HERB OF THE MONTH
Issue4, Article 2, May 2000
http://www.alternative-healthzine.com/html/0500_2.html
Brief History of “Cereal Grasses”
The cereal grasses - wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa - (all of which have similar properties) have been studied since the early part of the century. These have been used with exceptional results to boost health and vitality both of people and animals. In 1931, a food scientist called Charles Schnabel was experimenting to find a mixture which would boost chicken health and egg production. Eventually, he found that a mixture of greens containing a large amount of wheat grass boosted health in the chickens very significantly. He said that “even a child can see the bloom of health in the grass-fed hens”.
In addition, winter egg production went up by 150% per bird! Research continued, and further remarkable results were noted. For example, cereal grasses were found to improve reproductive ability, and milk production - two markers of good health. Wheat grass and other cereal grasses were used widely as a supplement, until the booming pharmaceutical industry, with its chemical vitamins, grabbed the public’s attention. Multi-vitamins became the products of choice - even though their results were not as good as from wheat grass. Science was king! In the 1960’s, Ann Wigmore ’re-discovered’ wheat grass, curing her own ’untreatable’ colitis in the process. She gave wheat grass to several sick neighbours - all of whom recovered and were rejuvenated! She went on to champion wheat grass in her own ’Hippocrates Health Institute’, treating and curing many people of serious health conditions.
THE PROPERTIES OF WHEAT GRASS
Wheat grass has only about 10-15 calories per teaspoon. It has no fat or cholesterol. It has nearly a gram of protein per teaspoon, and includes all eight of the essential amino acids, as well as 13 of the remaining 16. The amino acids it doesn't contain are easily made within the body. It contains Vitamins A, B1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 12; C, E and K. A teaspoon of wheat grass contains around 15mg of Calcium, 8mcg Iodine, 3.5mcg Selenium, 870mcg Iron, 62mcg Zinc, and many other minerals. There are four other special components of wheat grass, which make it particularly valuable. These - not in any particular order - are:
· Superoxide Dismutase (SOD)
· P4D1
· Muco-polysaccharides, and Chlorophyll.
SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE (SOD) (an anti-cancer factor)
There are three enzymes known to have significant anti-oxidant activity. One of these is Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), which is present in wheat grass. It has been found that cancerous cells have a deficiency or a complete lack of SOD. So, if you supplement your diet with wheat grass you will almost certainly be helping your body to avoid, or deal with, cancerous conditions. Anti-oxidants have the ability to mop up free radicals and so reduce or avoid cell mutation. Mutation is part of the first stage of cancer formation. This is an extremely important factor - because cancer is the biggest killer after heart disease in the Western world. NOT A MIRACLE - BUT PART OF A SENSIBLE APPROACH
Of course, this is not to say; ’Eat wheat grass and your cancer will go away’ - that is not true. But if I had cancer, I’m sure I’d be eating wheat grass as part of my daily routine. And I’d recommend you take it every day now, for maintenance of good health - and to help avoid any cancerous tendencies. The wheat grass should, of course, be only a supplement - to a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle. It is not a substitute for these things!
By the way...
ANTI-OXIDANTS
Just what are these ’anti-oxidants’ we hear so much about these days - such as Superoxide Dismutase? During normal metabolism (i.e. activity of the cells) our body produces waste products with active atoms attached - looking for something to combine with. These are ’free radicals’. Free radicals do not stay in existence for long - because they are so active. In other words, they want to combine with something - fast. In fact, unchecked, they can cause havoc - and they produce degenerative changes. These degenerative changes include:
· Cell mutations - which can lead to cancer, and
· Aging processes - such as the dreaded wrinkles!
And can include illnesses such as:
· Parkinson's disease.
The more anti-oxidants we have in our system, the faster the free radicals can be safely de-activated.
So, anti-oxidants are an ’anti-aging’ and health-promoting influence. They reduce cell mutations, artery damage, skin wrinkles, and other changes indicative of aging. For more on free radicals, see: www3.sympatico.ca/diane.demers/freerad/freerad1.htm
Back to the story...
