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Health Benefits of Wheatgrass |
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Written by administrator
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Tuesday, 27 May 2008 |
Health benefits of wheatgrass
Wheatgrass, Healthy for the Body and for the Bank Account too!
It is said that vitamin, mineral and enzyme content in one ounce of wheatgrass juice is equivalent to levels found in about 2.5 pounds of other green vegetable juice. Let us find out why people swear by wheatgrass and why you should be one of them. Here are the facts about this amazing grass:
Wheatgrass is a term used for the young Agropyron plants, which are closely related to wheat. Looking like a typical lawn grass when in its early stages, wheatgrass is widely acknowledged as one of nature’s existing super foods. It is grown from the Red Wheatberry, a special strain that contains high concentrations of chlorophyll, amino acids, enzymes, minerals and vitamins.
Wheatgrass is most well known for its health benefits, and is often crushed into a juice for regular consumption. Harvested with a bread knife, pulped through a cold press juicer and for three dollars, wheatgrass is down the hatch. In its non-juiced form wheatgrass is non-digestible due to the high levels of cellulose and its fibrous nature therefore it must be juiced to obtain the maximum nutritional value from it. Juicing is necessary to release the nutrients contained in wheatgrass into a digestible form. For this, you will need a wheatgrass capable juicer to be able to juice wheatgrass. Wheatgrass juice makes all the high levels of nutrients available for digestion.
The taste of wheatgrass juice may seem a little strange to some and you may prefer to make juice from a combination of wheatgrass and other fruit / vegetables. Because of the strong taste and high nutrient content many people start off drinking around an ounce of wheatgrass juice a day (with/without other juices) and then gradually increase the amount to around 4oz of wheatgrass juice a day. One handful of wheatgrass will produce approximately an ounce of juice. The idea of drinking juice made from grass may seem distasteful, but try it for the first time and you may be pleasantly surprised by its subtly sweet taste.
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Do you know that.....Every day our bodies accumulate internal waste and harmful toxins from eating processed and chemically grown food, breathing polluted air and drinking impure water and if we don't get rid of them, these harmful toxins will definitely cause a long term damage and a more complicated health problem?
One of the fastest and surest ways to cleanse our bodies of environmental pollutants is wheatgrass juice. As studies show, the high levels of enzymes and amino acids found in wheatgrass work like a natural detergent to detoxify the liver, eliminate toxic heavy metals from the blood stream, rid the body of waste matter and help strengthen the body’s immune system. This allows valuable nutrients to be distributed more efficiently throughout the body, along with stimulating healthy tissue cell growth. It has a dilating effect on the body’s blood vessels which allows blood to flow more easily.
As studies show, wheatgrass juice also contains enzymes and abscisic acid which help in the digestion and metabolization of nutrients known for its anti-tumour properties. Since wheatgrass juice is raw, drinking it gives us the vitamins, minerals and enzymes we need in one of the freshest and most natural forms available. It is quite simply one of the healthiest things we can put into our bodies.
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Nutritional value: Wheatgrass's deep green juice is abundant in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, protein and chlorophyll. It contains vitamin A, vitamin C, B complex vitamins, vitamins E and K. Kilo for kilo, it has more vitamin C than oranges and twice the vitamin A of carrots.Wheatgrass also contains 82 out of the 92 minerals found in soil including calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Potassium, Phosphorus and Cobalt. Wheatgrass is so nutrient-rich, in fact, that only 30mls of freshly squeezed wheat grass juice is equivalent in nutritional value to 1kg of leafy green vegetables.
Wheatgrass consists of 70% chlorophyll. Haemoglobin plays a vital part in our red blood cells functionality, enabling the blood to carry oxygen to the different parts of the body. The high chlorophyll content of wheatgrass juice causes increased Haemoglobin production in the body which increases the oxygen carrying capabilities of the blood. Chlorophyll is often know as “the blood of plant life” and as such the high levels of chlorophyll found in wheatgrass can be easily absorbed by our bodies and used to rebuild the blood.
The increased capability of the blood to carry oxygen has a number of health benefits including purification of the blood, improving blood sugar disorders, helping combat toxins such as carbon monoxide and other traffic pollutants, cigarette smoke and heavy metals that can get into the blood. And we know that the brain and other tissues function best when they are in a highly oxygenated environment.
Wheatgrass also contains numerous amino acids necessary for human nutrition, making it one of the few actual “whole foods.” Amino acids are the building blocks the body uses to make proteins. Protein found in meat, fish, eggs etc needs breaking down into amino acids before being built into protein. Wheatgrass provides the body with the protein building blocks so there is no need to spend energy in breaking the proteins down into amino acids. Since wheatgrass juice is raw the amino acids do not suffer from any deficiencies in structure caused by heat.
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So we have heard how of the extremely high nutrient content of wheatgrass but how does this benefit our health?
Wheatgrass juice’s high vitamin content is of benefit to some skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis and also helps give healthy looking hair. Wheatgrass is also said to eliminate dandruff problems. Many people cite wheatgrass juice as having cancer preventing properties due to it’s carcinogen and toxin neutralizing abilities. Since wheatgrass is gluten-free (despite having wheat in its name) it is suitable for anyone who has a gluten intolerance. The high cholorphyll content of wheatgrass juice also acts as a powerful detoxifier cleansing the liver, cells, tissues and blood.
Many claim wheatgrass provides them with instant energy. This claim may not be far off the mark. Wheatgrass that still contains a lot of simple carbohydrates will be an excellent source of energy. Let's hear some testimonials:
Testimonials
Rhonda Boswell or Mrs Sweetgrass as she is known to many of her customers, has been growing and selling wheatgrass since a holiday in New York five years ago tuned her into its claimed health benefits.
"The interesting thing for me was I started taking it regularly again when I was going through menopause and I was having a lot of difficulties with menopause. I was amazed at how it sorted me out. I mean I'm really strong and muscular, I don't have a lot of body fat, my digestive system works really well, I'm really regular with my bowels, whereas once upon a time I had real problems with my bowels. I've got a lot of energy, I can think clearly I just got so amazed with it I became a real wheatgrass evangelist and I still am,"
"Pretty well everyone from the office worker to the health fanatic to someone who's pregnant, anyone who's concerned about their health and knows what wheatgrass does for you. It's the super juice for the millennium," Andy Ruwald, cafe owner, said.
Devotees of wheatgrass would agree it is not the most pleasant tasting beverage but opinions are certainly divided on its claimed health benefits. The claims include prevention of cancer, prevention of heart disease prevention of diabetes, chelation or detoxification of heavy metals, cleansing, liver cleansing and prevention of hair loss and none of these claims have actually been substantiated in the scientific literature.
Proponents of wheatgrass claim it has many incredible health benefits, such as prevention of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Wheatgrass is also thought to help aid digestion substantially, alleviate constipation, and act as a strong liver cleanser. Still others believe wheatgrass can help with menopause, cure hair loss, and filter heavy metals from the blood. Some or all of these claims may be true, and whether or not you accept all of the claims about wheatgrass, it appears to be quite healthy and easy to consume.
When you drink a shot of wheatgrass everyday, you know you’re doing something truly nourishing for yourself. By giving your body the vital nutrients and antioxidants it needs, you’ll have more energy, stronger immunity and a clearer head to enjoy life!
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Wheatgrass