Can You Eat Wheatgrass Raw?

People have a lot of questions about wheatgrass. One of them that I've been hearing a lot lately is about whether you can eat wheatgrass raw. While most people generally agree that it would pretty much kill the nutrients in wheatgrass if you cooked them, people still ask that question. I think what they really mean is whether or not you can simply eat the wheatgrass straight, without juicing it. The answer is yes, but there are some things you should know. As I have previously stated in this post about eating wheatgrass, it is possible, but there are some things to keep in mind.
First, human stomachs are a lot different than those of cows and horses.  Hoofed animals have stomachs that have evolved to break up and digest grasses.  Our stomachs, on the other hand, just aren't capable of breaking apart the cellulose in wheatgrass, so it just comes out the other end of our bodies looking very similar to how it went in.  You see, wheatgrass is different from other plants that we can digest, such as broccoli and spinach.  Our stomachs can break down the cellulose in those plants and extract the yummy nutrients.  The best way to get the most out of wheatgrass is to juice it with a masticating juicer.  You can get a cheap manual wheatgrass juicer for only $40 or so.
Take a Look at Good Wheatgrass Juicers Here on Amazon

If you don't have one of these juicers yet, here is what you can do:

1. Grab yourself a handful of wheatgrass that has been cut just above the roots.  
2. Insert wheatgrass into your mouth.
3. Chew on the grass in your mouth while sucking out the juice and swallowing it. (this can take quite some time)
4. Spit out the dried wad of wheatgrass and repeat if your jaw is strong enough to handle more!
   

Yes, You Can Eat Wheatgrass

I'm still amazed at the number of people who try to eat wheatgrass. I just saw a YouTube video of a guy munching on a mouthful of wheatgrass. While it is true that you can eat wheatgrass, it definitely isn't the best or most efficient way to get the nutrients out of the stuff. If you want to give it a go, put a handful of wheatgrass in your mouth, chew on it and swallow the juice, and then spit out the spent, dry leftover grass. Of course, the easier way to get way more juice out of it is to get yourself a wheatgrass juicer (starting at around $50) and drink a cool shot of wheatgrass juice.

Easy And Convenient Sprouters

I just discovered that there are an abundance of very inexpensive sprouters available these days, which make it simple to grow your own alfalfa, broccoli, clover, beans, and lots of other sprouts. Although wheatgrass usually has to grow in soil, it can also be grown in Vermiculite, which eliminates the need for soil. You can grow the trays right in your kitchen window easily and cleanly this way.

Here are a couple of the cheap sprouters you buy:

Can you eat wheatgrass? Take two

I just got another comment from someone saying that they are putting straight wheatgrass into the blender with other smoothie ingredients and just blending it and eating it. Will this work? Yes and No. Of course, you can do this, and it will chop the grass into small pieces and you can drink it, but you still have one fundamental problem, which is:

Human stomachs can't break down the fibers in straight wheatgrass. You can eat/drink it, but you will just poop it out later. The extra fiber might be good for you, but you won't be getting very much of the nutritional benefits of the wheatgrass this way.

This is why people juice it. The juicer mechanically separates the juice from the undigestible fiber. I HIGHLY recommend juicing the wheatgrass before consuming it. I think some people just toss the grass into the blender because they don't have a juicer! If you don't have a juicer yet, it is a great investment that will only set you back $45 or so if you want the cheapest manual kind, or $150 + for a fancy electric one. Take a look here at the many juicers available to buy.
After you have juiced the wheatgrass, you can easily mix the juice into the blender with whatever you are juicing, and it will work great. This is wonderful for the many people who just can't stomach straight wheatgrass juice. It can be strong stuff!

