Where can you begin describing the health benefits of juicing wheatgrass. The list seems to be endless. It seems to have a beneficial effect on every system in our bodies.
- To begin with wheatgrass increases energy and stamina, is easily digestible, cleanses and detoxifies the gastrointestinal tract.
- It will also lower blood pressure and on that note helps rebuild red blood cells.
- In fact the wheatgrass chlorophyll molecule is very similar to the blood hemoglobin molecule.
- Drinking wheatgrass juice helps in liver functioning and preventing constipation.
- It has also been suggested that it will prevent cancer.
Wheatgrass juice seems to be an almost perfect food containing a long list of vitamins and minerals. These include vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, cobalt, and sulfur to name some of them. It possesses a high number of essential amino acids, these are the ones that the body cannot manufacture on its own and have to obtained from the foods we eat.
These amino acids help to increase the body’s immune system to prevent diseases and conditions like diabetes. And as a further step the wheatgrass juice has also been linked to helping reverse blood disorders like diabetes. The juice will aid in the healing of wounds and prevent infection.
So what exactly is wheatgrass juice and how do you make it? If you’ve ever had sprouts in a salad or other dish, had chow mein or even purchased a can of bean sprouts to add to your favorite oriental dish. Maybe even tried your own hand at growing sprouts yourself, so you could have a supply at hand without having to purchase the ones laying in the produce section for who knows hw long. Well then you have an idea of what wheatgrass basically is.
The sprouts used in the oriental dishes are mung beans and the ones in the salad or vegetable aisle are a mix of usually alfalfa seeds and radish seeds and sometimes broccoli seeds, because they are quick sprouting. Basically to sprout these seeds, just rinse them a couple of times, drain, keep moist by rinsing them twice a day and let them sprout for a couple of days. Sprouting jars are sold, which are just mason jars with a plastic lid with small holes in it that lets you quickly drain the small seeds without losing any. The sprouts are ready to go as soon as leaves appear and turn green with chlorophyll, usually within a week to ten days or even less. The chlorophyll increases the nutritional benefits of the sprouts.
You could try the same approach with wheat seeds or as they’re called wheat berries, but they do better if planted on rich organic soil. Don’t worry you don’t need a field or even a garden, just a plastic or metal tray or even a cookie sheet will do just fine. You’re only going to need less than an inch of soil.
First you need to soak the wheat berries overnight. The next day just place a little soil in the tray and dampen it. It is best to do this with a spray bottle, like the plant atomizers used to mist,the plant leaves. Otherwise pouring water on the soil will add too much and make a mess. Next drain the water from the soaking wheat seeds and place the seeds right on the soil surface. Dampen a couple of layers of paper towels or some newspapers, place over the seeds and put the tray in a warm dark place for a couple of days. Make sure the towels or newspaper stay damp, not soaking wet. As soon as roots start to grow you can remove the covering, keep the soil moist and when leaves start to appear you can place in direct sunlight for a few hours a day to increase the nutrients in the wheatgrass.