Wheatgrass
History
The consumption of wheatgrass in the Western world began in the 1930s as a result of experiments by Charles F. Schnabel and his attempts to popularize the plant.
Schnabel, an agricultural chemist, conducted his first experiments with young grasses in 1930, when he used fresh cut grass in an attempt to nurse dying hens back to health. The hens not only recovered, but they produced eggs at a higher rate than healthy hens. Encouraged by his results, he began drying and powdering grass for his family and neighbors to supplement their diets. The following year, Schnabel reproduced his experiment and achieved the same results. Hens consuming rations supplemented with grass doubled their egg production. Schnabel started promoting his discovery to feed mills, chemists and the food industry. Two large corporations, Quaker Oats and American Dairies Inc., invested millions of dollars in further research, development and production of products for animals and humans. By 1940, cans of Schnabel’s powdered grass were on sale in major drug stores throughout the United States and Canada.
Cultivation
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.
Schnabel’s 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 or reproductive stage. It was at this stage that the plant reached its peak nutritional potential; after jointing, concentrations of chlorophyll, protein, and vitamin 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 forms. Wheat grass juice powder (fresh squeezed with the water removed) is also available either spray-dried or freeze-dried.
Usage
The average dosage taken by consumers of wheatgrass is 3.5 grams (powder or tablets). Some also have a fresh-squeezed 30 ml shot once daily or for more therapeutic benefits a higher dose up to 24 oz (60 – 120 ml) taken 1-3 times per day on an empty stomach and before meals. For detoxification, some users may increase their intake to 34 times per day. It should be noted that consumers with a poor diet may experience nausea on high dosages of wheatgrass[citation needed]. Outdoor wheatgrass is harvested for a few days each year from plants grown in the “bread basket” regions of the US and Canada. Winter wheat requires more than 200 days of slow growth in cold temperatures to reach the peak nutritional content. Even after that length of time, the plant is only 7 to 10 inches high.
Health claims
Table 1. Nutrient comparison of 1 oz (28.35 g) of wheatgrass juice, broccoli and spinach.
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
Data on broccoli and spinach from USDA database. Data on Wheatgrass juice from indoor grown wheatgrass.
Proponents of wheatgrass make many claims for its health properties, ranging from promotion of general well-being to cancer prevention and heavy-metal detoxification. None of these claims has been substantiated in the scientific literature, though there is some evidence in support of the beneficial effects of chlorophyll in the human diet.
Wheatgrass vs. common vegetables
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 fresh vegetables (see table 1).
Wheatgrass is also thought 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 byproduct of the microorganisms living on plants.. If plants are washed prior to consumption the water soluble B12 will be removed making most plants unreliable sources of B12.
Detoxification
Another common claim for wheatgrass is that it promotes detoxification. The limited data in support of that claim applies to most green vegetables.
Chlorophyll
As the chlorophyll molecule is structurally similar to hemoglobin, it has been argued that wheatgrass helps blood flow, digestion and general detoxification of the body. These claims have not been substantiated. However, some research exists that relates diets high in chlorophyll, present in higher concentrations in green leafy vegetables, to lower rates of colon cancer.
References
^ a b Murphy, Sean (2002-10-13). “Wheatgrass, healthy for the body and the bank account”. ABC Landline. http://www.abc.net.au/landline/stories/s689970.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-06.
^ a b c Meyerowitz, Steve (April 1999). “Nutrition in Grass”. Wheatgrass Nature’s Finest Medicine: The Complete Guide to Using Grass Foods & Juices to Revitalize Your Health (6th Edition ed.). Book Publishing Company. pp. 53. ISBN 1878736973.
^ “USDA Nutrient Database”. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
^ Ben-Arye, E; Goldin, E (2002 April), “Wheat grass juice in the treatment of active distal ulcerative colitis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial”, Scand J Gastroenterol (Norway) Volume 37 (Issue 4): 4449, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=11989836&ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
^ a b de Vogel, Johan; Denise S. M. L. Jonker-Termont, Martijn B. Katan,and Roelof van der Meer (August 2005). “Natural Chlorophyll but Not Chlorophyllin Prevents Heme-Induced Cytotoxic and Hyperproliferative Effects in Rat Colon”. J. Nutr. (The American Society for Nutritional Sciences) 135: 19952000. PMID 16046728. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/135/8/1995.
^ Ferruzzia, Mario G.; Blakesleeb, Joshua (January 2007), “Digestion, absorption, and cancer preventative activity of dietary chlorophyll derivatives”, Nutrition Research Volume 27 (Issue 1): 112, doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2006.12.003, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TB1-4MY8BNY-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=484af3aa699168edc7456f5ec4aed6b6
^ Melina, Vesanto, MS, RD & Davis, Brenda, RD: “The New Becoming Vegetarian”, page 186-187. Healthy Living Publications, 2003.
^ Fahey, Jed W.; Katherine K. Stephenson, Albena T. Dinkova-Kostova, Patricia A. Egner, Thomas W. Kensler and Paul Talalay (2005). “Chlorophyll, chlorophyllin and related tetrapyrroles are significant inducers of mammalian phase 2 cytoprotective genes”. Carcinogenesis (Oxford University Press) 26 (7): 12471255. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgi068. PMID 15774490. http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/26/7/1247.
External links
A Skeptical Analysis of Wheatgrass Juice, Skeptoid, Brian Dunningm November 9, 2006
Categories: Grasses | Dietary supplementsHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from October 2009
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