The second special component of wheat grass is: P4D1
This is a ’gluco-protein’ present in wheat grass, which has three main properties:
1. Firstly, it appears to act in a way similar to anti-oxidants as far as cell mutations are concerned. It stimulates the renewal of RNA and DNA - the creative matter of the body. This means that cell deterioration and mutation will be slowed down or avoided. Therefore, there will probably be benefits from using wheat grass to avoid - or even during - degenerative diseases.
2. Secondly, it appears to reduce inflammation - some say in a more powerful way than cortisone (and without the side-effects, of course). Some remarkable cures have been observed with wheat grass for people with inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.
3. A third property of P4D1, is that it is also thought to be able to help the body attack cancer cells, by helping to make the walls of the cancerous cells more open to attack by the body’s white blood cells. This adds to the anti-cancer properties of SOD (see above).
1. MUCO-POLYSACCHARIDES
These are a combination of complex and simple sugars which appear to stimulate the body's repair mechanisms. Enhancing these mechanisms is important, because the body is constantly repairing and replacing damaged cells. If you can do this better, it means you will ’age’ better. Muco-polysaccharides appear to have a particular affinity to help repair damaged heart and artery tissue. Spirulina also contains muco-polysaccharides, by the way; it is these which form the cell walls of spirulina, rather than the much tougher cellulose, which normally forms the cell walls of plants.
CHLOROPHYLL
Chlorophyll is the remarkable substance to which we all owe our lives. This is because chlorophyll has the ability to capture the sun's energy and lock it into plants in such a way that we can use it to sustain our own lives. Chemically, chlorophyll is almost identical to haemoglobin - the substance which transports oxygen from the Lungs to the tissues of the body. Out of about 50 atoms in the compound, only two are different. The main difference is that at the centre of chlorophyll there is a magnesium ion; whereas haemoglobin has iron in the same place. The action of chlorophyll is so important, that two Nobel prizes were awarded for research on the compound. Chlorophyll’s health properties were observed as early as 1950, when Offen Krantz reported the healing of long standing peptic ulcers after the application of chlorophyll. The benefits of chlorophyll fall into three main categories, purifying, anti-inflammatory, and renewal.
1. Purifying: Chlorophyll has an anti-bacterial effect on wounds, and an anti-yeast effect in the digestive tract. It appears to counteract many toxins in the body.
2. Inflammation: It has the effect of reducing inflammation. Thus it can be used to help counteract the effects of arthritis, stomach ulcers, colitis, sore throats, and other inflammatory conditions.
3. Nourishing: It builds blood - after all, it is almost identical to haemoglobin (see above); it helps promote intestinal flora, and assists Liver cleansing.
CAUTIONS
Wheat grass is a very effective cleansing herb, which means that it may produce cleansing reactions in the body fairly easily. This is basically good! But it may be uncomfortable. So if you are not used to it, start off slowly! The sort of cleansing reactions which may occur include headaches and nausea. Just don't take too much at first, and you will avoid such problems.
If you would like to know more about wheat grass, and perhaps to cultivate your own grass at home, an interesting source book is to be found at: www.sproutman.com/wheatgrass.html
Ann Wigmore’s site - set up by followers of her methods - is at: www.wigmore.org/
As at May 2000 Ann Wigmore’s site is at the early stages of construction, but it is interesting to see some information about the famed Ann who, very unfortunately, died when her premises were destroyed by fire.
© 2000-2002 Shelley Day, Alternative Healthzine
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Please review the following articles on Pure Planet’s Just Barley.
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Green Giants: The New Superfoods
Source: April 1996 Delicious!
