Wheatgrass & Living Food Blog

Broccoli May Ward Off Serious Stomach Ailments

2009-04-06T14:40:00.002-07:00

Today we found a great article on some
Research done on Broccoli Sprouts please click the link to read the study.

Woman goes raw, loses more than half herself

2008-09-29T12:13:00.002-07:00

This was a great article on CNN about a lady who adopted the raw food diet and changed her life around! Click here to read

ASK AN EXPERT: Wheatgrass and Raw Food Questions Answered

2008-05-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

ASK AN EXPERT:
Wheatgrass and Raw Food Questions Answered
Send us your questions- support@wheatgrasskits.com

We thought it would be helpful to our readers to see the questions and answers to many related raw food diet and wheatgrass questions. Below is an email conversation between two wheatgrass & raw food enthusiasts.

Hi Charles,

My name is Gabrielle. In a conversation I had earlier today with KK she spoke so highly about your knowledge and the health project you are working on. She suggested asking you in reference to some scientific studies proving the benefits of raw food dieting on people. I would love to know also about your business and how you are running.
Best,
Gabrielle

Hello Gabrielle -

Thank you for your note. KK and I have been colleagues for many years, I appreciate her faith in me.

I am not sure exactly what information I might have that would be of use to you. My work is related to the simple but profound relationship we have with what we individually, and collectively, choose to put into our mouths. That fact has changed our planet and we are now at real risk. The repercussions of this are affecting us in every category of activity, from health, to agriculture, to environment, to social and economic justice, and so on.

We cannot forget to mention the terrible difficulties we have created for all fellow species, plant and animal, that inhabit this fragile droplet whirling in space. Where will it end? it appears we have a few decades at most to reorganize our lifestyles to bring about a 'soft landing', or experience a hard one should we not change our ways of consumption in all areas. Only then will we see whether humans will be allowed to assume their proper role as 'stewards' of the earth, rather than despoilers.
For me, diet is a focal point, which from there spirals out to touch many current issues we face from a medical structure out of control and invalid in many ways, to how we rearrange our personal carbon footprint, to redressing the terrible suffering we inflict on other species. I also believe that fundamentally, whether we are overweight 'westerners' or underweight 'third worlders', we are all malnourished - and this is a primary problem to address, as so many other issues stem from it. Our physical and mental abilities have been seriously eroded by an improper diet. This will defeat us in the final analysis.

To those ends my work is directed in practical and utilitarian ways that hopefully others can assess and adopt should they find them useful and valid in addressing problems we individually and collectively face.

Not sure what else to say on this matter, other than that now is an important time for like minded people of all persuasions to come together. I wish you the best of luck in moving forward with your visions and dreams, hopefully realized in practical ways for people who suffer.

The raw / living foods movement is one very basic and simple way we can change a behavior, i.e., eating, that will bring about change somewhat the same way millions of blades of grass growing under concrete roads can actually lift and break them!

Again, best of luck in your efforts. Please feel free to contact me should you wish further discussion.

Charles

Hi Charles!

Nice to be in touch with you!
Do you advocate wheat grass juice? Do you think it is digestible for people! Or why do you think is necessary? Isn't fruit and greens enough when they are organically grown?
What else do you feel brings the solution to the problem in your view?
I like to keep things simple if possible! I feel very comfortable with a natural hygienic approach.
I am looking for scientific documents proving the benefits of fruits and greens on individuals health! Which ones do you find most important? Do you have access to any e-docs I could read?

Thanks for your response.
Gabrielle

Hello Gabrielle -

Thank you for your return note. since you like to 'keep it simple', I suggest that all the answers to your questions are really contained in Dr. Wigmore's several books. specifically, though, I would answer your questions as follows:

1) I advocate wheatgrass juice or barleygrass juice strongly. It is one of the most nutritious substances available to us in these times. If one cannot tolerate wheatgrass (too sweet for many) then barleygrass is a great alternative. Also, wheatgrass seems to be an excellent 'medicament' for soft tissue and organ problems, while barleygrass seems to work very well for 'arthritic' and bone type issues in my experience.

2) The juice is very digestible for people, and provides many many benefits in juice form whether used as a drink, or implant. The effect implants have on helping the liver to cleanse cannot be underestimated. It is important to grow the grass in soil if you do indoor gardening, and it is best if you add 'azomite' or other mineral supplement to the soil until you get your composting system going. This is because the food we eat is no better than the soil it is grown in, and since the 1950's we have seen a spectacular fall in the nutritional content and value of all commercially grown foods, even organic in many cases. This is due to fertility issues with the soil. Wheatgrass juice is the best way to get elements, known and unknown as yet, that we need for healthy living, especially if you use enriched composted soils that have been carefully nurtured. Wigmore really addressed this problem very well in her Hippocrates Diet book.

3) I do not think just organically grown fruits and greens are enough in this day and age. A close reading of Dr. Wigmore's system clearly shows her inclusion of living (i.e., fermented, sprouted, blended) foods of many types, and sea vegetables, in addition to fruits and vegetables. she also strongly encourages eating 'wild' foods because they struggle to make their livelihoods in ways 'domesticated' plants do not. in this struggle their nutritional value is much improved. Read the book 'The Secret Life of Plants' for information of interest.