Growing Wheatgrass: It's all about the weather

After trying to grow wheatgrass for years in different climates and seasons, the one thing that seems to affect the outcome of your wheatgrass the most is the weather. Unless you are growing indoors under grow-lights in a temperature-controlled environment, you are pretty much at the mercy of mother nature. Wheatgrass really thrives in temperatures between 50-80 degrees Fahrenheit (10-25 C). Any colder than this range, and the grass grows painfully slow or freezes. When it gets hotter than 80 F., it grows fast, and then starts to wilt and the top will turn yellow really quickly.
If you live in a place with a cold winter, you can grow it next to a big window, but you will probably have to shine a grow light on it since you won't have enough hours of daylight for the grass to grow well. Buying a growlight is a cheap solution to this problem.
If you live in a hot place, it gets a little trickier. If you have air-conditioning in your house, you can grow it inside next to the window and it will do great. If not, you can try setting up a fan to blow on it during the day to keep it cooler.
If worse comes to worse, you might have to take a couple of months off during the heat of the summer. I've had to do this a few times, since it gets brutally hot where I live in the summer and I can't leave the AC on all the time. If you can't grow it don't worry though. You can always buy the grass from someone else, or take some of the many super green supplements available.

The Wheatgrass pick-me-up and other energy boosters

Enduring a groggy morning or the mid-afternoon energy sag is a daily occurrence for many people. Many people claim that drinking some wheatgrass juice first thing in the morning enables them to forgo their cup of coffee. Although there seems to be little scientific evidence so far on wheatgrass juice, I have heard countless people say that wheatgrass juice in fact does give them a boost of energy. What causes this energy boost? We all know that coffee, tea, cola, and chocolate contain caffeine, which is known to provide an energy kick, but what does wheatgrass have? Some think that it has to do with the raw, simple way that your body can absorb and put the nutrients present in wheatgrass juice to work right after you drink it. Many foods require your body to work quite hard to get the nutrients out of the food, but wheatgrass juice is one of the simplest things to digest.  In addition, wheatgrass is considered an alkaline food, and consuming an alkaline diet helps to balance the body's pH. By drinking wheatgrass and other green alkaline drinks, you are giving your body to achieve optimum performance.
Wheatgrass juice definitely isn't the only option for that energy booster though. Here are a few more ways to get you through your days:

1. Exercise -- When you exercise and breathe hard, oxygen is sent rushing throughout your body, giving you an energy boost. Even a few minutes will make a big difference. Can't go outside? Walk or run up the stairs.
2. Drink tea -- Tea has a lot less caffeine in it than coffee, and it contains lots of anti-oxidants. Natural tea is a great drink that can boost energy levels.
3. Go outside -- Your body is designed to be alert during the day and sleeping at night. If you are stuck indoors all day, your body will naturally start to feel drowsy because you aren't in the sunlight. Solution: get outside for a short break anytime you can, and lift up the shades in your office. If you can't do any of these, get a "daylight" light bulb which mimics sunlight. This one by philips only costs $3.99 This method also works well for people who need to work at night.
   
4. Eat right -- Your body performs best when it is given the right kinds of food. Human bodies thrive on things that are fresh, so eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. For an afternoon snack, bring some fruit to work.
5. Get enough sleep -- Everyone knows this one, but for lots of people, this is the main reason why they feel drowsy during the day. If you aren't sleeping for 7-9 hours a night, you will naturally feel tired. Do whatever it takes to make sure you can get to bed early enough to get your sleep, and you will enjoy your days a lot more!

Does Wheatgrass Juice Contain Gluten?

Some people are gluten intolerant, which means they can't eat many foods that contain gluten, including wheat and barley. Does this mean that people who can't eat gluten should not drink wheatgrass juice? Luckily, most of these people can drink wheatgrass juice. The reason why wheatgrass juice is OK is because it is cut when it is still very young -- only at 6-10 inches tall and about 10 days old. In this stage, the grass does not contain any gluten. Even most people who are allergic to wheat can still drink wheatgrass juice, because they are usually allergic to the gluten in the wheat kernel. The gluten is present in the wheat kernel (seed), after the wheat plant has grown for a long time and is ready to be harvested.

It is worth stating here that although every wheatgrass source I have ever come across says that wheatgrass juice is gluten free, wheatgrass does show up on this really, really long list of foods that may contain gluten. It has wheatgrass on the list, but interestingly does not say wheatgrass juice. If you are a celiac (cannot consume gluten), check with your doctor first before drinking wheatgrass juice just in case.