Aurthor: Leslie Krampf
The First Science Lesson 1 remember was in third grade in Mrs. Nolan’s class. We all tromped out to the playground blacktop to see what color paper would burn the fastest under a magnifying glass with the sun shinning through it. I bet chewing gum on the black, but Dickie Jacobs won when a burn like a cigarette hole started on the green. The sun’s attraction to green things is as old as creation. Later, in junior high, we learned about photosynthesis, the process by which the sun influences chlorophyll molecules in green plants to create glucose from carbon dioxide and water. This provides energy for the abundant vitamins, proteins and nucleic acids found in green foods, which leads us to mothers’ oldest advice: Eat your vegetables. Why? That’s today’s lesson: oxygen. It’s the by -product of photosynthesis and helps feed and nourish us. Dark, leafy green foods are among the best food sources from the sun. The greener the leaf, the richer it will be in nutrients, says Lavon J. Dunne, author of Nutrition Almanac (McGraw-Hill). In comparison, the green food that ranks lowest nutritionally is iceberg lettuce, according to Ronald L. Seibold, M.S., author of Cereal Grass: What’s in it for you! (wilderness Community Education Foundation).
The secret nutritional ingredient in green foods is chlorophyll. In chemical structure, it’s similar to heme, the oxygen-carring portion of hemoglobin. It’s the hemoglobin in red blood cells that picks up oxygen in the lungs and transports it to body cells so that food can be burned as fuel. This is why chlorophll is popular for building blood. Among its many other therapeutic properties described in scientific literature, chlorophyll cleanses the blood, detoxifies and regenerates the liver, protects against germs by preventing their growth, helps heal burns and wounds including internal wounds such as ulcers, treats diseases of the colon such as spastic or ulcerative colitis, and acts as a natural deodorizer, reports Seibold. He also notes chlorophyll’s cancer-fighting properties, citing a 1980 study at the University of Texas Medical Center that showed how green foods inhibit the effects of two cancer-causing mutagens-benzopyrene and methylcholanthrene. “The more chlorophyll in the vegetable, the greater the protection from the carcinogen,” Seibold says. In addition, he cites studies that show how dark green vegetable reduce the effects of radiation damage. Green foods also contain arytenoids, which are powerful antioxidants, says Victoria Wood, a nutritionist in Takoma park, Md.
Most Americans don’t eat enough dark green vegetables to get all the benefits of chlorophyll, say David Steenblock, D.O., founder and medical director of the health Restoration Medical Center in Lake Forest, Calif. “You’d have to eat raw spinach or spouts all day,” he say. In general, though, the American lifestyle doesn’t support this habit, which is why green super foods, found in tablets, capsules, granules, powders, crystals and flakes, may be taken as supplements.
The Grass Is Greener
In the past few years, Several Cereal grasses-wheat, rice, corn, barley, oats, rye and millet- have become popular as nutritional sources because of their high chlorophyll content. In their young stage they resemble lawn grass and are much richer in nutrients than when fully grown and harvested, Seibold says. Rejuvenating health spas and centers around the world have guests drink wheat grass juice to help the body heal itself of conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and other glucose irregularities, and skin disorders, says Mark Soloman, Ph.D., dean of education for the Optimum Health Institute in Lemon Grove, Calif. One of his 80-year-old patients, who suffered form psoriasis all over her body, watched as new pink skin grew after a week of applying wheat grass poultices and eating raw dark greens.
Ann Wigmore, a pioneer in wheat grass juice therapy and founder of the Hippocrates Institute in Boston, traveled to India to administer wheat grass juice daily have more energy, need less sleep, and have stronger immune stems to fight disease and pollutants, Wigmore writes in The Wheatgrass Book (Avery).
In other research, a 1989 study presented at a conference of the Japanese Society of Infectious Diseases showed that extracts from barley leaves, another cereal grass, had an inhibitive effect on further infection from the AIDS virus. Alfalfa is a legume that’s been called the “greater healer,” reports Earl Mindell, Ph.D., nutritional guru and publisher of Earl Mindell’s Health News & Review. In the Spring 1995 issue he quotes scientists who report that alfalfa contains eight enzymes and a high of vitamin D, lime and phosphorus, which encourage strong bones and teeth in growing children. “Alfalfa is truly valuable for its vitamin content,” Mindell says, also noting it contains large amounts of vitamin A, B6, E and K. It’s used to treat stomach problems, gas pains and ulcers, and is a natural diuretic and laxative, Mindell says.