5) I believe all the above are critical additions to the diet, especially as it relates to getting sufficient oils and other enzymes in the diet. Avocados may not be quite enough, so we may need to look to flax seed and fats made available from nuts and seeds such as sunflower, and as enhanced by the making of 'seed cheese' or almond yoghurt, in her system. When we eat this way, we shift our pH to a more appropriate level, and we enhance the flora systems in our gut - really the key to our survival. As Edgar Cayce once mentioned in one of his readings, 'The Peyer's Patches' in the small intestines are a critical enzyme factory in the body we must protect'. We do this with a proper way of building a composting system in our own bodies through foods judiciously selected and combined properly, while holding a respectful attitude for the gifts we receive from this beautiful earth. I think Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce had profound things to say in this regard.

I believe that we absolutely MUST eliminate processed foods from our diets, as it is having further disastrous impact on us, and all following generations. Read Dr. Weston Price (Price - Pottenger Foundation) for the background on this. you can check out their website.
Authors I recommend include E. Howell - Enzyme Nutrition (info about enzymes), M. Fukuoka - One Straw Revolution (info about healthy gardening/farming) and Dr. M. Gerson - The Gerson Therapy (info about nutritional treatment of disease from a medical doctor's experience). They each give real information from real world experience and insight. From these masters you can find many further avenues of study.

Best of luck in your research!

Charles

Thanks Charles,

I appreciate our point of view. Could you explain your point of view further and why organic produce isn´t enough!?

What do you think about fasting on water! do you have any direct experience with it?
What type of testing do you use for the client? Also, is there any regulating body for juice therapies or can anyone just cure people with juices in the US?

Thanks again.

Gabrielle

Hello Gabrielle -

In receipt of your note to me I would answer your questions in the following manner, based on my reading and experience:

1) You asked me to explain my point of view further. Pretty open ended question, but I will add this to try to put my previous brief comments in perspective. We in the west have lost control over our food supply. The way the food chain is now organized is very very very very precarious, to say the least. Read 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' or 'Fast Food Nation' for extremely useful information. This industrial (and even the 'new organic') model is providing us low quality nutrition at tremendous environmental and spiritual cost worldwide, though at the register it seems 'cheap'. It is unsustainable.

I believe that we can turn it around by every individual growing food in gardens, on decks, in pots indoors, on roof tops, or in community gardens, or, if so lucky, a small mixed farm somewhere. Remember, during WWII in the US 2/3 of our fruits and vegetables came from so called 'victory gardens'. We all need to make the connection between the food we eat, and where it comes from. Currently, if you are in the US, you will not like the answer to that question. At the least, support your local farmer's markets when you can.

2)You ask why I think 'organic produce' isn’t enough. Well, this is a pretty broad category as well, so I will take the liberty to say that I think 'organic produce' trucked in from the San Fernando valley or Mexico is not a good trade off, if you live somewhere other than California or Mexico where the food originates. But you are asking, I think, about food value. If you do not know the source of the food you eat, you are simply gambling. If you are eating 'organic produce' that is grown from hybrid seed, on soil worked with machinery, you are probably not getting full value food. Food then shipped in is picked green, handled, and 'refreshed' at the grocery store or supermarket over the period of several weeks. That food is constantly deteriorating in nutritional value, from a deficit to begin with. That is why I so strongly recommend that people include freshly made wheatgrass or barley grass juice grown from locally grown organic seed of known variety in their own home under their own control. At least in this way you will be getting a complete food in its freshest and most nutritious form.

3) Fasting on water - I have fasted for as much as 7 days on water, and 23 days on water, rejuvelac, and barley grass juice. I am not a fan of water fasts. I found them very tough on my system, and I found that the best results for me were short 3 day juice fasts, as recommended by Dr. Wigmore among many. Ideally, for me, juice fasting one day per week, four 3 day fasts in a year, and one week in a year is the best hygienic regime. Calculate it out: in this way you 'fast' about 70 days in a year, or over 2 months! I think this method is like shaking a jar in which there is sediment. You shake the sediment into solution, and in our case the body hopefully will eliminate it as it rejuvenates, cleanses, and strengthens itself. For me this is a very very beneficial routine that allows me to continue working at my usual tasks in life, while carrying on internal work as well.

4) Testing for clients - well, I suggest some very basic ones over time. I weigh people ONLY ONCE per week. I test some flexibility / bending, body mass index, and pH of saliva and urine. I also monitor blood pressure. That’s about it, but I would recommend stool samples if there is a laboratory that can really do good testing for parasites. I also have a 'subjective feelings' set of questions I ask.

5) Juice therapy in the US - this is and has been a very contentious issue. Morris Fishbein, one of the early founders and 'bigshots' in the American Medical Association, actively attacked therapies outside the allopathic model. The book 'The Gerson Therapy' is very good, along with books about Hoxey, Naessens, and Caisse. There are a few medical doctors that have really stuck their necks out lately, such as Dr. Lorraine Day. You might want to review her website in particular, as she ultimately recommends a diet that is quite similar to Wigmore's. Still, what Fishbein pushed so long ago is still deeply ingrained in the established medical model of the US today. To this day, in the US, this is an area of real disagreement, and legal pitfall. One can have juice therapies, but how one promotes, explains, or employs them is somewhat less than straightforward. I believe in Europe it is much easier to go an alternative route, and even have it covered by insurance.

I hope the above helps answer some of the questions you posed to me.

Best wishes

Charles

The Wheatgrass Habit- August Article

2007-08-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

PROTEIN: MYTHS AND TRUTHS
Dead Protein versus Living Protein found in Sprouts
By KK Fowlkes

High protein diets seem to have been the fad for many years now. Many experts recommend as much as one to two grams of protein per day per pound of body weight in order to maintain and build the body. This can amount to 175 grams or more of protein for a person weighing 175 lbs !! When a person eats that many grams of protein per day, where does he get it? In many third world countries, people get their protein from a diet of rice and beans. In the United States and other western countries, we get our protein from a mixture of beef, fish, chicken and dairy products. These forms provide protein, but also contain a high amount of saturated fats! Animal protein in the form of a steak, a burger or a cheese pizza, no doubt tastes good, but is this form of protein helping our health?
Or are we in fact getting too much protein?

