Wheatgrass

I know what you’re thinking, mmmm grass, yummy. Well, Picky Patty, this grass is a gluten free superfood! Highly nutritious and very easy to add in to your daily routine, where you won’t even taste it!

Wheatgrass is the young grass of the wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It grows in temperate regions throughout Europe and the United States and can live indoors or outdoors.

What are the benefits of Wheatgrass?

Wheatgrass provides concentrated amounts of chlorophyll, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. It is also a natural source of vitamins and antioxidants. It includes: Vitamins A, E, and B-12, Calcium, Selenium, Magnesium, and Iron. People say wheatgrass can strengthen your immune system, lower blood pressure,  detoxify and cleanse the body and digestive track, and ward off some diseases.

One study done, showed that it lessened Chemotherapy side effects. While currently there is not any scientific evidence (besides anecdotal reports) that wheatgrass is able to reduce tumors or increase survival in cancer patients, a preliminary study of sixty women with breast cancer did find that wheatgrass reduced a few of the damaging effects of radiation treatment, largely its propensity to impact red blood cell production in bone marrow. When patients in the study drank 60 ml of wheatgrass juice daily during chemotherapy, it appeared to reduce the side effects without altering the effectiveness of the chemotherapy treatment.

Is Wheatgrass gluten free?

Yes, wheatgrass does not contain gluten, it is safe to eat if you have a gluten intolerance. Always check with your health professional first though if you have a severe intolerance or celiac disease.

What is the best way to use Wheatgrass and where do I get it?

Most people agree that wheatgrass is an acquired taste, you do get used to it though. You can easily mask the flavor by mixing it in to a tasty smoothie. Wheatgrass is obtainable in numerous forms, consisting of fresh grass, powders, tablets, liquid concentrates and even tinctures. Wheatgrass is often used for juicing and drank on its own or added to healthy smoothies or herbal tea. You can easily purchase wheatgrass seeds or kits to grow your very own wheatgrass at your home (most economical), click on pics below. There is a step by step book written about growing and juicing your own wheatgrass. You can also purchase wheatgrass seeds, tablets and powder online for convenience, if you don’t have another option where you live. Be careful if you buy the grass fresh as it may have been treated with chemicals, make sure you buy organic so you don’t ingest all the chemicals into your system. Click on the pics below to buy the powder, raw organic wheatgrass seeds or check out your own manual juicer.

What is the history of Wheatgrass?
The consumption of Wheatgrass in the Western world began in the 1930s as a result of experiments conducted by Charles F. Schnabel in his attempts to popularize the plant. He originally used fresh cut wheatgrass 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. Of course it was then introduced to humans, and the rest is history.