Excerpt from [www.sciam.com]

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According to William T. Jarvis, a retired professor of public health at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and founder of the National Council against Health Fraud (www.ncahf.org), this is all baloney: “Enzymes are complex protein molecules produced by living organisms exclusively for their own use in promoting chemical reactions. Orally ingested enzymes are digested in the stomach and have no enzymatic activity in the eater.” Jarvis adds, “The fact that grass-eating animals are not spared from cancer, despite their large intake of fresh chlorophyll, seems to have been lost on Wigmore. In fact, chlorophyll cannot ‘detoxify the body’ because it is not absorbed.”

Excerpt from: [skeptoid.com]

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As for whether the ingestion of wheatgrass will lower the levels of toxic metals in your cells, I wasn't able to find any research that supports this. However I did find research where living wheatgrass was found to be one of the grasses most susceptible to the absorption of zinc and cadmium from the soil through its root system, so it's more likely to be contaminated with these metals. If lowering your toxic metal levels is important to you, wheatgrass is the last thing you should put on your shopping list.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2009 05:16PM by rrraw.

More from "National council of health frauds": [www.ncahf.org]

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Answers to Questions about Wheatgrass Therapy

Question: What is responsible for the reported "rush" that users report?

NCAHF: There is no pharmacological reason why a user should experience a "rush." Possible explanations include the placebo effect (ie, enthusiasm for the therapy); route of administration (i.e., rectal applications may produce a "goosing" effect)

Question: Why do people report that they are better following use of wheatgrass therapy?

NCAHF: Since there is no scientific evidence that the therapy is effective, such reports could either be due to:

o natural changes in the symptoms people experience
o the placebo effect mentioned above
o wishful thinking on the part of the desperate
o lying by people who have a financial interest
o something else that the patient is doing--especially if they are using psychoactive drugs, such as herbal uppers or downers.

Question: Is wheatgrass therapy intrinsically dangerous?

NCAHF: Not in the wheatgrass itself, but attendant risks include:

o perforation of the bowel during enema tube insertion. This can
introduce infectious agents into the bloodstream.

o It is possible that "organically grown" wheatgrass plants could become contaminated by soil constituents.

When he says grass-eating animals get cancer, I wonder if he was talking grass-eating animals in general, or thinking about those fed by man (ie eating unnatural mixes on top of any grass they might get).

so your challenging the bennifitts of wheat grass?

I wonder what he is studying about grass eating animals who get cancer. I know most farm animals are eating pre cooked grains as feed. In most cases farm animals are grain fed and also fed alfalfa. Alfalfa is a more cost effective food but overall it is not the best food for horses and possibly cows.

In my opinion and from my experiance, wheat grass juice is a very powerful food and brings much healing to the body. In fact I have been feeding it to my very old dog who has an ear infection and the dog is healing up very fast and starting to play and act very energetic. I have seen to many of my family members become better in health due to drinking an oz. or two of green grass juice to think it is just a placebo.

My opinion is that if eating wheatgrass causes a person to reduce their toxin intake, that their health will improve. If there is no reduction in toxin intake as a part of a person regularly taking wheatgrass, there will be no improvement.

That being said, reducing the toxin intake and zero wheatgrass intake ought to provide the same benefit.

By toxins I mean toxins resulting from heated oils and foods, additives, preservatives, pesticides, fungicides, chemicals, strong spices and condiments, etc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2009 08:18PM by Bryan.

During my mother's long cancer journey, I realized that virtually every time any conventional clinician or clinical health bureau/association/foundation/organization/laboratory states or insinuates that there is "no scientific evidence that [a] therapy is effective," what they mean is that no studies have been done disproving the claim of efficacy. Which is fundamental to scientific rigor, by the way.

Observe:
There is no scientific evidence that this therapy works.

There is scientific evidence that this therapy doesn't work.

These two phrases look similar, but they are completely different. The first is meant to imply the second, but if the second were really the case, it could easily be used instead. It never is, because that would be fraud. So, I'm in the habit of asking, "please tell me where I can find the research disproving that[fill in the blank] doesn't work, thank you." I usually always get equivocation in return, "weeeeeell, no one's actually disproven that[fill in the blank] works, but . . . " At that point I say, "well, since it isn't poison, and it seems to work, we'll just keep doing that, OK?"

Enough people use wheatgrass therapeutically that we cannot all be imagining the effects. And until science proves empirically that wheatgrass juice is bunk, keep taking it, I say.

