Product Code Database
Wheatgrass is the freshly sprouted Cotyledon of the Wheat ( Triticum aestivum), used as a food, drink, or dietary supplement. Wheatgrass is served Freeze-drying or fresh, and so it differs from wheat malt, which is convection dried. Wheatgrass is allowed to grow longer and taller than wheat malt.
Like most plants, wheatgrass contains chlorophyll, , , and . Claims about the health benefits of wheatgrass range from providing supplemental nutrition to having unique curative properties, but these claims have not been scientifically proven.
Wheatgrass juice is often available at , and some people grow and juice their own in their homes. It is available fresh as produce, in tablets, frozen juice, and powder. Wheatgrass is also sold commercially as a spray, cream, gel, massage lotion, and liquid herbal supplement. Because it is extracted from wheatgrass Sprouting (that is, before the wheat seed or "Wheat berry" begins to form), wheatgrass juice is Gluten-free diet, but some dietitians recommend that those with celiac disease avoid it due to the risk of Contamination.
Ann Wigmore was also a strong advocate for the consumption of wheatgrass as a part of a raw food diet. Wigmore, founder of the Hippocrates Health Institute, believed that wheatgrass, as a part of a raw food diet, would cleanse the body of toxins while providing a proper balance of nutrients as a whole food. She also taught that wheatgrass could be used to treat those with serious disease. Both of these claims are believed by many reputable health institutes to be entirely unfounded by facts, and possibly dangerous.
Schnabel's research was conducted with wheatgrass grown outdoors in Kansas. His wheatgrass required 200 days of slow growth through the winter and early spring, when it was harvested at the jointing stage. He claimed that at this stage the plant reached its peak nutritional value; after jointing, concentrations of chlorophyll, protein, and vitamins decline sharply. Wheatgrass is harvested, freeze drying, then sold in tablet and powdered concentrates for human and animal consumption. Indoor-grown wheatgrass is used to make wheatgrass juice powder.
| + Nutrient comparison of 1 oz (28.35 g) of wheatgrass juice, broccoli and spinach. | |||
| Data on broccoli and spinach from USDA database. Data on wheatgrass juice from indoor grown wheatgrass. | |||
The nutrient content of wheatgrass juice is roughly equivalent to that of dark leafy vegetables.
Vitamin B12 is not contained within wheatgrass or any vegetable, as vitamin B12 is not made by plants; rather it is a byproduct of the living on plants or in the surrounding soil.Melina, Vesanto, MS, RD & Davis, Brenda, RD: "The New Becoming Vegetarian", pages 186–187. Healthy Living Publications, 2003. There are some claims that analysis of wheatgrass have found B12 in negligible amounts; however, there are no reliable sources cited to back up the claim. An analysis of wheat grass by the USDA National Nutrient Database reports that wheatgrass contains no vitamin B12.
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