Fresh Water Harvest
Spirulina, blue-green micro-algae harvested from lakes around the world, is full of protein, with 20 times the amount as contained in soybeans on an equal land area, according to James F. Balch, M.D., and Phyllis A. Dalch, C.N.C., authors of prescription for Nutritional Healing (Avery). Spirulina has become a super food trend because it’s so rich in folic acid, antithetic acid, biotin, inositol, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals and vitamins including vitamin B12, which is lacking in the diets of many vegetarians. In Earth Food Spirulina ( Ronore Enterprises), author Robert Henrikson cites studies that show spiraling helps lower cholesterol, build healthy lactobacillus in the intestines, reduce kidney poisoning from mercury and drug medications, and correct iron deficiencies.
Chlorella is single-celled algae found in freshwater ponds and lakes. It contains all eight essential amino acids, plus vitamin B12,beta-carotene, calcium, iron and chlorophyll. Steenblock, author of Chlorella: Natural Mineral Algae ( Aging Research Institute), uses chlorella extensively to help treat patients. In a 1986 study of 130 patients, he administered chlorella with no other drugs and noted that patients’ acne cleared up, arthritis subsided, digestion and bowel activity improved, and their energy was boosted, he says. Steenblock says chlorella's outer cell wall, which contributes to needed fiver, binds to poisons in the body and carries them out in the stool. Chlorella also has nucleic acids that may enhance and stimulate lymphocytes and immune system, according to Steenblock. In addition, the polypeptide found in chlorella’s cytoplasm encourages growth (called chlorella growth factor). In adults, chlorella growth factor encourages the liver and spleen to grow and regenerate, Steenblock says. Nutritionist Wood notes that chlorella helps rid the body of toxic metals, especially after people have mercury tooth fillings removed.
Green Foods: Energy In a Glass
Source: March 1998 Let’s Live Magazine
Author: Lisa Turner
If you still think of green foods as gritty juice blends or murky, not so smoothies, it may be time to give them another try. Once resigned to the realms of the fringe feeders and food purists, green foods have seen a stunning resurgence, showing up in everything form barley laced energy bars to spiulina pate. The reason is simple: These nutritional powerhouses can help stave off everything from the common cold to heart disease. And the surf-and-turf array of land grasses and water greens is broad enough to satisfy most nutritional needs and personal palates.
These grayish-green substances, fondly referred to as “pond scum,” actually come from a number of sources and are divided into two main varieties of green foods: cereal grasses (those that bear grains) and water greens. In the process of bearing grain, cereal grasses go through a metamorphosis that creates a tremendous number of enzymes and free-form proteins that can help boost immune response and repair connective tissue. Cereal grasses are also higher in fiber than water greens; dehydrated cereal grass has nearly as much protein as wheat bran and is more alkalizing. Although there are a variety of cereal grasses, they are virtually identical to each other, with the stage of growth rather than biggest difference is taste, which varies form slightly sweet to very bitter.
Water greens tend to be higher in protein than land grasses and are more easily assimilated by the body. Most commercial algae, spirulina and chlorella provide a broad array of nutrients from water sources that can't be duplicated on land, depending on how and where they're grown, One example: Some types of algae are grown in lakes that have up to 40 feet of nutrient and mineral sediment and yield impressively high levels of calcium, chromium and other minerals.
No matter the form, green foods have a place in every diet, from a weightlifter’s diet to a working mum’s. In a world of commuters, computers and hectic work schedules, many of us find precious little time to consume even the minimum requirements of whole foods for optimal health. Most Britons eat a scant 10 percent of the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables, and much of that is cooked. Since cooking destroys delicate enzymes and a wide array of other important nutrients, green foods can fill in vast nutritional blanks. Even if you’re one of the venerable few that consumes the recommended five servings of vegetables a day, you’re still probably not getting the full nutrient value. Our early ancestors survived on simple diets, with staples of naturally grown leaves, berries and roots. With the advent of modern agricultural practices pesticide use, crossbreeding and hybridizing seeds became the norm-practices that vastly compromise nutritional integrity and yield foods with lower levels of vitamins, minerals, protein and enzymes. Like the unadulterated, brightly pigmented cuisine of our ancestors, green foods are packed with vitamins and minerals, carotenoids, enzymes, antioxidant, amino acids and protein-all the components that are generally missing form the typical British diet of refined, processed and cooked foods.