I agree with Bryan. The real benefit of 'healthy' foods is what they allow you NOT to eat! Heh..heh.

Whatever the supposed benefits of wheatgrass (I never consumed much of it), the MAIN issue on a board like this (in my opinion), is each person transitioning to THEIR raw goals.....and moving over to fresh, unprocessed produce....and NOT on any proclaimed super-benefits from one food or another. My personal belief is that...in general.....true health comes more from what you are NOT eating...rather than what you are. So if wheatgrass helps some one to do that - then more power to them!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

rrraw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
...
> According to William T. Jarvis, a retired
> professor of public health at the Loma Linda
> University School of Medicine and founder of the
> National Council against Health Fraud
> (www.ncahf.org), this is all baloney: “Enzymes are
> complex protein molecules produced by living
> organisms exclusively for their own use in
> promoting chemical reactions. Orally ingested
> enzymes are digested in the stomach and have no
> enzymatic activity in the eater.” Jarvis adds,
> “The fact that grass-eating animals are not spared
> from cancer, despite their large intake of fresh
> chlorophyll, seems to have been lost on Wigmore.
> In fact, chlorophyll cannot ‘detoxify the body’
> because it is not absorbed.”
...


1. In theory, raw plant foods digest themselves (at least in part) using their own enzymes. Enzymes still locked up in he plant cellulose matrix in the stomach will remain intact and continue to work in the rest of the digestive tract where much digestion takes place, imo.

2. Chlorophyll is a component of wheat grass and has been studied: [www.nrjournal.com]

3. A very small but significant percentage of chlorophyll derivatives (less than 5%) are thought to be absorbed by the body, and are hypothesised to possibly have systemic effects (same study - click at link for full text).

Quote

My opinion is that if eating wheatgrass causes a person to reduce their toxin intake, that their health will improve. If there is no reduction in toxin intake as a part of a person regularly taking wheatgrass, there will be no improvement.

That's not my experience.

Wheatgrass helped me tremendously when I was eating tons of cooked food & helped me get back to raw!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2009 01:24AM by communitybuilder.

Also, it's funny how people will link to skeptic sites about everything they don't want to believe but not in regards to their cherished beliefs...

I doubt it has any benefits compared to other greens that you could juice.

I think one of the main reasons why it's popular is that it is quick and easy to grow indoors.

But you could say the same for sprouts.

Yeah, it's one of the few foods you really can grow yourself year round.

Good stuff, rraw! It's healthy and encouraging to see claims challenged.

the question is not really whether there are benefits or not, but are the claims valid.

there may be "Benefits" to any number of foods or modalities such as massage.

however, there are two paradigms, one addresses Cause and one does not.

one is that we do virtually the same things in health and sickness

and the other is that therapies/special substances are valid/necessary/indispensable

One involves an endless search of outside healing forces and the other abides by natural proven laws and recognizes the self healing nature of the body

One tries to feed the ego and give us the false idea that we have had some brilliant role in healing and the other follows nature and steps aside.

IMO WG is a good food to include in the raw diet because of the way the nutrients are stored in the seed and utilized by the leaf and become a part of the leaf. As you probably know WG is grown mostly for the first few inches of leaf and then composted as the follow on leaf is not nearly as nutrient dense.

wheatgrass seems very concentrated to me. when i drink it i feel like an instant energy. i don't know about the science stuff.

One of the things I appreciate about growing WG is that it can be harvested on demand absolutely fresh. Also the fact that the leaf is getting its nutritional start directly from the seed's storehouse of nutrients. I like to chase my WG shot by chewing on an orange slice. How do you like to drink yours ?

i like to mix mine with celery and cucumber juice

I do not need any scientific evidence. I use it and it works.

So, up until now nobody has yet shown me a single evidence that wheat grass juice is more beneficial than other greens. Even the link to nrjournal use the words "perhaps", "potential" rather than stating facts.

In Wigmore's "The wheat grass book" she states that WG contains all essential amino acids, enzymes and chlorophyll. All protein foods have all essential amino acids but they can vary in doses. Complete it is when all Ess. amino acids are above a certain level to my knowledge. There are many other sources of complete protein and 1 oz only contains 0,8 g of it, making an insignificant contribution to the daily intake. As for enzymes, I have yet to see any evidence that those in the grass actually aid the human body. And if they do, so does enzymes in fruits and veggies.

[en.wikipedia.org] states there is less of most nutrients in wheat grass than in many other vegetables; Feeding the logic that cows have to eat a lot of it to be properly nourished. Even Vit E is much less than an adequate amount making stated nutrients insignificant.