“The average American eats about twice as much protein than what is actually required. Some people, in the pursuit of thinness, are going on high-protein diets and are eating up to four times the amount of protein that their body needs. Protein deficiency is certainly not a problem in America . So exactly how much protein does your body really need? Much less than you think. According to the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health, as little as 50-60 grams of protein is enough for most adults. This breaks down to about 10-12% of total calories. Your body only needs 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. To calculate the exact amount you need, multiply your ideal weight by 0.36. This will give you your optimum daily protein requirement in grams. Since the amount of protein needed depends on the amount of lean body mass and not fat, ideal weight is used instead of actual weight. Infants, children, pregnant and nursing women require more protein.” (Monique N. Gilbert, High Protein Diets—Are You Losing More than Weight?)

There is no doubt that protein is essential for the health of the body. The source from which we get our protein is a MAJOR KEY TO HEALTH!!

We have found through our study of the Ann Wigmore program, that there is a protein that one can obtain through a diet of living foods. Adding all kinds of sprouts to the diet can furnish LIVING protein to the starving cells of the body. Cooked protein does not furnish the body with the nutrients it needs to thrive and regenerate. Only living protein can do this.
How can we do this without having our food become bland and uninteresting? We like smoothies for breakfast!

To have a living breakfast, we take:

2 or 3 cups of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice or orange juice,
1 organic banana,
2 to 3 T. fresh ground flax seed (for the Omega oil)
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of a mixture of sprouted bean, lentil, mung, garbanzo, peas, alfalfa, or broccoli---whatever sprouted seeds we have on hand. (We have a protein powerhouse mixture on the website.)
BLEND.

It has a great taste! Sometimes we also eat a few dried olives. We love this breakfast! If you haven't yet learned how easy it is to sprout, we have added some great mixtures and sprouting seeds to our website, along with some different kinds of sprouters. Please see our Sprouting Supplies.

SPROUTING SUGGESTIONS:
We have many interesting sprouters on our website now. We like the easy sprouter for its ease and convenience, and the Sprout Garden for its ability to sprout many types of sprouts at the same time. It is important to sprout the seeds for about 3 days and then put the whole thing in the refrigerator, especially in the heat of the summer. The sprouts will continue to grow. We take what we need each day, re-arrange the sprouts with a fork, and rinse, then putting the container back into the fridge. We also like to put sprouts in a bowl, squeeze with lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper. Delicious!

Benefits of Broccoli Sprouts

2007-08-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

I read an article today on Wikipedia about Sulforaphane, an antimicrobial compound found in many sprouts especially young broccoli sprouts. We have recently had many calls for broccoli sprouts and broccoli capsules and have had such good feedback on the benefits people have experienced. Here is the article:

"Sulforaphane is an anticancer and antimicrobial compound that can be obtained by eating cruciferous vegetables such as brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, kale, collards, arugula, broccoli sprouts, chinese broccoli, broccoli raab, kohlrabi, mustard, turnip, radish, watercress and cabbage. The enzyme myrosinase transforms glucoraphanin (a glucosinolate) into sulforaphane upon damage to the plant (such as from chewing). The young sprouts of broccoli and cauliflower are particularly rich in glucoraphanin.The anticancer activity of sulforaphane is thought to be related to the induction of phase-II enzymes of xenobiotic transformation (such as quinone reductase and glutathione S-transferase), and enhancing the transcription of tumor suppressor proteins.[citation needed]Consumption of broccoli sprouts has shown to be effective at inhibiting Helicobacter pylori growth[1] with sulforaphane being at least one of the active agents[2].Sulforaphane and Diindolylmethane (another compound from Brassica vegetables) have recently been shown to synergize together in the inhibition of cancer growth. Wikipedia®"

More info on broccoli sprouts and broccoli capsules!

Wheatgrasskits.com Acquires HandyPantry.com

2007-04-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

Springville, UT (PRWEB) April 11, 2007 – Wheatgrasskits.com a leading ecommerce site for wheatgrass growing kits, supplies and wheat grass juicers recently concluded the purchase of Pheonix, Arizona based HandyPantry.com. Kaitlin Moller, President of Living Whole Foods, Inc., parent company of Wheatgrasskits.com said: “The addition of HandyPantry.com to our family of our living food websites nicely rounds out our product offering. Handy Pantry has been a leading supplier of certified organic sprouting seed, sprouters to grow sprouts for over ten years, and we are thrilled with that addition to our living food business.”

In addition to Internet ecommerce sales of sprouting supplies, Handy Pantry also wholesales a complete line of sprouting supplies to retail health food stores nationwide. The company plans to improve product offerings and continue to develop the wholesale channel. Living Whole Foods, Inc. has moved the operations of Handy Pantry from Phoenix to their headquarters in Springville, Utah, and is in the process of expanding into a 5500 sq. ft. production facility to accommodate growth.

About Wheatgrasskits.com

Wheatgrasskits.com was founded in 2000 to provide organic kits, supplies and juicers. In addition to a full line of wheatgrass growing supplies, Wheatgrasskits.com also offers other living food products including composting supplies, trace mineral fertilizers, soy milk making supplies and kits to grow sprouts and herbs.

About HandyPantry.com

Handy Pantry has been providing a full line of certified organic sprouting seed and other sprouting supplies for over ten years through health food stores nation wide, and direct through the company website.