A Nutritional Data Analysis of Wheatgrass Juice

I just finished reading a post by one of the wheatgrass skeptics--a person who claims wheatgrass juice is completely bogus. One of his reasons is that by looking at the nutritional data provided by Jamba Juice, it seems as though wheatgrass juice is little more than water with green coloring. But digging a little deeper, it becomes apparent that Jamba Juice didn't bother to spend much time to find the nutritional data at all. Take a look at this website that provides the nutritional data of a 1 oz shot of wheatgrass from Jamba Juice. Notice a lot of missing info? All of those squiggly marks (~~~) show that Jamba Juice didn't provide that information. It does NOT mean that wheatgrass juice doesn't contain any of these nutrients!!! It means that the nutritional DATA is incomplete.
I did a little research (not very intense) and found a more complete source of information. The following nutritional data is for 100g of wheatgrass juice and is provided by Irvine Analytical Laboratories, Inc.

Calories 21.0 Cal
Carbohydrates 2.0 g
Fat 0.06 g
Water 95 g
Sodium 10.3 mg
Iron 0.61 mg
Folic Acid 29 mcg
Dietary Fiber < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">IU
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 0.08 mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.13 mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide) 0.11 mg
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 6.0 mg
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine HCI) 0.2 mg
Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">mcg
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) 3.65 mg
Vitamin E 15.2 IU
Chlorophyll 42.2 mg
Choline 92.4 mg

You should also be aware that the nutritional properties of wheatgrass can vary depending on a factors including growing conditions, soil quality, when it is harvested, etc.

The story of Kamut

Anybody who shops in health food stores has undoubtedly come across the word "Kamut"
in everything from bread to spaghetti to cereal. For those of you who don't know what Kamut is, this posts for you. From what I have managed to dig up, Kamut is an ancient type of wheat. Some say that a handful of Kamut berries were taken from a thousands of years old tomb in Egypt, and others say that they got it from Egyptian farmers who were still using traditional grains. Regardless of where it was first found, it isn't a hybrid, like pretty much all of the other kinds of wheat that is grown throughout the world today. It is also much bigger--about 3 times the size of normal wheat kernels.
Naturally, I wondered if you could grow Kamut grass and juice it. Although at the moment I don't have a way to get my hands on any of the seeds since I am in Asia, I have discovered that a few people do indeed grow and juice the stuff. Apparently, it pretty much grows the same way as wheatgrass. And the good news is that if you buy genuine Kamut, it is always organic, and non-GMO. I have also found out that Kamut is a bit higher in many amino acids and other nutrients than most other forms of wheat. When I back to the USA, I will give it a go and report on how it works.
If you want more information on Kamut, check out their website. To see all of the various Kamut products, take a look here.

A Mouthfull of Grass

What happens if you have wheatgrass but no way to juice it? Can you simply stuff some wheatgrass into your mouth and chew on it? Actually, you can, but it will give you one hell of a jaw workout. Just chew it, suck out the juice, and swallow it. When you can't taste any flavor anymore, spit it out. It is a good option if you don't have a wheatgrass juicer, but definately not a great substitute. I have chewed on many things over the years-- betel nuts in Taiwan, coca leaves in Bolivia, tobacco in the USA. As an expert chewer of weird things, I would have to say wheatgrass is not as tasty as coca leaves, but definitely not as disgusting as betel nuts or chewing tobacco! And if you are trying to break your chewing tobacco habit, this just might be a good substitute. And the best part is that other than maybe staining your teeth green a bit, the rest of the side effects are good ones.