The wheat grass book has many claims that are false:
P.2: We need a steady supply of proper nutrients, especially high quality minerals, vitamins, enzymes and amino acids contained in wheat grass juice

This is insignificant using the above facts about nutrition.

Wigmore rambles for another few pages until a few sentences come up with scientific importance:

In their report, the scientists concluded: "It seems therefore", that the animal body is capable of converting chlorophyll to hemoglobin"

This is from a 1936 study, which is the only report that I've read that points to some kind of study that could be interesting. Did the animals get only chlorophyll? What was the other circumstances? And are their conclusions right? There is little or no scientific indication that points to these kind of benefits. If I had to go with something, I'd go with present day Medical Doctors that said chlorophyll can't be utilized as my first post shows. Further on, just yesterday Dr. Graham wrote that chlorophyll is not a nutrient.

Wigmore continues much of her reasoning with just reasoning and saying that "It's like this" without pointing to any science.

When I started growing wheat grass again last week after a long pause it just hit me: Do I really know anything about its so called benefits? The more I start to read, the more it seems to be about beliefs rather than facts. I have no beneficial health experiences whatsoever from my homegrown shots. I'm very happy to put the growing aside until I hear something legitimate.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2009 02:32PM by rrraw.

Look at those specific articles at this site:

[living-foods.com]

[living-foods.com]

No notes or links whatsoever to back up the claims. No offense, but who wrote this stuff? There was a time when I willingly believed what I read and couldn't imagine that anyone would write something that could affect people if they weren't 100% sure about it. Well, it's happening everywhere as most of you know.

For example:

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The United States Army exposed guinea pigs to lethal doses of radiation. The guinea pigs fed chlorophyll-rich vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli had half the mortality rate as those fed non-chlorophyll diet.

LOL....and the conclusion is that chlorphyll and not other substances in the vegetables caused the outcome?

Quote

Body Builder:
Wheatgrass juice is very high in enzymes and chlorophyll. It contains up to 70% chlorophyll, which is an important body builder. The chlorophyll molecule closely resembles that of the hemin molecule, the pigment that combines with protein to form hemoglobin. The major difference is the chlorophyll molecule contains magnesium as it's central atom, and hemin contains iron. The molecular structure of these two substances is almost identical in all other respects.

And because of the likeness it's a body builder? Conclusions on par with Gabriel Cousens ayurveda philosphy in Conscious eating; Saying it's just like that with nothing to back it up.

I don't see the point of requiring evidence to have your own experience of wheatgrass. I personally don't like wheatgrass, but I do see that a lot of people like it, and if they like it and they feel that it works well for them, who am I to rain on their parade.

However, for people who don't like it but take it anyway because they think its "good" for them, I would recommend that they just drop it.

I've heard the comment a lot about wheatgrass helping people stay raw. What's funny is that the people who say this are typically regular cooked food eaters. On the other hand, I know a lot of people who only eat raw foods that don't have the desire for wheatgrass, myself included.

rrraw,

Just a suggestion, but I wouldn't use Wiki for all my information. That's like going to the FDA for nutritional advice It's good to question stuff, but remember to consider the source and who/what stands to benefit from it(Ann Wigmore had no nefarious "designs", and that your own experience is your best assessor. Honestly, wheatgrass juice isn't going to put you in a coma first sip. Grow a batch, drink some, see how you feel, make a note of it. Repeat, or not, based on your results.

If our sole justification for raw foodism were empirical data from double-blind clinical in-vitro studies, none of us would ever become raw.

rrraw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...If I had to go
> with something, I'd go with present day Medical
> Doctors that said chlorophyll can't be utilized as
> my first post shows. ...

Do you mean the author of the initial excerpts, William T. Jarvis, Ph.D.?

Medical doctors would be more familiar with the medical applications of the drug, chlorophyllin, a chlorophyll derivative.

"...Water-soluble derivatives including chlorophyllides, pheophorbides, as well as a commercial-grade derivative known as sodium copper chlorophyllin (SCC) also contribute to the diversity of dietary chlorophyll derivatives. Although the use of chlorophyll derivatives, especially SCC, in traditional medical applications is well documented, it is perhaps the potential of chlorophyll as a cancer preventative agent that has drawn significant attention recently. Biological activities attributed to chlorophyll derivatives consistent with cancer prevention include antioxidant and antimutagenic activity, mutagen trapping, modulation of xenobiotic metabolism, and induction of apoptosis. Although most research has focused on commercial-grade SCC, the extent to which natural chlorophyll derivatives modulate biomarkers of cancer risk is also being explored. Recent research efforts have also included investigation of the impact of digestive factors on chlorophyll structure and bioaccessibility as a means to better understand the extent to which these pigments may be bioavailable in humans and therefore have more systemic impact in the prevention of cancer."

