Wheatgrass Juice
Is the magical mystery juice all it's blended up to be?
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| Skeptoid #06 November 09, 2006 Podcast transcript | Listen | Subscribe Also available in Japanese |
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The other day, I was getting a pineapple smoothie for lunch, when I happened to notice a poster extolling the virtues of wheatgrass juice. I didn't know too much about it, except that I've heard a lot of people talk about it as if it's the second coming. So out of curiosity, I began reading.
My friends, the English language does not contain adequate hyperbole to do justice to the tons of manure printed on this poster. If the average person can take even half of this poster seriously, then the ignorance and gullibility of the general public is much worse than even I would have ever guessed.
The poster was a list of claims, almost all of which centered around chlorophyll, of which it said wheatgrass juice is a rich source. Chlorophyll, as you know, is used by plants to synthesize proteins and sugars, using radiation from the sun to power a chemical reaction, converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into proteins and sugars, exhausting oxygen as a waste byproduct. Humans and other animals, not surprisingly, don't work this way. We get our proteins and sugars by eating food; our bodies have no special use for chlorophyll.
Now, I'm not saying that there's anything unhealthy or bad about wheatgrass juice. It's probably at least as healthy as just about any other plant that you could put in your juicer and blend into green syrup. I probably wouldn't rate wheatgrass as high on the nutrition scale as a proper vegetable, but I doubt very much that there's any harm in it. However, wheatgrass juice proponents don't merely claim that it's healthy. They've assembled the most outrageous list of vague medical conditions that it cures, and all sorts of types of wellness that it supposedly promotes. Since these claims are all entirely unsubstantiated, and sound far fetched to say the least, this is certainly a product you should approach skeptically. Let's take a look at some of these claims.
Wheat grass is high in oxygen like all green plants that contain chlorophyll, and the brain functions at an optimal level in a high-oxygen environment.
While it's true that if you cut off the oxygen supply to your brain, its function will be somewhat less than optimal, it's not true at all that chlorophyll is a good source of oxygen. I suggest you continue to rely on your lungs for that, which are probably better, since you don't have leaves. All types of chlorophyll have only trace amounts of oxygen. Chlorophyll is a carbohydrate, thus its makeup is overwhelmingly carbon and hydrogen. The molecule has as many as 127 hydrogen and carbon atoms, but only 5 or 6 atoms of oxygen, 4 of nitrogen, and one lonely magnesium atom. Incidentally, this also refutes another claim: that the high magnesium content of chlorophyll builds enzymes that restore your sex hormones. Interesting, given that enzymes are proteins made of amino acids, which contain no magnesium at all. I have no idea whether a single atom of magnesium restores sex hormones, whatever that means, but if so that's one hell of an atom. If you want magnesium, take a vitamin pill. If you want oxygen, take a breath. If you want sex hormones, get a girlfriend.
Wheatgrass juice has been proven to cleanse the lymph system, building the blood, restoring balance in the body, removing toxic metals from the cells, nourishing the liver and kidneys and restoring vitality.
The grammatical errors are from the poster, not from me. Let's take these one at a time. First, the claim that it's been "proven" to do any of these things. Notice that these claims are very vaguely worded: "restores balance", and "builds the blood". This is deliberate. If they tried to be specific, they would get into trouble with the FDA. If you make a claim that a product is intended to diagnose, mitigate, treat, cure, or prevent a specific disease, and your product has not been tested and is therefore unregulated, you're in violation of the law (21 U.S.C. 343(r)(6)). The wheatgrass people of course can't actually submit their product for testing against any particular diseases, because of course it would fail. So they are relegated to making only vague, untestable claims like it "builds the blood" and "restores balance".
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. And, of course, this is all founded on the assumption that you have toxic metal problems that need to be addressed. Before you seek out quack remedies for this unusual illness, first find out from a medical professional that this is indeed a problem you have, and don't go only on the assurance of a health food store owner who wants to sell you something. Probably the best thing you can do is stop chewing the lead paint off your windowsills.
It contains most of the vitamins and minerals needed for human maintenance, including the elusive B12.
Sounds compelling! But it sounded less compelling when I turned away from the poster, and looked at the store's own nutritional facts chart. The only vitamins present in a 2-ounce shot of wheatgrass juice are 15% of your daily allowance of Vitamin C, and 20% of iron. The rest of the vitamins and minerals, "elusive B12" included? Zeros, all the way down the board. The bottom line is that a shot of wheatgrass juice offers far less nutrition than a single Flintstones vitamin pill.
I would welcome a scientific test of wheatgrass juice. I challenge wheatgrass proponents to pick any supposed benefit of wheatgrass juice, and substantiate it in a real test. And by a test I don't mean a report from a hippie whose energy fields have been rejuvenated. I mean one of their claims that some sick people might actually believe and are avoiding important medical treatment as a result, such as the claim that wheatgrass juice will reduce high blood pressure. That's easy enough to test in a real, peer reviewed, double blind clinical trial. Take notice that the wheatgrass proponents have not done such a test, and there's probably a very good reason they've avoided it. Approach far fetched claims with skepticism, especially those that have not been, or cannot be, substantiated.