Contact Information:
Living Whole Foods, Inc.
Kaitlin Moller
64 W. 600 N. Suite 2
Springville, Utah 84664
Phone: 801-491-8700
Fax: 801-491-8728
kaitlin@wheatgrasskits.com
www.wheatgrasskits.com
www.handypantry.com
www.herbkits.com
www.soykits.com

Tech Sprouts!

2007-03-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Food as Medicine Trend

2007-03-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

In a recent report in the Magazine "Natural Products Insider" Steve French reports that two out of five consumers believe functional foods can be used in the place of some medicines (this is a 54% increase since 2003). People are getting the message that we can get healthy through our diet!

My sister says she looks for foods with Calcium in them because she knows that she does not get enough. Wouldn't it be amazing if everyone had a little health monitor with them when they shopped and prepared meals? The monitor would tell them what vitamins and living enzymes their body really needed in order for them to feel more energy and stem predispostion to diseases. I have a feeling the monitor would tell us to eat more living fruits, veggies and lots more sprouts! I know my monitor danger alert would sound as soon as I reached for a piece of non-organic, greasy pizza!

Raw Food Reads...

2007-01-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

My new focus is raw food, sprouts and everything living! My dad, my sister and I set new year's resolution to eat as much raw food as we could. My mom has been living raw food for as many years as I can remember and now it is time for us to listen!

One book that has really helped me to understand the benefits of a raw food diet and wheatgrass is called "Enzyme Nutrtition" by Edward Howell. He explains why it is so vital for our body to get live enzymes in our food. I recently was at a vitamin store and they had a wall of products labeled "Raw Food". The products on this wall were all bottled powders and dead tablets. I couldn't believe it. This must be the techinical difference between living and raw food. By reading Edward Howell's book you can seen exactly how living food creates energy in your body to heal and to cleanse.

Raw Rules

2007-01-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

Just posted our January 2007 Wheatgrass Habit

By Abby Weingarten

Beth Pratt's home page: www.deliciouslyfit.com
Permission to reprint article from Beth Pratt

Catalysts for self-change can come in many forms.Mine was food. For years, it was my addiction, my ultimate safety. Even in kindergarten, I would hide Halloween candy under my bed and sneak it out by nightlight. I'd
forage through my friends' cabinets and scarf down whatever pops and puffs of sugared cereal I'd find on the shelves.

By the time I could drive, it was McDonald's and I all the way. It tasted good. And I was hungry. I was always so hungry. Hungry for something, and never full, no matter how many double cheeseburgers I could fit in one sitting. I was tired, depressed, and just sick.

It wasn't alcohol. It wasn't illegal drugs. I didn't need ID to do it. I didn't even have to reach a certain age.

But I could treat my body like a trash bin with no repercussions. So I took full advantage.

No one teaches us in school that this is wrong, that it affects every facet of our psyches, to the point where we literally prove that old maxim: You are what you eat.

Seeking guidance

I needed help. I couldn't do it alone.

The more labels I read and the more opposing facts I downloaded, the more I yearned for a logical filter. I'd start a diet regimen only to discover, through my own skeptical research, how unhealthy it was. Search after Google search brought me to the raw food movement.

The little I knew about this was from a "Sex and the City" episode, in which the girls head to the Manhattan restaurant

Raw, where one of the show's characters, Miranda Hobbes, describes a cold summer vegetable soup as "a lawn in a bowl."

I was quick to assume raw foodists were monklike renegades who lived off wheatgrass shots and barley smoothies.

Then I met Beth Pratt, who debunked all those myths and helped me reshape my eating habits.

In a culture of quick fixes -- get in, get out, pop a pill, starve, purge, put the weight back on, listen to the audiobook, watch the infomercial and buy more products -- her mentoring stood out. It was almost unfathomable that a real person could come to your house, teach you how to prepare meals, retrain your muscles and map out your lifetime goals.

"I've always been a truth-seeker, wanting to help people cut through the fat," Pratt said. "I've been on every supplement there is. I've tried Suzanne Somers' diet. I've tried Atkins. And what upsets me with the fitness field is that there's so much conflicting information out there. People don't know what to do anymore."

Pratt is a chef and teacher certified by Living on Live Food with a background
in structural and postural therapy. At San Diego State University, she majored in athletic training and exercise physiology and was an anatomical functionalist at the Egoscue Clinic in Del Mar, Calif.

For more than 14 years, through her holistic-focused company BFiT Biomechanics
Fitness Therapy, she offered nutritional consultations and assessments throughout Boston, Scottsdale, Ariz., Las Vegas and San Diego.

In May, she moved to Sarasota, changed her business title to Deliciously Fit, and began holding raw classes at Whole Foods Market and her Bradenton home.

I enrolled in her "2-Week Fitness & Raw Challenge," in which she took me grocery shopping, introduced me to decadent recipes, improved my body's alignment and showed me the art of dining well.

"I've always been on the 'why' path. I was always trying to get fit and healthy and be the best I could be," Pratt said. "It's challenging to say, 'Where can I take it? What's that top level?'"

Learning to change

Simply put, going raw is going back to Earth's natural resources: nuts, fruits, sea and land vegetables, sprouted grains, beans and legumes (though some diets include raw meat, eggs and unpasteurized milk). Alone, these
ingredients sound unappetizing and bland, and they often are. But creative combinations yield mouthwatering results.

"Getting down to the basics of fruits and vegetables and what comes from nature, you find out what's real," Pratt said. "Just eating an apple is boring to me. You can do so much else with it, and that's what makes it exciting."

