Should I Take Wheatgrass Juice or Pills?

I've recently been asked about the little green pills of dried wheatgrass, and how they stand up to freshly squeezed wheatgrass juice. I guess the answer depends on who you ask. According to nearly all wheatgrass aficionados I know, the fresh stuff is always better than frozen, dried, or bottled wheatgrass. Many experts claim that some of the key nutrients present in wheatgrass juice deteriorate rapidly just after juicing, so they claim that it is best to drink it within minutes of juicing.

Yet according to the company that sells the wheatgrass pills, their stuff is nutritionally superior to the fresh pressed juice. This in turn makes it tough to tell who is right. Personally, I prefer the fresh juice. I normally drink about 4 ounces each morning, which would be equivalent to 28 of their pills. Since I grow it myself, the cost is minimal -- only a few cents per shot, but even if you buy this big bottle of 500 wheatgrass pills, this amount works out to $1.79 for the same amount (28 pills), or 45 cents per shot. Yes, this is still much cheaper than buying shots at the juice bar at $2 a pop, but I guess the real question is whether it is as good for your body. The next time I go for a trip I will try chomping down on wheatgrass pills for a week and report back on the results.

My recommendation: If you have the time and enjoy growing and juicing wheatgrass yourself, do that. If you really don't have any time to juice wheatgrass yourself, or are travelling, wheatgrass or barley grass tablets would be make a fine choice.

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!

Metal or Plastic? Which Manual Wheatgrass Juicer is Better?

If you are going to buy a manual wheatgrass juicer, you pretty much have two choices -- metal or plastic. Most people just starting out with wheatgrass tend to go for the plastic juicer like this one:
Yes, the plastic one is cheaper-- only 43 bucks, but if you are serious about wheatgrass, I would suggest you fork over double the price for a stainless steel juicer like this one:

The stainless steel juicer is much better for two big reasons: First, it is almost impossible to break. You can shove a whole handful of wheatgrass into it and really crank on the thing and it won't break. You will break your table before you break the juicer. With the plastic juicer, I was always afraid that I would break the handle off if I wrenched on it too hard.
The second reason why the metal one is better is because you can squeeze a lot more juice out of the wheatgrass. I have used both kinds, and I can get about 30% more juice from the same amount of wheatgrass using the stainless steel juicer. The reason why you can get more juice is because you can put the pulp in a second time and squeeze out a bunch more juice. When I tried to put the pulp back into the plastic juicer a second time, it felt like the juicer was going to break and it wouldn't turn. This works out to a whole lot more juice per tray if you use the hurricane juicer.

Wheatgrass for healthy skin

We mostly hear about wheatgrass juice as something to drink, but it can also be great to keep your skin healthy. One such skin condition that wheatgrass can help is acne.  Millions of people around the world have acne, and there is strong evidence that three is a connection between the food that we eat and the amount of acne that is on our skin.  I am convinced that drinking wheatgrass juice as part of a healthy living regimen can reduce acne. Although most physicians are quick to dismiss remedies that aren't pharmaceutical, many people have used wheatgrass to treat acne with great successs.  Skin care companies know about the healing properties of wheatgrass as well.  You can buy skin creams that contain wheatgrass as a major ingredient.  For more information, take a look at this great site about home remedies for acne.

Not all doctors dismiss wheatgrass and other home remedies though.  There is a doctor in Australia who has treated over 30,000 patients with skin problems. He is absolutely convinced that wheatgrass can heal skin problems like excema, wound healing, post-laser surgery, on skin grafts, and applied to burns.

Here is what he has to say:

"Based on comprehensive scientific evidence and my own numerous clinical observations (>25,000) since 1995, wheatgrass and other cereal grasses appear to be capable of stimulating the activity of human growth factors. This process in turn facilitates the natural healing process in hemostasis and hemolysis, wound healing, fracture healing, inflammation and numerous other situations." Dr. Chris Reynolds. M.B.,B.S.

You can read loads of information about the beneficial properties of wheatgrass at his website, which can be found here. http://www.wheatgrassprofessional.info/default.htm

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.

Which Type Of Juicer Do I Need To Make Wheatgrass Juice?

Since there are many, many juicers on the market, and I have read of people making wheatgrass juice all sorts of strange ways (including putting it in the blender and straining it), here is a brief guide of what you need to get you juicing your own wheatgrass.

The type of electric juicer that works great for fruit unfortunately doesn't work for wheatgrass. This type of juicer is called a centrifugal juicer. A centrifugal juicer has a shredder that spins very fast--3,000 to 6,000 RPM's (revolutions per minute), and this spinning forces the juice through a strainer. A juicer like the Magimix le duo juicer is NOT good for wheatgrass because 1) The super-fast speed produces heat from friction, and that damages the nutrients in wheatgrass. 2) The fast spinning churns lots of air into the juice, which decreases also its nutrient content from oxidation. 3) The shredder doesn't break down the cell walls of wheatgrass very well, and not much juice comes out.

The type of juicer that works great for wheatgrass is called a masticating juicer. The masticating juicer has a screw-like auger that spins at very slow speeds. A manual type of masticating juicer spins as fast as you can turn it by hand--not very fast at all! An electric masticating juicer also spins slowly--about 80 RPM's. This type of juicer crushes the wheatgrass to break down the cell walls of the plant, and mechanically pushes the juice through a strainer at the bottom. The juice falls from holes in the bottom, and the pulp gets pushed out the front hole.

Most manual wheatgrass juicers have similar designs, but vary according to the materials they are made from--stainless steel, plastic, or cast iron. There are a few different types of electric juicers, including ones that have two augers or screws.

While you might be upset to learn that you can't use the juicer you already have for wheatgrass, you can get a decent manual juicer for under $100, and an electric one for double that amount.