[www.nrjournal.com]

..Chlorophyll from wheat grass, spinach, kale or other green vegetable would all qualify as "natural chlorophyll" of course.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2009 07:09PM by loeve.

rraw, why don't you prove that apples are healing or kale is.

Some people (myself included) feel great on the stuff, if that bugs you look inside & figure out why. Ann Wigmore's dead, if you need a punching bag don't be a wimp, go find one that can punch back.



fresh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> One tries to feed the ego and give us the false
> idea that we have had some brilliant role in
> healing and the other follows nature and steps
> aside.

Uh, yeah, what does that even mean?



Bryan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I've heard the comment a lot about wheatgrass
> helping people stay raw. What's funny is that the
> people who say this are typically regular cooked
> food eaters.

I assume you're talking about me. I haven't had wheatgrass for years, when I did use it it helped me stay raw, now I don't care about being 100% raw.

I don't know what makes wheatgrass a better source of cholorophyll than the spinach you buy in the store, maybe because it is fresher?



[www.wheatgrass.com]

This is the key to chlorophyll, that it is "plant blood" and has many of the components that will make human blood, in fact, the major differnce is that the central molecule in blood is iron (Fe), which makes it red, and the central molecule in chlorophyll is magnezium (Mg), which makes it green. So ingesting wheatgrass seems to work better with a source of iron in the diet:

"In 1936, Dr. Arthur Patek reported the results of an interesting study. Fifteen patients with iron-deficiency anemia were fed different amounts of chlorophyll along with iron. It was already known that iron alone cures this condition, but Patek found that when chlorophyll and iron were given together, the number of red blood cells and the level of blood hemoglobin increased faster than with iron alone. No such results for this type of anemia were obtained with chlorophyll alone. As stated by Dr. Patek:

"This study may serve to encourage the use of a diet ample in greenstuffs and protein foods, for it must be that over a long space of time favorably nutritious elements are absorbed which aid the blood reserve and which furnish building stones for the heme pigments necessary to the formation of hemoglobin."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2009 09:41PM by tropical.

I've tried wheatgrass and accept certain intangibles re enzymes, but prefer leafy greens.

"Metabolism and Bioavailability

"Little is known about the bioavailability and metabolism of chlorophyll or chlorophyllin. The lack of toxicity attributed to chlorophyllin led to the belief that it was poorly absorbed (4). However, significant amounts of copper chlorin e4 was measured in the plasma of humans taking chlorophyllin tablets in a controlled clinical trial, indicating that it is absorbed. More research is needed to understand the bioavailability and metabolism of natural chlorophylls and chlorin compounds in synthetic chlorophyllin.

"Biological Activities

"Complex Formation with Other Molecules

"Chlorophyll and chlorophyllin are able to form tight molecular complexes with certain chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons found in tobacco smoke (5), some heterocyclic amines found in cooked meat (6), and aflatoxin-B1 (7). See a computer-generated molecular model of a chlorophyllin-aflatoxin-B1 complex. The tight binding of chlorophyll or chlorophyllin to these potential carcinogens may interfere with their absorption from the gastrointestinal tract and reduce the amount that reaches susceptible tissues (8)."

[lpi.oregonstate.edu]

..it sounds like meat eaters and smokers benefit the most from chlorophyll because of the "tight molecular complexes" chlorophyll is able to form with certain toxins, which then get eliminated in stools (thus indirectly cleansing the blood). The liver is constantly dumping toxins into the duodenem. I like the idea of eating chlorophyll rich foods to help sweep them away.

Edit: I have no interest in taking the supplement/drug 'chlorophyllin', a highly processed copper containing derivative, but find the uses and studies of it relevant to the discussion of chlorophyll.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2009 02:18PM by loeve.

Good stuff, that wheat grass, especially the juice. I wonder why the hipster juice bar in my neighborhood charges $4.00 for a one ounce shot of it? especially in this nauseating economy

uh, shane, you answered your own question: hipster juice bar. Those new vintage threads don't buy themselves : )

It's true you shouldn't need scientific evidence to know something works. If I feel good about it, I continue. If you don't feel obviously better then there's a good chance there's some placebo effect.