Consider a chocolate mousse made of avocado, almond butter, dates, almond milk, cacao powder and agave nectar. Or a torte made of raisins, walnuts, dates and fresh lemon juice.

A common question about the raw food diet is: Where are the protein and calcium sources? Almonds are rich in both, as are sesame and sunflower seeds, raw carob, Brazil nuts and green leafy vegetables.

"We are programmed to believe that the only source of protein is from animals," Pratt noted, "but actually, plant-source foods contain a good amount of protein and calcium that is actually easier for the body to
utilize and digest."

When food is cooked above 118 F, essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals and enzymes are lost, raw food advocates say. Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, begin to deteriorate at that temperature and are completely destroyed at 160 F.

Raw protein is considered to be more digestible by the human body because the amino acids and digestive enzymes are intact; heavily cooked foods are devoid of these enzymes, making them more likely to sit in the colon and increase the risk of disease.

Victoria Boutenko's book "Green for Life" explains that, because plants contain chlorophyll, which is similar in composition to human blood, humans are more able to process it. The amino acids in animal proteins are not
as readily available to the bloodstream. In her book "Living on Live Food," Alissa Cohen, one of the main
proponents of the raw diet, explains:

"It can take years for our bodies to begin to break down from the dietary abuse we have heaped upon them. Our youth can cover a host of progressive, diet-related problems, which, when they do surface years later, we simply
assume that they are part of the 'aging process.' It doesn't have to be that way!"

In every diet I attempted, something was always forbidden. Switching to raw, from my perspective, was more about indulgence than abstention.

"For so many years in fitness, it was about what you can't have," Pratt said. "Now I can eat as much as I want of this, without any guilt, and it's healthy for me!"

Feeding my soul

There was something far deeper than food in this for me. When I learned to be aware of everything I put into my body, I found myself more conscious of everything in my life. The environment seemed to matter more. Spirituality made sense. The less toxic I was on the inside, the less irritable I felt. I didn't have to physically recover from my meals or the self-inflicted effects of junk bingeing. But I had to truly look at myself and figure out, "Why do I really need this?" and "What void am I filling?" And then, I could move on.

"I think, sometimes people don't really want to take on the challenge. They would rather take it in a pill or a drink," Pratt said. "I made a conscious decision that I'm not going to talk anybody into anything anymore. People that come to me have to be people that are ready to hear this information."

I was ready.

Wheat Grass T-Shirts

2006-11-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

Hot off the press.. wheatgrass t-shirts

A few funny designs to show your love for wheatgrass!
Great stocking stuffers!

The Cows are Right! Wheatgrass is Nature's Best Food and the Staff of Life!

Wheatgrass Habit - Detoxifying Properties of Wheatgrass

2006-11-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

Wheatgrass juice has the great ability to detoxify the body almost immediately after beginning to drink it daily. For this reason, caution should be used in the amount taken the first few days and weeks. As the body begins to eliminate toxins, old drug deposits, poisons, it is much like experiencing the flu. There are headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, etc depending on toxicity of the body. This usually last about a week, the second week begin a little better. After the detox, the chlorophyll in the grass juice begins to build and refine the tissues. Ann Wigmore recommends the following to help through the detoxification process:
1) Begin with only 1 ounce of juice per day. Take juice 1 hour before meals and at least 2 hours after.
2) If detox symptoms are not happening, after about a week, increase gradually the amount of juice taken--over a period of time.
3) Most people max out at 2 to 3 ounces a day find this to be very energizing.
4) People who are extremely ill and begin wheatgrass should do it under the direction of a health practitioner.
5) After several weeks or months on the juice and a change in diet, the body will begin to heal present and past illnesses (that were suppressed) Dr. Bernard Jensen (quoting from Herring's Law) says that the body heals from the top down and from the inside out, and backwards in the order of whatever was wrong last. Healing reactions are similar to the actual illness, but are usually not as intense and do not last as long.

See our holiday gift specials and the rest of the Wheatgrass Habit November Issue

Ponce de Leon, and the Fountain of Youth

2006-11-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, a local health guru told me that he was doing everything he could to stay young and vibrant and now he was just afraid of how long he would live. Would he live well into his 100's? Maybe that would be too long? Not long ago we published one of Ann Wigmore's articles in our Wheatgrass Habit Newsletter. The title is Life Extention through Wheatgrass. She states that she regained her youth through a living food diet and wheatgrass.

She stated "In wheatgrass, raw foods, and exercise, I found what I feel is as close to the fountain of youth as we are going to get. Twenty-five years after my discovery, my hair has turned fully naturally brown again. My weight has been a stable 119 (the same as it was in my youth), and my energy level is limitless. For the past ten years I have required an average of only four hours of sleep a night, and I haven’t needed the services of a physician in years. My work has taken me all over the world on many demanding tours, sometimes for months at a time. Yet, I have more energy than I can ever remember having as a child – and I am no child at 76.What I have discovered can help you, too. But instead of taking my word for it, examine what I have to say carefully, and then if you are so inclined, try it for yourself.

As in the days of Ponce de Leon, humans everywhere are still in hot pursuit of the fountain of eternal youth. One drink from this magic fountain, it was believed, would restore youthful appearance, outlook and vigor. Despite the fact that scientists have now discovered over a hundred chemical elements and thousands of factors that play a role in nutrition and health, they are not even one step closer to realizing the dream of eternal youth than Ponce de Leon was five hundred years ago. In fact when you consider the rising incidence of degenerative disease in our society, you could say we have taken a few steps in the opposite direction. Yet, in wheatgrass, I believe we have a veritable fountain of youth available to us. "

To Youth!