Green Foods: Energy In a Glass
Source: March 1998 Let’s Live Magazine
Author: Lisa Turner
Continued...
The Cholorphyll Connection
The defining nutritional factor in green foods is their high level of chlorophyll, which functions as the blood of a plant. The molecular structure of chlorophyll is virtually identical to human hemoglobin, the protein that makes blood red. As such chlorophyll allows hemoglobin to deliver magnesium more efficiently a critical factor in heart health. Chlorophyll was used as early as 1940 to treat conditions ranging form respiratory tract infections to cancerous lesions, and has been found to offset the effects of radiation, boost immunity, prevent inflammation, deodorize the body, fight anaerobic bacteria, detoxify the body and speed the healing of wounds. It may also help to build blood, since its chemical structure is so similar to that of hemoglobin.
As a source of highly concentrated and readily available nutrients, green foods traditionally have been touted for their energy-building properties. But water greens and land grasses do more than rev up flagging endurance and performance. The multitude of health benefits ascribed to green foods ranges from anti-aging effects to the prevention of heart disease and cancer. Here’s a roundup of the most popular green foods and their health benefits.
Alfalfa
Alfalfa’s roots run deep as deep as 20 feet into the earth. Because of its extensive root structure, alfalfa can derive vast quantities of nutrients form the soil. It was originally used as animal food to increase the strength and endurance of horses (the name translates roughly form Arabic into “the father of all foods”), and much live stock research has shown alfalfa’s ability to increase energy, prevent high blood pressure, protect against hemorrhage and enhance proper blood clotting. As for nutrient value, a handful of alfalfa sprouts has almost three times the protein of spinach and twice the calcium of lettuce-the most commonly consumed “green” food. Dehydrated alfalfa is broad and varied. Alfalfa juice and powder help treat all kinds of stomach ailments, including ulcers, gas pains and constipation, and may have anti-tumor activities. In addition, alfalfa has a heart-protective effect because it contains substances called saponins. When taken before meals in concentrated forms, saponins have been shown to lower cholesterol levels and can prevent atherosclerosis at very high doses.
Barley Grass
Barley grass has a long history in the treatment of various maladies. Originally cultivated more than 7,000 years ago, it’s one of the oldest green foods. The juice from young barley plants is rich in antioxidants, including beta-carotene and vitamin C, calcium, iron and fiber. Among its many health benefits, barley grass boosts energy and alleviates ulcers and other gastrointestinal ailments by restoring the body’s acid-alkaline balance. More importantly, barley grass may help prevent cancer and heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels, and it’s and effective treatment for arthritis and other inflammatory disease.
Chlorella
Translated as “small green,” this microscopic green algae is packed with more chlorophyll than any known plant. Chlorella and chlorella growth factor-a liquid extract from the nucleus of the chlorella cell- may prove to be a potent protective agent against cancer, heart disease and immune disorders. Studies suggest that chlorella helps enhance immunity, lower blood pressure and decrease cholesterol levels.
Spirulina
This ever-popular, blue-green algae is usually cultivated in shallow ponds and can double its mass every two to five days, yielding an astonishing 400 times more protein than beef on the same area of space. The average protein content of spirulina is about 65 percent, higher than any other food. It’s also rich in antioxidant carotenoids, B vitamins, iron, trace minerals and essential fatty acids. Spirulina helps boost immunity, primarily through its ability to increase the number of macrophages, the body’s first line of defense against foreign invaders. This little algae lowers cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of cancer, especially cancers of the mouth. Spirulina is also known for its ability to build endurance and strength, enhance athletic performance and encourage weight loss.
