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Wheatgrass Health Benefits

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Our all-natural supplements are packed with wheatgrass—so you can get all of it’s healthy benefits.

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Wheatgrass Health Benefits

What is wheatgrass?

Wheatgrass is the young grass stage of grain plants taken just after sprouting. It's one of nature's few "Whole Foods," and is one of the most widely used supplemental health foods in the world.

"Wheatgrass is a powerful source of nutrients and has many health benefits. It improves your heart, vascular system, intestines, and lungs."

Dr. E. Bircher, Bircher-Benner Clinic, Switzerland
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Wheatgrass provides you with a ton of nutrition.

When you consume wheatgrass, your body is flooded with chlorophyll. Chlorophyll helps your body absorb other nutrients and improves circulation and oxygenation of cells.

  • One ounce of wheatgrass juice is the nutritional equivalent of eating 2 and 1/2 pounds of vegetables.
  • Wheatgrass contains chlorophyll—which has 20 amino acids, hundreds of different enzymes not found in other foods, and many vitamins.
  • Experts say that chlorophyll might be the closest thing to the "fountain of youth".
American Botanical Council

"Wheatgrass is possibly the closest thing to the fountain of youth man has conjured up."

American Botanical Council

Wheatgrass increases your energy, focus, and immune system.

Wheatgrass has tons of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for optimum health. It speeds up your metabolism and increase blood flow.

  • Increases your energy levels by breaking down carbohydrates into glucose.
  • Enhances your focus, concentration, and clarity—with increased oxygen and blood flow.
  • Boosts your immune system and nervous system—by breaking down fats and proteins.
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Wheatgrass detoxifies and cleans your body.

Wheatgrass has been used in various cultures around the world for centuries—because of its ability to detoxify and clean your body. It supports your immune system, which helps to prevent getting sick.

  • Detoxifies, neutralizes, and flushes out poisons from your body.
  • Eliminates cancer causing toxins from your body.
  • Enhances your peristaltic movement (it helps you go).

Wheatgrass improves your cells and and organs.

Wheatgrass is a great source of nutrients, including fiber, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, B, C, and E. These nutrients provide improved heart health, stronger lungs, healthy kidneys, and better overall health.

  • Oxygenates your blood which benefits all the cells in your body.
  • Tones up stomach muscles so they are stronger to prevent bloating.
  • Wheatgrass will give you healthier skin, hair, eyes, mouth, and liver.
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  • B1
    Thiamine
  • B2
    Riboflavin
  • B3
    Niacin
  • B5
    Pantothenic Acid
  • B6
    Pyridoxine
  • B7
    Biotin
  • B9
    Folic Acid
  • B12
    Cyanocobalamin

Wheatgrass contains the entire B-complex vitamins.

The B-complex vitamins are essential for a variety of bodily processes, including the conversion of food into energy and the maintenance of a healthy nervous system. They also play a key role in the formation of red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body.

The B-complex vitamins are essential for:

  • The B vitamins play a role in keeping your brain running properly.
  • B vitamins help your body resist the development of cancerous growth.
  • They can significantly benefit your mood and reduce stress.

How do I add wheatgrass into my daily diet?

Our products are packed with wheatgrass! And when you add our wheatgrass supplements into your daily diet, you get all the benefits—and so much more.

Which product is right for me?

I want to:

"We make wheatgrass based products to help you to improve your health, mental acuity, and energy levels in a way that's convenient with your daily life."

John Fike, founder of Wheatgrass Love

Wheatgrass Health Benefits

Wheatgrass Health Benefits - It helps you go and keeps you regular.

Food passes from your mouth to your stomach (shown here) to your small intestine to your large intestine (your colon) and back to the world. Wheatgrass chlorophyll helps your colon by enhancing the movements that push stuff along and out, known as peristalsis. That keeps your insides healthy like a mountain stream with crystal clear water flowing through it instead of damming up like a smelly, stagnant, scummy pond.

Not only does wheatgrass: super-charge your blood with oxygen … boost your energy ... keep your mind laser-focused, razor-sharp, and crystal clear ... operating your central nervous system at peak state ... bring you healthier skin, hair, eyes, mouth, and liver ... improve your entire digestive tract from one end to the other ... and build a world class immune system ... But the chlorophyll in wheatgrass detoxifies your body of existing toxins -- including cancer causing agents -- while preventing more toxins from being digested.

Wheatgrass detoxifies and neutralizes existing toxins in your body.

Cholorophyll goes into your bloodstream. It makes a stops at your liver, where it cleans it and neutralizes carcinogens (agents that cause cancer) -- your liver uses chlorophyll to change toxic substances into neutral forms your body can easily flush out.

AND ... chlorophyll neutralizes mutagens (those horrid substances that alter your cells' DNA in ways that lead to cancer).

Wheatgrass prevents further toxin absorption - including dangerous dioxins in our food, water, and air.

Dioxins are known carcinogens. They are poisonous petroleumderived chemicals which are produced when herbicides (substances for killing plants) are made or when plastics are burned.They cause skin disease, birth defects, miscarriages, and mutations. Absolutely nasty stuff.

And they're everywhere, including in us: dioxins are persistent pollutants found in many of the foods we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and are easily absorbed into our bodies and stored in our fat.

Studies show that chlorophyll-rich foods such as wheatgrass increase the amount of dioxins that pass through you without being absorbed.

It's no small wonder that authorities describe chlorophyll as "the closest thing to the fountain of youth!”