Improving your health at the cellular level...

2006-11-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

Dr. Mary Ruth Swope says in Green Leaves of Barley, that cells always respond to an improvement in the quality of your diet. Regardless of the
extent or length of time you have had damaged cells, they will make a herculean effort to improve when given the right nutrients. Our bodies are programmed for health, not illness.

We all instinctively know what is good for us, but deciding to make the change is the effort.

Hey you Sprout!

2006-11-06T23:36:00.000-07:00

Some of us wonder.. Why are sprouts so good for us?
Here is some info that might encourage you to start your sprouting right away!

When a seed or bean is sprouted, the enzyme inhibitors "wash off" of the seed. These enzyme inhibitors are placed in the seed by nature to protect the it from rotting and keep the seed dormant until conditions are right for it to start sprouting into a plant. Sometimes when we eat raw unsoaked nuts, seeds, or grains we get indigestion.. well when you sprout the seeds before you eat them, they become them easier for the body to digest because those enzyme inhibitors are gone and replaced by live enzymes.

For more on sprouting see our sprouting section

(paraphrased from a great book "Hooked on Raw" by Rhio)

The Wheatgrass Habit - October 2006

2006-10-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

A RADICAL APPROACH TO HEALTH
take responsibility for your own body
by KK Fowlkes

We have the greatest healthcare system in the world, or so we have been led to believe. It is certainly the costliest. In 1995 I had just begun a wheatgrass business and had a greenhouse where people came in and out and sometimes shared with me their experiences with health. A neighbor to the greenhouse once came in and shared with me his wife’s experience.

In July of 1993, medical doctors upon finding a huge tumor in her colon the size of a small grapefruit removed it and put her into intensive care, where she remained until January of 1994. At that time she died. He related that the total cost of that illness approached the amount of four hundred thousand dollars! That was horrific! The really sad and horrific thing was though that she died anyway. I am sure that he was thankful to have had health insurance.

Is health insurance necessary? If a person wishes to lead a hedonistic life and chooses to smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs of all kinds, including over the counter and prescription drugs, eat anyplace, anytime, anything he so desires, then yes, health insurance is necessary. In this day, even if a person is careful, and eats the typical American Diet and avoids certain processed food, then yes, health insurance is necessary.

Certainly, it is necessary to have some type of accident insurance to protect vulnerable members of ones family. Certainly it might be necessary to have some type of insurance if one is in the child bearing years.

The year 2006 saw a 7.7 percent increase in the price of health insurance which was a smaller increase than had been seen in a few years. Dr. Drew Altman, president and chief executive of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks the annual cost of health insurance said, “To working people and business owners, a reduction in an already very high rate of increase just means you’re still paying more.” Since the year 2000, health insurance premiums have gone up 78 percent, versus wages which have gone up 20 percent.

More than 155 million Americans get their health insurance through their jobs. Employers usually pick up 84 percent of the cost for individuals and 73 percent for families. Sixty one percent of businesses offer health insurance. (Kevin Frecking, Associated Press, Yahoo News Sept 26, 2006)

So, what is the overall cost of health insurance? For individuals the cost averages $4,242. per year. For families the average cost is $11,800. per year.

This might sound reasonable to my neighbor who would have had to fork up nearly $400,000. dollars for his wife’s illness.

However the massive reality here is that she died anyway! $400,000 dollars expended for her illness and she died anyway! Truly tell me, what is the use of having it? One is protecting himself from ever having a major illness cause bankruptcy, but the important thing here, human life, the life of a cherished loved one, is not protected.

Is this reasonable? Many young families in our society don’t even gross $11,800 per year.

Should all the rest of the people in the US be required to pay more taxes so that unknowing or careless people can have some type of insurance? Do we want to foot the bill for people who say what the heck, I am going to die anyway. I might as well enjoy myself in the meantime. Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.

Let us also examine the state of a stay in the hospital these days. We have just seen how expensive it can be. Is it safe? A man named “Lance Peterson who is a disease investigator, reports that he was stunned when he found out that a lethal bacterium was three times more common in his Illinois hospital system than the rate found anywhere in the US.” (Bloomberg.com, Sept. 27, 2006).

Hospital infections kill 92,000 per year. This statistic comes from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta , Georgia .

It is conclusive that we live in a dangerous society. Should we endanger ourselves even more by entering a hospital?

The radical approach that we suggest is to take responsibility for ones self in only one area of life. That way is by controlling the main ingredient that affects the health of the body—what we put in it 3 times per day.

In the 1950’s Ann Wigmore pioneered a radical approach to carefully care for the human body. Her approach was two-fold in that it actually took people who were already extremely ill and guided them into a diet that would heal their illness. Secondly her diet was instructive for those who wish never to become ill. Her basic diet consisted of living food and wheatgrass juice. http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/issue14.htm

Ann Wigmore’s diet was based upon the age old philosophy of Hippocrates, father of medicine, who said, “Let your food be your medicine.”

Full Wheatgrass Habit Newsletter
Wheatgrass Habit Archives

Wheatgrass won't grow underground....

2006-10-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

I had a fond memory today! When I was a child there was a lot of talk about the FDA and it regulatory actions toward herbal and natural products. All of our local health food stores had huge signs on their windows encouraging people to take action and not allow the FDA to crack down on the herbal products. At this time, our family had a greenhouse in Salt Lake City where we grew wheatgrass. We jokingly said that we hoped they would never crack down on wheatgrass because it wouldn't grow well underground.

Wheatgrass is really an amazing product. It can be grow right in your own home and provide nutrition year round. If you have wheat in your food storage, if time gets bad, you can not only make bread, but you can sprout the wheat and have living food in bad times.

