What are the health benefits of wheatgrass?

Wheatgrass is a “Natural Superfood”. In the “organic & healthy lifestyle” parlance, Wheatgrass is highly revered. And rightly so – the benefits of consuming Wheatgrass are abundant.

What is Wheatgrass?:

So, what is Wheatgrass exactly? Let’s have a glance at it.

More precisely, it’s genuinely a common wheat plant – the scientific name is Triticum Aestivum. The leaves of Wheatgrass look mostly flat or somewhat rolled.

The flowers are tiny & borne in spike-like inflorescence. The plant is drought-tolerant. Most of the species can even survive in saline soils & extreme environments.

How to consume Wheatgrass?:

You can grow it inside your home on trays or in the backyard. Just pluck the leaves & make juice from them! Health experts consider that as a “living food.”

Or else, you can buy it in a “powder form.” Mix it with other juice or in drinking water & drink. That’s healthy, too.

10 Amazing Health Benefits Of Wheatgrass

Extensive research on all the benefits of wheatgrass is still an ongoing process. But, the potential is undisputed so far. It is a daily dose of health tonic for you & your family.

Here are the ten most tried and tested health benefits of wheatgrass. It’s good to know all of them!

1. It’s an Organic Superfood

Wheatgrass can provide you with complete nourishment. It’s not an overstatement at all!

Research & recent studies show that wheatgrass contains a powerful combination of organic nutrients. Consuming wheatgrass generates therapeutic benefits for your overall health.

The potent combo of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant & antibacterial properties of wheatgrass makes it a true superfood.

All the vitamins, minerals & nutrient content of wheatgrass at a glance:

• Vitamins A, C, E & K
• Chlorophyll
• Different types of enzymes
• Phytonutrients
• Proteins
• At least 17 types of essential amino acids
• Iron
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Beta-carotene
• Potassium
• Phosphorus

Myth Buster: There are some dubious claims that wheatgrass contains a tiny, negligible amount of vitamin B complex. In recent years, the “USDA National Nutrient Database” reports that wheatgrass plants have NO vitamin B complex.

2. Wheatgrass can Boost your Metabolism

Wheatgrass juice is low in calories. At the same time, it doesn’t have fat in it. As a result, daily drinking of wheatgrass juice boosts your body’s internal metabolism.

Want to watch your weight lately? Wheatgrass juice is a must for you! It’ll keep you to stay full for a longer period.

Add fresh wheatgrass juice to your daily diet regimen. It’ll speed up the weight loss.

On top of that, wheatgrass can decrease oxidative stress in your body in a sustained & controlled manner. (Oxidative stress is an imbalance of antioxidants & free radicals in our body.) 

Uncontrolled oxidative stress can have an adverse impact on your aging process & also lead to other unwanted health complications.

3. Wheatgrass can Boost your Immune System

The immune system is the vital safeguard that stands between external health hazards & your body. Your immune system should remain ideally at the optimum level most of the time.

But it’s usually only the case for some of us.

There are organic & natural ways to maintain your immune system. Lots of home remedies can be a safe & modest option. Wheatgrass can be a solid candidate as a complementary diet for that.

It’s not a hidden secret anymore – lots of scientific studies have shown the proven impact of wheatgrass on our human body’s immune system.

Read: 10 Immunity Booster Healthy Wheatgrass Recipes

4. Wheatgrass can lower your Cholesterol Level

Want to stay away from the risk of heart disease? Control your cholesterol level at any cost!

In recent days, there have been a lot of “over-the-counter” medications available for lowering the level of cholesterol. Most of those are expensive, of course.

Recent studies show that wheatgrass can have a drastic impact on cholesterol. It could lower LDL cholesterol & triglycerides. The effect of wheatgrass is almost a safe replacement for “atorvastatin” (a popular medication against cholesterol).

5. Wheatgrass can Cleanse Toxins from your system

Wheatgrass is high in chlorophyll. It’s a well-known fact that chlorophyll can remove toxins from the blood & body tissues.

On top of that, chlorophyll aids in the overall detoxification of our body. It’s a natural chelator (an organic substance that helps to draw heavy metals & heavy metallic residues out of our bodies).

At the same time, chlorophyll acts as a shield for your liver. Fresh wheatgrass juice is a must for healthy liver function. Daily juicing of wheatgrass can be an excellent step towards healthy living.

6. Wheatgrass can help you with digestion

Wheatgrass is full of enzyme goodies! The enzymes help our body to break down the foods we eat & absorb nutrients from them. It’s a sure way to speed up our entire digestion procedure.

On the other hand, the Dietary Fibre of wheatgrass juice reduces the internal bloating & gas-forming process. Wheatgrass intake breaks down the cycle of stomach upset gradually.

If you’re already facing trouble with digestion, start taking wheatgrass with your fruit juice or vegetable daily. It’ll alleviate your chronic inflammation & improve digestive health. Numerous studies show that wheatgrass can reduce rectal bleeding in “ulcerative colitis” significantly.

In addition, wheatgrass contains thiamine & riboflavin. Thiamine converts carbs into energy in our body & riboflavin keeps the mucosal lining of the digestive tract healthy & normal.

Read also: Best Wheatgrass Juicers

7. Wheatgrass keeps you Energized for Longer

Our modern-day lifestyle & low-nutrition food habits make us feel tired, fatigued & lethargic. Chronic exhaustion has become a common phenomenon these days.