Wheat Grass
The original darling of the green-foods scene, wheat grass was firmly entrenched in America’s so-called alternative culture by the late 1960s. This emerald-green liquid, extracted from the immature wheat plant, is noted primarily for its blood-cleansing effects and is a potent immune stimulator and antibiotic. Some studies further suggest that wheat grass has chemoprotective effects. According to researchers, wheat grass, which is high in laetrile, a cancer-preventive compound, can decrease the ability of mutagens to cause cancer by as much as 99 percent.
Green Foods Number 1 for cancer prevention, life extension
“Scientist have discovered that green juices increase the oxygenation of the body, purify the blood and organs, aid in the metabolism of nutrients and counteract acids and toxins. Green juices are the superstars of the nutrition world.” The number of people using green foods has increased steadily since the late 1970's when the SECOND green food revolution was being led by the likes of Anne Wigmore, Bernard Jensen, Christopher Hills, and Victoras Kulvinskas. These luminaries were building on work from the 1930’s, the banyan days of the FIRST green food revolution when Dr. Charles Schnabel, V. E. Irons and a host of chemists and researchers from the Mayo Clinic first reported to the American Chemical Society that eating green leaves from cereal grass (wheat, barley, oats, rye) provided every known nutrient necessary for human health except vitamin D.
Today the THIRD green food revolution is here to stay and not surprisingly millions of people have taken notice both in the USA and worldwide. Armed with published studies, amazing testimonials, and public service announcements by government institutions to “Eat Five a Day” green food advocates are winning the hearts and minds of some of the most renowned doctors and oncologists in America including Dr. Keith Block from the Block Medical Center who offers Greens to cancer patients as part of an integrative therapy program. Public televisions most successful fund raiser ever-and one of America’s most outspoken health advocates, Gary Null PhD. has been an avid promoter of green foods for over 30 years. Below are a few cancer fighting green foods and their key features:
Japanese Cracked Cell Chlorella
Hawaiian Spirulina
Organic Kamut Grass
Organic Barley Grass
Organic Alfalfa
contains growth factors, eliminates heavy metal, highest in chlorophyll, highest quality protein 65%, boosts immune system, alkaline, oxygenate, detoxify, high in SOD enzyme, repairs D.N.A., anti-inflammatory, trace minerals
Slowly medical doctors accept “prevention as cure”. As scientists experience unprecedented insight into the cause of cancers, it is becoming increasingly clear that the focus of treatment must change dramatically. While many researchers have become convinced most medical doctors and oncologists are still overcoming their previously deep-rooted belief in the genetic origin of cancers. This belief had virtually discredited those who focused on lifestyle modification and a disease preventive diet as the primary defense against cancer, and since doctors thought genetics were the cause, surgery, medications, and chemo therapy, became widely accepted as the best “reaction” to the “genetic” malfunction.
All that is changing with current revelations provided by the human Genome project, indicating that only 20% of all cancer is genetically linked. This paradigm changing revelation has lead many researchers to turn their attention to phyto chemistry, the study of plant-based compounds that act as cellular antioxidants. Recently a unanimous chorus has gone up among doctors, dietitians, and nutritionist to significantly increase the amount of green pigmented foods people get in their diet. The reason is because a huge body of scientific evidence indicates that green food may be the most important part of a disease prevention and life extending diet. Take for example the April 1999 Issue of the Harvard Health Letter. According to Harvard researchers one of the most important things anyone can do to avoid cancer is to consume more deep green foods. With cancer rates climbing, they say this type of dietary change must be the first line of defense. Note: Over 1 million cases are diagnosed each year! At the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Dr. Tim Beyors has seen how adding green food to even the best diet can increase cancer prevention dramatically. Some of the most amazing government funded studies have been largely ignored by the popular media, for example; studies at the Center for Disease Control show that people who eat a high fiber, low fat diet decreased their risk for colon/rectal cancer by less than 10%, yet after adding five servings of greens to the same low fat, high fiber diet their risk fell by nearly 40%!