An interesting article on the FDA attempts to restrict availability of herbal products can be found on the Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute website.

Article on the Seven Super Antioxidant Foods

2006-09-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

Jacqui Ripley from Guardian Unlimited wrote an article titled "Seven Super Antioxidant Foods"

She names wheatgass as one way to tackle damaging free radicals:
"Wheatgrass
Chlorophyll, the substance that makes green plants green, is seen as a useful blood tonic. "Foods such as wheatgrass, algae, seaweeds and green vegetables help to 'build' the blood," explains Patrick Holford in his book The Optimum Nutrition Bible (Piatkus). "Research has shown that components of chlorophyll found in foods, when taken in very small purified amounts, may stimulate the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow." Rich in enzymes, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, this highly nutritious substance also contains useful detoxification and cleansing properties."
Read the full article....

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

2006-09-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across a great article on the benefits of wheatgrass, including many of the components and minerals in wheatgrass with their uses.

http://www.mpacorn.com/news/2003/1016/Health_and_Wellness/

Wheatgrass Kits in Canada

2006-09-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

We are now able to offer our kits in Canada! We were unable to ship seed and soil across the border, but have found a local supplier in Edmonton, Alberta. Please see www.wheatgrasskits.ca for more details.

The Wheatgrass Habit - September 2006

2006-09-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

WHEN EMBARKING UPON A HEALTH REGIME…...
by KK Fowlkes

When embarking upon a health regime, it is good to know the experiences of those who went before. Ann Wigmore has had many experiences and many letters of appreciation from people who attended her institute. Does it make any difference if the experience happened many years ago? No. Truth is always truth. For this reason the experience is still valid. Living food is always living food. Wheatgrass is always wheatgrass. The results should be approximately the same. Why not exactly the same? Everyone’s body is different.

Below you should find a letter from a Dr. Taylor to Ann Wigmore. We would differ on one item since more is known about the different grasses now. We would use barley grass for arthritis because it is high in organic sodium. People who are arthritic, are very low in organic sodium both in the lining of their stomachs and in their joints.

A lifetime of eating high protein meats or dairy products robs the body of organic sodium because sodium is used to help buffer the acidic residue from these foods. Once the sodium is used up, the body then begins to use calcium and then magnesium to buffer with. This is one reason that many arthritic people also have osteoporosis.
(This experience was taken from Ann Wigmore’s Newsletter Volume 1, Number 4, November 15, 1982)
Transcripts of a Cassette Recording of Dr. Ann and Dr. Keith B. Taylor

Dr. Taylor: I am Dr. Keith Bennett Taylor. I am an optometrist from Illinois. I do a lot of visual therapy for slow learning children. Now we have found in the last five or six years that it is very wise to implement a program of live food at home for these children. They are hurting themselves by eating too much sugar -- too many candy bars and pop, which is poison to the system. About 5 years ago I heard of the Hippocrates program through somebody from Toronto, Canada. He said that the Hippocrates program was helping folks with health problems. At that time, I had very severe arthritis in my shoulders, knees, and fingers. It got so bad I couldn't sit on the toilet or get off it without help, and I had to stay up in the middle of the night from the pain. So I went to my local physician, whom I highly regard, and I got some medicine. This killed the pain but it didn't do the arthritis any good, so I went to the arthritis sanatorium and I got two more pills, and five or six of their hot, wet heat pack treatments, and that didn't do any good. Then I went to the chiropractor and had some chiropractic treatments which were very relaxing, and some acupuncture, and that didn't do any good. Since I had physiological chemistry in medical school, I knew something about the chemistry of the human organism, so I talked to some people at Hayman about this Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston. My wife and I called and I said I have severe arthritis. Could I get help? And they said we don't care what you have, it all comes from the same thing -- deficiencies and waste accumulations. I made reservations, my wife and I came out here, and spent the most productive two weeks I've ever spent in my life. I had to come up in a wheel chair, I had to be practically carried up the steps when we came in here, I could hardly get up to the room, and when I left i had no arthritis, it was gone. And it's been gone ever since, after 3 years, because we are very careful to see that we stay on the fresh live foods program. The new life style is wonderful.

Dr. Ann: How is your energy now?

Dr. Taylor: Oh, very good. My energy is fine, it's beautiful -- I work in the office all day long. I'm never going to retire, I'm just going to keep working. I feel like a young person.

Dr. Ann: Yes, it is wonderful indeed, and that you so much for sharing your story.

See Ann's basic menu in our newsletter archives:
http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/issue14.htm
Full wheatgrass habit newsletter

Diabetes, wheatgrass and reduced sugar levels

2006-09-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

My name is June Colaudolu, and I was a supplier of organic wheatgrass on the Central Coast NSW Australia, for about three years. Whilst growing and supplying I became curious about the effects that wheatgrass would have on diabetics (as it tastes so sweet) so I asked my daughter's employer who is diabetic (stable control) if she would try it for me so we could see how it affected her levels. She took 30 mls the first day and her levels dropped from 13.5 to 11.5 in half an hour then that night she went home and ate an ice cream (which I do not advocate). To our surprise her levels were down to 9.5 the next morning.
So she started on a program of 30 mls daily, her levels stayed at 9.5 till I introduced frozen wheatgrass out of convenience. Her levels dropped to 4.2 on 60mls per day. Her levels have remained the same even though she has stopped taking wheatgrass some years ago.
I also have a friend who is a surgeon here in Australia. She is an insulin dependent diabetic (she also took 30mls of wheatgrass daily for one week but it made her sick). Anyway her level prior to taking the juice was 19.5. Her level dropped to 7.2 the next morning (she took frozen wheatgrass from the start) she has taken frozen juice every two months and her level has stayed down to 7.5. I wondering if any one else has done any investigating to the effects of wheatgrass juice on diabetics that may have had the same results that you might know of. I would appricate your letting me know.
11 August, 2006