In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy my pineapple and banana smoothies, no wheatgrass juice, bee pollen, or extract of ginseng needed.
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References & Further Reading
Alberts, B., Bray, D., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K., Walter, P. Essential Cell Biology: An Introduction to the Molecular Biology of the Cell. New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. 12-13, 432-434.
Bidlack, W., Meslin, M. "Nutritional quackery: selling health misinformation." California Pharmacist. 1 Feb. 1989, Volume 36: 34-43.
Jarvis, W.T. "Wheatgrass Therapy." National Council Against Health Fraud Resource Documents. National Council Against Health Fraud, 15 Jan. 2001. Web. 9 Nov. 2006. <http://www.ncahf.org/articles/s-z/wheatgrass.html>
Lister, C. "Wheat Grass Nutritional Analyses." Crop & Food Research. The New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food Research Ltd, 12 Sep. 2002. Web. 9 Nov. 2006. <http://www.barleyleaf.co.nz/rightpages/WheatGrass.html>
Ross, Sharon. "Functional Foods: The Food and Drug Administration Perspective." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1 Jun. 2000, Volume 71, Number 6: 1735S-1738S.
Reference this article:
Dunning, Brian.
"Wheatgrass Juice." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, Inc.,
9 Nov 2006. Web.
11 Mar 2010. <http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4006>
Discuss!
5 most recent comments | Show all 210 comments
Remember, you should always read with skepticism the comments of anyone too lame to put their real name & city.
The health-benefits mentioned are rather ludicrous, surely. On the other hand, reading some more serious literature, it seems there is something to it. Before more modern and synthetic vitamin pills were developed, they were based on wheatgrass. This was acknowledged by the AMA.
One thing that shouldn't be forgotten is that most of these healthfoods work best if grown organically in real soil, in natural situations. Instead of becoming spoiled sugarbombs, they'll have time to root and collect many trace elements people are missing out on nowadays. A similar story can be told about most store bought vegetables. When compared to organic vegetables grown with lots of compost, they turn out to compare more sugars, proteins and mineral. Sugars & proteins can be easily tested for with a refractometer. If you're skeptic, try for yourself. I did and decided not to pay for expensive water anymore.
The above story by Lindel is amazing, IMHO. You should take it up with your doctors, this is worth researching.
J. Klop, Schapehals
February 24, 2010 11:06am
I was discussing it with a natropath recently who was interested from the point of view that natural medicines and herbals are to be blended very carefully with modern drugs due to their ability to actually enhance/increase the effect of a drug and cause harmful effects - this is why you disclose all medications, including herbs/vitamins etc., to your doctor when being prescribed new drugs. He was interested to hear how it had mostly scoured the drug clear from my blood instead, in my case. It would be the first thing I would be reaching for following cancer treatment, I know that, to feed my body the nutrients it needed to help repair itself. (Prevention is better than cure of course, hence I take it now :) )
I would love to discuss it further with a doctor, but you need to find one open to listening - most are quite brainwashed against anything 'natural' I have found. I have just taken possession of my 1kg tub of powdered Organic Barley Grass as I can't get it fresh anywhere any more - am hoping the effects are as amazing as the fresh Wheat Grass shots. I'm no rabid proponent for alternative medicines, although they certainly have their place and I am always open to at least giving them a try, along with western medicine, but the wheat grass is something I am convinced about. I would love to see it researched further!
Lindel, Brisbane Australia
March 01, 2010 7:04pm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=11989836&ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Alex, Santa Barbara, Ca
March 03, 2010 8:38am
This article is useless.When is everyone going to realize that the effects of any food, drink or product varies from person to person and some might have allergic reaction or their bodies dont react to it at all, for others it does wonders, for me like a lot of other people i know it works and results are visible and i would swear by it. Just because a product doesnt work for you, dont bash it! This debate is pointless.
Anna, Calgary
March 05, 2010 12:22pm
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Wheatgrass/barleygrass are superfoods! Fresh juice bar opened near me. I tried wheatgrass juice because I had done my own research and figured it was good. Diagnosed soon after with DVT's in both legs (accidentally self inflicted - don't ask but reno's were involved) - had to have weekly blood tests for 6 months. Told not to change normal diet. Kept having 3 shots per week. Doctors had to keep raising warfarin (that rat poison based blood thinner) levels to try and get me to the MINIMUM level. Eventually taking 8.5 & 9 mg alternate days. DOUBLE THE USUAL ADULT DOSE. Made the MINIMUM levels finally. Went away for a week holiday - no access to fresh wheatgrass shots but still taking usual warfarin dose daily. Came home - had blood test. URGENT call from Doctors to sit down and not take any warfarin for at least 3 days - levels had SHOT THROUGH THE ROOF. Went back on 3 shots per week and same problem returned. PROVES that it clears the blood of poisons - my test results showed healthy rich premium blood so I know this stuff is gold. DVT's cleared up and sadly local shop then closed so I have no access now to fresh juice. I am now taking an organic dried variety - better than nothing. Say what you like, but I know beyond a doubt that this stuff is liquid gold and better for you than just about anything else out there other than fresh whole fruits and vegies, preferably organic. But you decide, once you've tried it...
Lindel, Brisbane Australia
February 19, 2010 12:22am