Other studies show a lack of green vegetables increases breast cancer risk nearly 25% with skin cancer results being very similar. While these studies focused on green leafy vegetables, sea greens have also been impressive in human studies conducted at UC Davis by T.L. Mao, Jean De Water, and M.E. Gershwin. These studies published in the Journal of Medicinal Foods shows certain sea plants with green and blue pigments induce interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-4 and interferon (IFN) - ?. In fact after only two weeks of oral ingestion (of spirulina platensis), interferon increased as much as 13.2 times. Note: These are important to cellular defense and increase macrophage activity, an important aspect of fighting cancer!
With the overwhelming amount of new research being published every year, it is inevitable that botanists, chemists, and others will catalogue an infinite number of endoles, bioflavenoids, and poly phenolic compounds in green plants in the coming years. I believe that we need to examine the form and function of green plants, however to fully understand their place in nature's apothecary.
We know chlorophyll as the pigment that makes plants green. But it is chlorophyll’s amazing similarity to hemoglobin that is the first clue to it’s potential. Form follows function: As chlorophyll performs photosynthesis it is exposed to hours of ultraviolet and radioactive light. As a byproduct of this, damage is done to the plant’s nucleic acids causing oxidative stress. In reaction, green plants develop an array of unique bioflavenoids that act as blocking agents or others that act as repairing and suppressing agents. Recent research has shown that those green plant activities can be transferred to the humans who consume them. In fact, scientists have documented green plants’ effect on cellular rejuvenation and the DNA repair in human cells. One study conducted at UC San Diego showed a component of green leaves from young barley plants promoted the repair of DNA significantly when compared to the control group. This study was conducted by a team led by Dr. Hotta and Dr. Kubuto. In addition to the effects that have been scientifically documented, many potential benefits remain worth exploring.
Balancing the pH: Low pH or over acidity in the system often is the root cause of many diseases. It begins when our blood is deprived of alkaline ash food that creates a low alkaline buffer reserve in our tissue alkaline ash foods are foods that when burned leave an alkaline residue, we also call these alkaline forming foods. As the alkaline reserve is “used up” by our blood, acidity begins to increase in other organs and stress normal metabolic function. To combat this array from of lactic, uric, and other damaging acids, your body will leach calcium from your bones to “buffer” and neutralize these acids; unfortunately this causes bone loss, arthritis and ultimately osteoporosis. Another defensive measure is to store the ammonia acids in the kidneys in an attempt to conserve the alkaline buffer reserve. This ultimately leads to kidney stones, hormone imbalance and contributes to the cellular stress that leads to cancer. The leading cause of low pH and over acidity is the consumption of processed foods (carbohydrates, sugar, white flour), meat, protein, and carbonated beverages and of course the best way to create a strong alkaline reserve is to consume alkaline ash foods like green foods, this will in turn balance the pH of the body allowing other important aspects of immune defense to be unleashed. As important as pH is it is only one aspect of green food nutrition, and cancer is but one of many ailments that green foods can help you avoid. Today 83% of Americans who die suffer from some form of chronic disease, and with life expectancy at an all time high it is time for change.
Some Perspective
In Roman times the average life span was a mere 22 years old, while today at least one woman, Jean Colment of France, live to be 122 years old. As a society, Japan leads the life expectancy race, with an average of 80 years while American women are very close second with a 78 plus year average. The stark realization that any extended lifespan comes with an increased likelihood of developing chronic degenerative conditions has driven home the message echoing from the voice of Hippocrates “the father of medicine” himself who said “let food be your medicine”. While researchers continue to achieve unprecedented success at cancer treatments, it may be 10-20 years before the most promising [treatments] become widely available. With 1.2 million Americans diagnosed with cancer last year alone an aging baby boomer population is running out of time. Today with the scientific validation of green food as a disease fighter, the GREY generation may become the GREEN generation.
David Sandoval “Green food researcher”
David Sandoval is the originator of Green Kamut Wheatgrass , a devoted student of Anne Wigmore, and the author of “The Healing Miracle of Green Foods” audio book.