatgrass juice. Here are some points to consider before buying a wheatgrass juicer.

Firstly,do you want a manual or an electric juicer? A manual juicer is more environmentally friendly and saves on electricity costs. You may spend a bit more time doing the juicing,but this could be part of the attraction. If you need to save time,then go for the automatic juicing approach.

The quality of the machine is also important. A better auger action will extract more juice. A slower action is better for wheatgrass. This is because the juice needs to be gently crushed from the grass,it retains more vitimins and enzymes that way.

You may also want to juice more than just wheatgrass juice. Maybe vegetables and fruit juice are also part of your diet. Will your juicer need to work at different speeds for the carrots and spinach?

Will your juicer need to be portable,or can it stay in one place on your kitchen surface? There are times when will will want to store it away to have more kitchen space. Or,you may be a travelling salesman and like to have your juice each morning when you wake up in your hotel room. If that is the case then size does matter.

Of course,there are other factors to consider when you are trying to lead a healthy lifestyle. Getting the right juicer is just one practical step to help you on your way. Happy juicing!

Wheatgrass probably has a long track record if the tradition ascribed to the Essenes is anything to go by. The Essenes, were a Jewish group who lived at the time of Jesus. They lived a simple rural lifestyle. They did not touch alcohol and were strict observers of the Sabbath. They also believed that a nutritious diet and the right mental attitude were the answer to perfect health. Which is still good advice today. Part of their diet as vegetarians would have been wheat seeds and wheat seed sprouts.

Now the purists among us may insist that there is no biblical evidence to be able to answer the question posed by the title, in the affirmative. Does the bible actually state that Jesus sat down somewhere and drank a glass of wheatgrass juice? Well, I will have to concede that point. So did he have a meal with the Essenes from time to time?

It is thought that Jesus did have some close ties with the Essenes. so it is not a large stretch of the imagination to see him having the odd goblet of wheatgrass juice with the nutbake. On one occassion, Jesus' disciples walked through a wheat field and rubbed the heads of the stalks between their hands and ate the kernals. What if they took a pocketful home for some sprouting? I guess we will never know.

Fast forward nearly two thousand years and the story is told of Ann Wigmore who, in the 1940s, healed herself of cancer from the weeds she found in vacant lots around Boston.

We are here talking about wheatgrass. A simple food that is big on claims and substance. Ann Wigmore went on to write many books on the subject and started a healing institute. She lived until she was 84 years old. The cancer never returned, but she died in a fire when the old building that housed her institute went up in flames.

Modern evidence suggests that much of the sickness that is around today is due to our poor diets. Food is either processed too much, or cooked to death - often destroying the life-giving enzymes, vitamins and minerals on the way.

Wheatgrass is full of enzymes, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It is an excellent source of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulphur, cobalt, and zinc.

Supporters also claim, as if the above list of ingredients is not enough, that there is a more important ingredient in wheatgrass. That ingredient is chlorophyll. This is the life force for our planet's plant kingdom. Chlorophyll is liquid energy from the sun. It is practically identical to human blood except that magnesium is in its nucleus instead of iron.

During the 1940s there was much research done on the health benefits of chlorophyll. There are over 40 articles from that time, written up in various medical journals. The positive effects of chlorophyll for our health are too numerous to list here. But here are a few, wheatgrass is an effective tonic for skin allergies, kidney stones, dental infections and acne. It is also claimed that scar tissue in lungs caused by smoking or drugs can be healed over time.

In recent years more research work has been by Japanese pharmacist, Yoshihide Hagiwar, who found that barley grass had restorative healing powers. And of course many people are finding out for themselves, that this natural product, wheatgrass, has remarkable health benefits. Why not try it for yourself?