Increasing Your Energy With Raw and Living Foods

Including more raw and living foods in your diet is a great way to increase your energy level, lose unwanted weight, and cleanse your body. Wheatgrass is considered a raw, living food since it is still growing until the moment you put it into the juicer, and then into your body minutes later. In fact, there is a drug treatment center that gives its patients wheatgrass juice to help with the cleansing of their bodies.
As for other raw and living foods, most seeds like alfalfa and almonds are dormant and need to be activated. You can eat them in their raw state, but in order to turn them into a "live" food, you soak them in water to awaken them. Raw foods have a number of advantages including:

• Countless people including myself report a major boost in energy levels after switching to a mostly raw diet. I am absolutely convinced that a living, raw diet is far superior in nutrients and vitamins than eating processed, cooked food.
• Humans are the only animals that cook, and process our food. Thousands of other animals, including our close relatives (gorillas and chimpanzees) thrive on entirely raw food diets.
• Cooked and processed foods often lose a large percentage of their nutritional value when they are heated. Raw foods retain these nutrients until the moment you eat them. In fact, many studies have found that certain substances are carcinogenic when cooked.
• The human body evolved to consume a raw food diet. Before we figured out how to make fires (and for thousands of years after that as well), humans ate what they could find growing outside--fruits, plants, and nuts. It wasn't until very recently that humans started cooking nearly everything they eat. Evolution takes a long time to catch up!

If you want to learn more about raw food, this site is great, or get yourself a raw food book to show you the ropes.

Chlorophyll and Wheatgrass

A major component of wheatgrass juice is chlorophyll, and many people think this ingredient is the secret behind the healing powers of wheatgrass.
Here is a little information on chlorophyll:

• Plants don't have blood, but they have something called chlorophyll instead. Amazingly, chlorophyll resembles hemoglobin in human red blood cells very, very closely.
• Since chlorophyll resembles hemoglobin so much, your body can quickly absorb it and utilize it to nourish your blood.
• Chlorophyll has strong anti-bacterial properties, which help to fight off infections inside your body.
• Wheatgrass Juice is comprised of over 70% chlorophyll, so when you drink some of it, your body gets a super-dose of this green blood building stuff.

While it is true that plants use chlorophyll to live and thrive, is there any proof that humans can benefit from it? Just by taking a look at the animals that survive solely on diets of grass is proof enough for me that it is healthy for us too. Some of the strongest animals on earth--elephants, cows, horses, hippos all thrive on a diet of grasses alone. They get all the nutrients they need from grass. I don't think humans can survive on grass alone, since our stomachs can't break down the fibers, but we definitely can increase our performance by adding wheatgrass juice to a healthy plant-based diet.  By the way, if you are wondering if you can get chlorophyll from drinking green tea, I'm pretty sure it doesn't work.  Even if it did, the boiling water would surely kill it.You can get it by eating other green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach however.

How To Make Your Wheatgrass Taste Better

The taste of wheatgrass can vary tremendously. Sometimes it is awful and bitter tasting, and other times it is sickeningly sweet. Many people just dismiss wheatgrass as a disgusting drink that tastes like lawn clippings, but here is my guide to having smooth, sweet wheatgrass juice:

The secret lies in when you cut it, or if you buy it from someone already cut, when they cut it.

If you pick it too early, it will be really, really sweet. In addition to being sweet, the grass hasn't reached its nutritional peak yet.

If you wait too long to harvest the wheatgrass, it will taste really bitter, and it is hard get down the hatch.

The best tasting wheatgrass juice comes from grass cut when it about 6-10 inches tall. In cool wheather it grows slowly, but can grow longer before you need to cut it. In hot weather, it matures quicker, so you need to cut it sooner. Here is what it should look like when you cut it:

You need to wait until the grass has a little stem on the bottom and 2 leaves coming out. In hot weather, it will start to wilt and turn yellow on the top when it gets too old, so make sure you cut it before or as soon as you see that happening.

In the summer, the whole tray usually gets ready at the same time, so I will cut the whole tray and put the grass in a bag in the refrigerator and juice from that. It will be fine for a week or so in the fridge. If you leave it out to grow, it may take 5 days before you finish the tray, and by the last day it will be really bitter! Of course, there is always the possibility that you just don't like the taste of wheatgrass juice.  I personally like it, but I know there are some people out there who won't like it no matter how sweet and tasty you make it.  If this sounds like you, your best bet may be to mix it with other juice.  Look at some juicer recipes to get an idea of the things you can mix wheatgrass with.

