Botanical Nutrition

Health food is a lifestyle for a growing number of Americans.  People who aren’t into this lifestyle may have their own connotations of what ‘health food’ means… (food that tastes like cardboard, starving yourself to death, eating weird things).  One thing that is almost instantly associated with the idea of a specialty health food market and the ‘exotic tastes’ of highly nutrient-dense foods is wheat grass juice — and not without good reason.

A recent article at popular website Livestrong.com by Susan Lavery cites Wheat grass and other superfoods as ‘high vibrational.’ A recent blog post at energiesforlife.com calls Wheat Grass “one of the most potently healthy substances on Earth.”

Wheat Grass juice has been used extensively to promote health by many Western naturalist pioneers such as Anne Wigmore, Viktor Kulvinskas and many others.  The straight megaton blast of nutrition, and oxygenation via chlorophyll is one that many say they can truly ‘feel’. The benefits beyond that have been explored extensively in both a clinical and experiential manner.

The reason we JUICE wheat grass is simple; we’re not cows.  Cows (in their natural setting) eat grass.  They also have two stomachs and chew their cud all day long.  They also have an enzyme which humans lack called cellulase, which helps them digest the tough cell wall of grasses.  So because we lack these things, the best way to get all of the nutrition from a cereal grass like wheat grass is to juice it.

But juicing is a lot of work (especially juicing wheat grass).  You probably aren’t able to get to the health food store every day for your shot of healthy green goodness.  Many stores at first sold frozen wheat grass juice shots, but these lose a lot of the potency in the fresh juice.  Enzymes start to break down after a very short time unless they are preserved in some manner.

The process of producing a dried juice powder has been an important one in terms of the essential ‘convenience factor’ for the average consumer. If dried cereal grass juice powders can retain the chlorophyll, vitamins, enzymes, minerals and other nutrients in a quick and easy form — the amount of folks able to benefit from this type of super food are only going to increase.  That, after all, really is what we’re trying to do here.

Another cereal grass juice that has been used quite extensively is Barley Grass juice.  There is a great amount of research that Barley Grass juice can be quite beneficial, and can possibly address a number of health conditions, as well as generally promoting good health.

Like Wheat Grass juice, Barley Grass juice has been used for detoxification and health restoration, as well as to help alkalinize the body’s pH (a major factor in restoring and protecting good health in the body).  Green Magma has been a popular science-supported green food supplement for nearly 40 years.

Researcher Bob Terry, Ph. D. reports “Clinical studies performed since 2002 by Dr. Ching-Min Tsai from the Graduate Institute of Nutrition and Food Science at Fu Jen University and the Department of Bioscience Technology at Chung Yuan University (both in Taipei, Taiwan) and colleagues have demonstrated that dietary changes including daily supplementation with Green Magma may provide several important benefits for cardiovascular function.

“Normal blood flow through our bodies is essential for optimal health. While dietary, lifestyle, and genetic factors all play a role in cardiovascular function, dietary changes may offer a relatively convenient means of promoting cardiovascular function, normal blood flow, and enhanced quality of life.”

Other kinds of cereal grasses have additional benefits; Oat Grass juice, Alfalfa Grass juice and others will have unique nutritional profiles.  All of these green grass juices offer chlorophyll rich nutrition in an easily digestible format.  Consider adding some form of cereal grass juice to your daily regimen (not regime, which is something totally different!!).