Wheatgrass is a grass food taken from highly modified leaves (cotyledons) of the common wheat plant, Triticum Aestivum.
Grasses are the main food source for most life that is land-based.
According to research studies, wheatgrass contains essential fatty acids, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids and antioxidants, making it the most beneficial grass food of all these types of food.
Health benefits include not only its powerful supplemental nutrients, but also unique curative abilities.
Wheatgrass can be grown at home or can be purchased at juice bars and health food stores in tablet form, powder, as fresh produce or as a frozen juice.
Harvesting Wheatgrass Wheatgrass juice is a living food that is squeezed out of young cotyledons that are rich in green chlorophyll.
Harvesting the plant for its potent juice is done when the grass has reached its nutritional peak.
Plants are usually between 7 and 11 inches tall at this time and are filled with energy for powering the plant's next growth stage, which consist of a sudden growth spurt.
By harvesting the plant before this stage occurs, the energy becomes captured in the wheatgrass.
Once wheatgrass is in juice form, it must be quickly consumed or protected from oxidation, as this process occurs rapidly.
The History of Wheatgrass Juicing Juicing wheatgrass began in the 1950s when Ann Wigmore, a woman from Boston who suffered from several different ailments used her grandmother's experiences of self-taught naturalism to heal herself using herbs, weeds and greens.
Ann not only consumed these different greens, but also fed them to her animals.
After observing the results of ingesting these greens, she concluded that wheatgrass offered the best results.
While visiting a yard sale one day she discovered an old meat grinder made of cast iron.
After some modifications, she was able to produce the first juiced wheatgrass.
Ann later went on to develop the Hippocrates Health Institute of Boston and helped thousands of individuals throughout the years.
Juicing Wheatgrass For those who would prefer to juice their own wheatgrass from fresh grasses, it is best done using an electric juicer or by doing it manually with a mortal and pestle or stone grinder.
Using other equipment such as blenders, grinders and mixers can cause the chlorophyll to oxidize resulting in all loss of its nutritional value due to the rapid blade movement.
To make the wheatgrass, cut the grass about ½ inch above the surface of the soil using scissors or a knife.
If using a mortal and pestle, chop the leaves and add enough water to grind it into a paste and follow by using a muslin cloth to strain the juice into a cup.
Use the same leaves to repeat this process until the leaves turn a whitish color.
If using a juicer, follow the directions that are provided in the juicer manual.