The Healing Powers of Wheatgrass

There are many rumors floating around about the benefits of wheatgrass, so I thought I would write a little on this subject. Some claim that drinking wheatgrass can heal all kinds of illnesses and health problems in humans. Others claim that it doesn't really do anything at all. To help answer this question, we can take a look at the one place that has focused on wheatgrass juice: The Hippocrates Health Institute. This place carries on where Ann Wigmore left off, providing guidance for healthy living that focuses on wheatgrass, raw and vegan diets, and a healthy lifestyle. The institute sees many people suffering from all kinds of sicknesses, and many have remarkable turnarounds. Take a look at their testimonials page to read what patients have to say. The ailments that have been healed include cancer, brain tumors, gallstones, weight problems, bone density, arthritis, seizures, and many others health problems.

After reading through some of these, it makes me want to keep drinking wheatgrass juice. I guess my problem is that I am very healthy, so I can't see the effects so well! But I haven't been to the doctor for years, and am in great shape, so I am going to keep drinking the juice to make sure I stay that way!  It is worth mentioning that wheatgrass juice is only one of many of the so called superfoods that can keep your body running at full seed.  These include acai berries, green tea, oregano, himalayan goji juice, and many other natural foods. 

If you are new to wheatgrass, this book gives you all the info you need about what wheatgrass is, what it can do for you, and how to grow it yourself.

Your mama's so healthy, she drinks wheatgrass juice!

I just came across this new website that is devoted to natural herbal medicines including wheatgrass. Apparently the guy who started the site, mamaherb.com did so because his mama was sick with cancer. He heard about wheatgrass juice, and decided to give it to his mama every day. I guess she didn't suffer any adverse side effects from the chemotherapy, and voila, mamaherb was born.  There are literally thousands and thousands of medicines that are known throughout the world to help people.  The problem seems to be that natural remedies have a hard time reaching other parts of the world.  Chinese medicine is just now becoming increasingly popular in the west, even though it has been around for thousands of years.  The same is true of traditional medicines from many other regions of the world. 
The site does list many natural remedies to various ailments, but it doesn't have a whole lot of information on wheatgrass for some reason. It's worth a look though, as there are all kinds of herbs that can be used as natural treatments for everything from obesity to diabetes to hay fever, and it says which vitamins can be found in each one.

News About Chlorophyll

The LA Chronicle just published an article about the benefits of wheatgrass. One part I found interesting is that it referred to studies of animals given chlorophyll. They found that when animals with very low red-blood cell counts or those that were extremely anemic were given chlorophyll, their red blood cell count returned to normal within 3-4 days.
Although many aspects of wheatgrass juice are vague and under-studied, one thing we DO know is that wheatgrass juice consists of approximately 70% chlorophyll. If more studies show the benefits of chlorophyll on humans, this might convince some of the cynics out there that wheatgrass juice is in fact a whole lot more than blended up lawn clippings!!!
Here is the link to the article: http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/55646

Superfoods To The Rescue

Lately there seems to be much talk about called superfoods. Superfoods are foods that contain especially high levels of antioxidants or other nutrients. Some of the most well-known superfoods are

• Blueberries - rich in antioxidants and phytoflavinoids
• Green or black tea - also rich in antioxidants
• Wheatgrass - made up of 70% chlorophyll and many other nutrients and antioxidants
• Tomatoes - contain lycopene, thought to have antioxidant and cancer-preventing properties
• Oats - seems to help lower cholesterol levels
• Cacao (chocolate) - rich in many different nutrients
• Flax seeds - omege-3 fatty acids
  

There are many other foods that fall into the "superfoods" category as well. For a lot more info on superfoods, check out this wikipedia page.
These foods are meant to be eaten as a way to prevent things like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other sicknesses. They can also help bring you back to optimum health if you are sick. Many people use them as a Detox Cleanse. Additionally, none of the superfoods are processed. They are all in their natural, raw state. You never seem to see superfood chips or pizza!

Although some so-called health experts warn people that there is no such thing as superfoods, I disagree. My reasoning is that these days any anything that promotes the eating of fruits and vegetables is a good thing. We are constantly bombarded with advertisements for junk foods like burgers, pizza, and candy. When was the last time you saw a tv commercial for broccoli? Probably never. Some critics of superfoods seem to think people will try to live on blueberries and wheatgrass alone. This is doubtful. Of course the best diet in my opinion is a vegetarian healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, with foods that fit into the "superfoods" label mixed in whenever possible as well. Juices are one of the best ways to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet. Check out these juicing recipes for some great ideas.

