Wheatgrass is a member of the Poaceae family, which includes a variety of wheat-like grasses. It can grow outdoors or indoors, and the aboveground parts are nutritionally dense. Wheatgrass is promoted as a "supergreen" plant food that can be used for a variety of health promoting purposes. It is sold in powder and juice form, and if you have a juicer you can make your own fresh wheatgrass juice at home. As with any nutritional supplement, you should talk to your health care practitioner before attempting to self-medicate with wheatgrass.
Nutritional Support
Alternative medicine practitioners use wheatgrass primarily as a concentrated source of nutrients. According to Dr. Ann Wigmore, founder of the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston, 1 lb. of fresh wheatgrass is equal in nutrition to nearly 25 lb. of other vegetables. Wheatgrass is a source of amino acids, trace elements, calcium, magnesium and iron, as well as vitamins A, C and E. It also contains numerous phytochemicals, such as agropyrene and apigenin. Phytochemicals are potent antioxidant compounds that help to prevent and treat disease in humans, states Phyllis Balch, CNC, and James Balch, M.D., in their book "Prescription for Nutritional Healing."
Cancer, Blood and Inflammatory Disorders
Wheatgrass contains a significant amount of chlorophyll, which is an antioxidant-rich plant compound with a molecular structure that closely resembles the molecular structure of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein of red blood cells. High-chlorophyll beverages, such as wheatgrass, are recommended to increase the production of hemoglobin and is purported to help reduce inflammation and treat diseases such as cancer, gout, ulcerative colitis, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, according to "Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database." More research needs to be done to confirm the efficacy of wheatgrass juice for these purposes however.
Additional Uses
People also consume wheatgrass to improve blood sugar disorders, such as diabetes; prevent tooth decay; improve wound healing; enhance skin health; prevent gray hair; reduce high blood pressure; improve digestion; treat liver disorders; reduce cholesterol levels and prevent infections. In addition, "Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database" states that people use wheatgrass as a chelating agent to help remove drugs, heavy metals, carcinogens and other toxins from the body. In addition, people consume wheatgrass to help treat the common cold, cough, bronchitis and fever. Finally, it is sometimes used as a mild diuretic and to treat a variety of urinary, kidney disorders and prostate disorders, such as cystitis, urethritis, prostatitis, benign prostatic hypertrophy and kidney stones. These uses are based primarily on anecdotal reports and not scientific evidence.
Considerations
Wheatgrass juice is thought to possess therapeutic qualities only when fresh and consumed on an empty stomach immediately after extraction, and the powdered form commonly sold in health food stores may, therefore, be ineffective. There are insufficient studies to recommend a general dose for all purposes; however, one study done on colitis sufferers used 100 mL of wheatgrass juice daily. There are no reported drug interactions from wheatgrass juice, but high amounts may cause nausea, anorexia and constipation.
References
- "Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database"; Therapeutic Research Faculty; 2011
- "Prescription for Nutritional Healing"; Phyllis A Balch, CNC, and James F. Balch, MD; 2003.
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