Wonderful Wheatgrass

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are many claims for the health benefits of wheatgrass from providing a useful food supplement to curing various deseases.

The benfits of wheatgrass were first discovered by Charles F Schnabel, an agricultural chemist. He used fresh cut grass in an attempt to nurse some dying hens back to health. The hens not only recovered, but they produced eggs at a higher rate than healthy hens.


Encouraged by his results, he began drying and powdering grass for his family and neighbors to supplement their diets. The following year, Schnabel reproduced his experiment and achieved the same results. Hens consuming rations supplemented with grass doubled their egg production. Schnabel's research was conducted with wheatgrass grown outdoors in Kansas

Among other things, it has been claimed that wheatgrass helps blood flow, digestion and general detoxificationof the body. But these claims have not yet been proved. Wheatgrass contains no wheat gluten.

But I take wheatgrass regularly and believe it to be a great way to add vitamins and minerals to a busy life.

Table 1. Nutrient comparison of 1 oz (28.35 g) of wheatgrass juice, broccoli and spinach.
Nutrient	Wheatgrass Juice	Broccoli	Spinach
Protein	860 mg	800 mg	810 mg
Beta-carotene	120 IU	177 IU	2658 IU
Vitamin E	880 mcg	220 mcg	580 mcg
Vitamin C	1 mg	25.3 mg	8 mg
Vitamin B12	0.30 mcg	0 mcg	0 mcg
Phosphorus	21 mg	19 mg	14 mg
Magnesium	8 mg	6 mg	22 mg
Calcium	7.2 mg	13 mg	28 mg
Iron	0.66 mg	0.21 mg	0.77 mg
Potassium	42 mg	90 mg	158 mg
Data on broccoli and spinach from USDA database.[ Data on Wheatgrass juice from Wheatgrass Juice & Folk Medicine Michael Shermer // Scientific American 299, 42 (2008)

Some people grow and juice wheatgrass themselves at home. Others buy it in juice bars, alone or in mixed fruit or vegetable drinks. It isn't the plesantest taste on its own although you can get used to it. And now I drink it down with some enjoyment.

You can also buy ir in many health food stores as fresh produce, tablets, frozen juice and powder. You can also but it on line. I buy mine from Amazon at this link.  


This book contains a wealth of information on wheatgrass. Ann Wigmore is the woman who introduced wheatgrass juice to America 30 years ago.

Wendy Mason is a Life and Career Coach.  She helps people have the confidence they need to be successful at work and to change career while maintaining a good work/life balance. You can email her at wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com