Dr. Chris’ comment:
June, I believe everything you have to say about what wheatgrass can do for sugar levels in diabetics, both insulin-dependent and non-insulin dependent. The reason being I have seen similar results in a number of diabetics taking my wheatgrass extract. The first time I observed this was in 1995, and there have been many more since then.Medical research and my own observations suggest that wheatgrass is most likely a powerful stimulator of human growth factors. This is seen in many instances such as rapid skin recovery, wound healing and increased production of blood elements by the bone marrow. There are many similarities with what is happening to your diabetics and the activity of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1), which influences most, if not all, the body’s cells in a positive way. (See external link) Most importantly, IGF-1 has an insulin-like effect on blood sugar. It reduces glucose levels and helps to stabilise them. Also, the Factor has a direct effect on removing excess fat tissue from the body, which is possibly why so many regular wheatgrass drinkers observe weight reduction.Kind regards,
Chris Reynolds.

Cat's and Kat Love Wheatgrass

2006-08-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks Jennifer for sending us these great pictures!

This is Tigger in Oakland, Ca. He's 12 years old and has always eaten the grass in the back yard. A few years ago I started growing organic cat nip for him, but he could take it or leave it. He definitely loves the wheatgrass. No matter where I put the wheatgrass by to grow, he'll find it. I just cut from the other side and he gets one end. He doesn't even eat the back yard grass anymore...if he can find the wheatgrass. Thanks and Take Care, Jennifer

Wheatgrass in Soil & Azomite vs. Hydroponic Grass

2006-07-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

This picture was sent to us by a customer that compared using soil and azomite vs. using a hydroponic method with no soil or azomite. We have found ourselves as well that when we grow our grass in soil the grass blade is much thicker and seems to keep longer after harvest.

Wheatgrass Habit - June Newsletter

2006-07-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

Complete Nutrition -by Kaitlin Moller
Including excerpts from “Wheatgrass Miracles” by Ann Wigmore and from “Unlimited Power” by Anthony Robbins

Energized, motivated, and blissful are three great words! These words might describe someone's mood on a perfect day. This perfect day could be the outcome of certain factors: The primary factor is physical health. People sometimes refuse to admit that the body often controls motivation. Will power is just not enough. We wish so much to do good things, to accomplish goals and to work hard, but we are tired. How do we fix our health? In studying successful healthy lives like Ann Wigmore or Anthony Robbins-- one thing is clear… what one eats directly effects how one feels. Living, fresh, water-rich food energizes, enables motivation and makes life blissful!

Living, green super foods give us that edge we need; they give us energy; they heal and repair our physical bodies. Ann Wigmore said “In technological societies, where so many people live in cities and are far removed from the countryside, people tend not to eat enough leafy green vegetables – forgetting the vital importance of the color green in a well balanced diet. Green foods are the principle source of vitamins and nutrients which are essential in protecting, healing and repairing the human body. The brighter the color, the richer the vegetable is in that magic ingredient chlorophyll.”

Junk food and candy, on the other hand, take the vim and vigor out of us! In his book, “Unlimited Power” Anthony Robbins stated “We see more and more evidence every day that the American diet of junk food, fast food, and additives and chemicals is causing “trapped” wastes in the body, and those wastes alter the level of oxygenation and electric energy of the body, contributing to everything from cancer to crime.” Robbins poses the question, “What if you started eating healthy, cleansing, water-content foods and stopped eating the meat and dairy products that were stressing and clogging up your system?” We all instinctively know that he is right! When we eat better, we feel better!

The best source around to get the rich living minerals that a person needs is in wheatgrass and barley grass juice. The proof is in the way one feels.! One hears people say that workouts, hours at the office, sleep, and mood all are better on the days they make sure to get their shot of grass juice. However, one daily shot of juice is not the complete magic bullet… one needs to eat good food too! Ann Wigmore noted “Because wheatgrass is such a powerful healer, people think that they can eat as they please and try to make it up by drinking wheatgrass juice. It is so unfortunate that people are not aware that what they put into their bodies on a daily basis is what constitutes health. Eating unhealthy foods and trying to make up for it by drinking wheatgrass juice does not in any way solve health problems. I hope that you will learn that Living Foods are the most important in getting back to health.”

Wheat grass and barley grass have been touted as superfoods by many people including just recently by Dr. Perricone on Oprah.com. Many of us would rather just buy a dried supplement such as spirulina, blue green algae or chlorella rather than growing our own living super foods. It is easier right? Ann Wigmore advised against this, she said “.. you should consider the fact that these foods have been highly processed. They are single-cell organisms surrounded by a shell that must be crushed open, allowing the content to oxidize. To limit further oxidization, the algae are packaged in light proof containers, but the damage has already been done. In addition the algae are heat dried at temperatures in excess of 160 Fahrenheit, which further undermines their digestibility and nutritional value.” These foods are basically dead by the time they hit the shelf. She further states “You can easily grow, harvest and drink the juice almost seconds after harvesting it, thereby reaping the full benefits of its many precious qualities, with absolutely no loss of any of its properties due to processing.”

Gradually moving oneself toward a living, raw food diet is the key to having more body energy which will truly make for many perfect days!

Wheatgrass Habit Newsletter Archives