Wheatgrass is nature’s energy fuel! The chlorophyll & other vital nutrients of wheatgrass can quickly improve our vitality & alkalize our internal system.

A daily dose of wheatgrass juice, along with other supplements, will keep you energized & vigorous all around the day.

8. Wheatgrass can help you with diabetes

Wheatgrass has shown a tremendous prospect in battling diabetes. A 2014 animal study on “male albino Wistar rats” reveals the effectiveness of wheatgrass. It’s a potential candidate for the upcoming go-to med for Type II diabetes.

Wheatgrass contains a couple of organic compounds. Those have a similar impact on our body as insulin. Wheatgrass juice lowers the glycemic index in our foods & which in turn keeps the blood sugar level & blood pressure in control.

Although it’s not official yet, it is safe to say that leafy green wheatgrass juice will improve your condition of diabetes & blood pressure without fail. Could you take it as an everyday health tonic?

9. Wheatgrass improves your cognitive functionality

A 2010 scientific study reveals that wheatgrass has neuroprotective properties. That property helps us to improve our existing cognitive functionalities & keeps us away from neurodegenerative diseases.

Wheatgrass also lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. At the same time, it improves our hand-eye coordination and prevents memory loss & cell damage in the brain.

At the same time, wheatgrass significantly increases the number of red blood cells. This speeds up the flood flow in our entire body, including the brain.

10. Wheatgrass gives you relief from Arthritis

Arthritis is one of the most chronic inflammatory diseases nowadays. The good news is that you can prevent it early because Arthritis gives you prior indications of pain & symptoms. Along with proper medical treatment & medication, anti-inflammatory food supplements can enhance your chance to fight back against chronic Arthritis.

Wheatgrass is an excellent source of anti-inflammatory properties. A 2006 clinical study reveals that wheatgrass is an effective agent in treating Rheumatoid Arthritis. Wheatgrass helps to reduce corticosteroid dosage during the treatment period. The health benefits of wheatgrass are versatile.

The Usage of Wheatgrass in Cancer Treatment:

Recent studies & clinical research suggest that wheatgrass is critical in cancer treatment. Wheatgrass as a diet ingredient can make it count for patients alongside conventional cancer treatment. So, wheatgrass has tremendous anticancer potential.

Science has proven that wheatgrass is high in antioxidant properties & rich in chlorophyll content. That can help our body to kill certain types of cancer cells.

More precisely, wheatgrass can impose inhibitory effects on the proliferation of cancer cells. In layman’s terms, wheatgrass can prevent cancerous cells from spreading & multiplying.

At the same time, during conventional cancer treatments, wheatgrass can significantly reduce the adverse side effects.

For example, during chemotherapy, the myelotoxicity gets highly increased. This hike causes bone marrow infection. As a food supplement, wheatgrass can lower myelotoxicity during cancer treatment.

Another test-tube study reveals that wheatgrass extract can decrease the acute spread of mouth cancer cells by 41% & reduce the number of leukemia cells by up to 65% within a few days of treatment.

On top of that, a resilient immune system is a must for cancer patients. As an everyday drink with high nutritional value, wheatgrass can help us to cleanse our body & boost our immune system.

What about the side effects?:

Overall, wheatgrass is a safe & risk-free food choice. It can have side effects, especially if consumed in high doses. Some of the most common side effects include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Stomach cramps
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Skin rash

Wheatgrass may also interact with certain medications, such as blood thinners and diabetes medications. In those cases, you should consult with an authorized physician before consuming any wheatgrass. Here are some instances:

Breastfeeding or Pregnant mothers

Mostly, we take wheatgrass in raw or dried-powdered form. Your wheatgrass might be contaminated with bacteria at any stage of the harvest or production. You may never know!

More or less, that’s OK. Our body has the natural capability to absorb the negative effects (if any).

But, during breastfeeding or pregnancy period, your infant or developing baby should stay out of harm’s way from unnecessary bacterial infections.

To stay on the safe side, it is advisable not to take wheatgrass at all. If you must, then consult with your physician beforehand.

Suggested Reading…Trader Joe’s Wheatgrass

Gluten Concerns

If you’re gluten-sensitive or have developed gluten intolerance, then you should always have to be extra careful about wheatgrass. Also, if you’re having celiac disease & blood disorder, then it’s safe to stay away from wheatgrass green plants.

In general, gluten exists in the seed kernels of the wheat plant. Wheatgrass, as a crop, doesn’t contain any gluten in it. So, if the cutting or plucking procedure is followed correctly, then your wheatgrass should be safe from allergic reactions by all means.

But you never know; there is always a tiny chance & scope for cross-contamination!

What to do? The safest way is to procure wheatgrass from a certified gluten-free producer or trusted health food store. At the same time, while taking wheatgrass juice in the juice bars, always inquire & make sure that it’s gluten-free.

Wheatgrass is not the alternative for regular medical care!

Wheatgrass is a practical, potent & organic way to contribute as a supplement form for your health. But, it would help if you did NOT consider it as an alternative to conventional medical care.

Think of it as a superfood to help you boost the immune system & an effective cleanser for your internal health mechanism.

One wheatgrass shot a day is an ideal dose; don’t try to overdo it! You can also take it as salad dressings with vegetables or with a glass of water. Green juices with wheatgrass are also an intelligent choice.

Always consult your medical expert for any unusual symptoms or health concerns.

Stay healthy & stay safe!