Does wheatgrass juice make you want to barf?

There comes a time when every wheatgrass juice drinker has reached his/her limit for the day. You get this queezy feeling after you drink your juice, and there is nothing you can do about it. Some people feel this way when they first start to drink wheatgrass juice. I was fine for a while, and slowly increased the amount I drank, and then one day I felt like I wanted to puke. I guess that is your body's way of telling you how much you should be drinking. I am writing this post because it happened to me again this morning. While some people fell like this the first time they try wheatgrass juice and swear to never drink it again, I just take it as part of the process. Since it only happens to me once every few months, it is no big deal. Try taking small amounts when you first start on wheatgrass, and slowly increase your intake until you reach your limit again.

If you are taking lots and lots of wheatgrass juice to recover from sickness, my suggestion is to spread it out over the day. Take some in the morning, afternoon, and evening. This way you maximize absorbtion and minimize queeziness!

Indoor growing with grow lights

Since wheatgrass grows best with 14 hours of sunlight and warm weather, the dark winter months are definately a problem. Luckily for us, there is an easy solution: Use a grow light. Grow lights are lightbulbs that are designed to replicate the sun's energy. They have gotten better and better over the years, and some work quite well. You can leave the wheatgrass by the window during the daytime while the sun is shining, but when the sun goes down, turn on the grow light to make sure your grass gets 14 hours of light so it can grow up big and strong. You can also grow wheatgrass in the basement or somewhere that gets no natural light at all, using grow lights exclusively. Somewhere large enough to get air circulation will work much better than a small closet.
What happens to wheatgrass if it doesn't get enough light? Wheatgrass will grow very slowly. It does this because it thinks it is still winter (which it probably is), and wheatgrass only starts to grow quickly when it is warm and has plenty of sunlight--which happens in the spring.
Though you can grow wheatgrass with 10 to 12 hours of sunlight a day and cool weather, it definately grows really slowly. Additionally, you will most likely end up not getting your juice for a couple of days because your next tray is too small to be cut. If you are going to grow wheatgrass all year long (which I highly recommend), you should definately invest in a good grow light. The easiest kind of growlight to use is the kind that screws right into a regular light bulb fixture like this one. They are cheap too--about $10-$20, and will last at least a year. You can screw it into a clamp-on light fixture, and clamp it onto somethnig about 2 feet above your growing wheatgrass tray. If you have more than one tray growing, you can stack them vertically on a shelf, and set the light at a 45 degree angle so the light hits all of the trays. It is also a good idea to turn the trays around once a day so the grass grows evenly. If you are really gung-ho, or are thinking about growing on a large scale, you can set yourself up with some long fluorescent growlights. Have a good winter!

Should I mix my wheatgrass juice with other juices?

One question that always seems to haunt me is whether or not it is best to drink wheatgrass juice alone or mixed with other juices. Most wheatgrass authorities say that you should drink it on an empty stomach, and wait for 30 minutes afterwards until you eat again. Yet there are countless recipes for wheatgrass smoothies to be found. Some people also say that you can mix wheatgrass juice with other fruit and vegetable juices to get rid of the grassy taste. There are even websites that tell you to do both in the same paragraph.
Here is my take on this issue: If it is better to drink wheatgrass juice on an empty stomach, then doesn't drinking it with other juices go against that rule? The stomach can absorb the nutrients in wheatgrass juice easier if there is nothing else in there to interact with it.
Many smoothie recipes call for a shot of wheatgrass, and juice bars will readily add wheatgrass to whatever shake or juice you are drinking. I guess it is a matter of whether you can stand the taste of wheatgrass juice enough to drink it alone. If you happen to dislike the taste of it, I guess wheatgrass juice mixed with other things is better than no wheatgrass at all! Fortunately, I like the taste of wheatgrass juice, and am happy to drink it all by itself.