But wheatgrass itself is not good enough

Even with all its incredible life-giving benefits, I knew I could go beyond just wheatgrass. So I assembled the expensive teams of hard-to-find experts ... flew all over the world to get research from doctors, dietitians, pharmacists, chemists, and athletes ... and hired a world-class team to perfect these findings into a dynamite formula.

They added five super-nutritious, 100% all-natural ingredients on top of the powerful wheatgrass, bringing them all together in a explosive dynamite formula of stored, portable energy!

Then I sought out the top authority on natural food flavoring—the “go-to guys” for Nestlé and Starbucks -- to make sure REVV will taste great!

The result? We had created a 100% all-natural performance product—scientifically engineered and painstakingly lab-tested by the brightest minds—that gives you tremendous physical energy and mental focus, tastes great ... and you can take it with you anywhere!

Why REVV instead of Wheatgrass Juice?

If you want the benefits of wheatgrass juice, you’re probably wondering why not just drink wheatgrass juice itself?

REVV goes far above and beyond wheatgrass juice, by adding its exclusive proprietary blend of choline, cocoa, L-Taurine, and caffeine to the wheatgrass itself -- giving you booming energy, superior focus, higher antioxidant power, crucial agents to clean out cholesterol and toxins, important dioxin-blocking agents, and mental and physical performance boosters.

This unique combination can’t possibly be found in wheatgrass juice alone. Yet ... Even if REVV only had wheatgrass ...

And yet ... Even you’re interested only in wheatgrass ... there are three solid reasons for choosing portable dynamite REVV instead of the unstable nitroglycerin wheatgrass juice. I’ll list them and leave it up to you to decide. Take a look:

Reason #1: unlike wheatgrass juice, REVV tastes great!

The one comment you’ll hear consistently and constantly about wheatgrass juice is this: “Wheatgrass juice tastes horrible!”

Because it’s true.

After 30 years of drinking it myself while holding my nose every time, I agree: wheatgrass juice tastes terrible.

That’s why I brought in the TOP AUTHORITY on natural food flavoring, the same authority Nestlé and Starbucks rely on. For REVV, we carefully blended in natural ingredients and our own incredible CHOCOSHOCK chocolate-mint with a hint of raspberry. REVV is guaranteed to WOW your tastebuds!

Reason #2: unlike wheatgrass juice with its harmful bacteria, REVV remains safe!

Wheatgrass helps eliminate harmful bacteria in your body. And making a juice out of the young, tender shoots is fine – if you can stomach the face-scrunching, fist- clenching taste. But ...

Wheatgrass juice can be a REAL RISK:

If you let wheatgrass juice sit out at room temperature, harmful airborne bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus go to work immediately, doing what they do best: colonizing and growing exponentially, starting with that frothy foam at the top. There’s even some risk in storing fresh wheatgrass juice in your refrigerator.

And if your wheatgrass is juiced in a machine that’s not clean -- which constantly happens in busy national retail juice chain stores -- you’re gambling with your health.

Read their WRITTEN WARNING word for word:

“WARNING: This product (wheatgrass juice) ... may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly and persons with weakened immune systems.”

REVV is SAFE and easy to carry:

With REVV, you don’t have to gamble with your health in order to get something that’s healthy for you. REVV is a SAFE, easy-to- carry, delicious triangular wafer.

And one small four-gram REVV wafer has more nutrition than an entire two-ounce shot of wheatgrass juice!

Reason #3: unlike wheatgrass juice, REVV doesn’t require enemas!

Nutritional authorities state you can maintain your health with one to two ounces of fresh wheatgrass juice daily.

When they use wheatgrass juice for patient therapy, doses range from four to 10 ounces a day – up to 20 ounces.

But nearly all people get nauseated drinking the higher amounts.

The solution to delivering daily doses of four to 20 ounces of wheatgrass juice?

Administering messy, disgusting enemas!

You think cleaning up after juicing wheatgrass is a mess? Try cleaning up after a juicy enema! YIKES!

With REVV, there’s absolutely no mess:

One small four-gram REVV wafer has more nutrition than a two-ounce shot of wheatgrass juice! You can easily eat four wafers (equivalent to more than eight ounces of wheatgrass juice) on days where you need those extra energy boosts. REVV tastes great ... and there’s absolutely no mess!

Wheatgrass

By John Fike, Founder, LifeForce Neutraceuticals

Renowned scientist, Dr. E. Bircher, of the Bircher-Benner Clinic is Switzerland, called chlorophyll, “concentrated sun power” and said, “Chlorophyll increases the functions of the heart, affects the vascular system, the intestines, the uterus, and the lungs. It raises the basic nitrogen exchange and is therefore a tonic which, considering its stimulating properties, cannot be compared with any other.”

Conveying my message about Nature’s “wonder food” is my passion. I am convinced that if my suggestions are followed, you will notice a dramatic, positive difference in how you feel and think. My life reflects these changes and has been so profound that I’ve been compelled to share the reasons for those changes with you.

So what is Nature’s wonder food? Wheatgrass! One ounce of wheatgrass juice is the nutritional equivalent of eating two and one-half pounds of choice vegetables. When I am discussing wheatgrass, I like to tell people this in the beginning so that they can grasp how potent and powerful wheatgrass is.

Wheatgrass is derived from wheat berries, in which the whole wheat kernel has only the chaff and straw removed. Wheat berries have played a significant part in history over the last 3000 years. In ancient China, wheatgrass was used as a blood purifier and tonic. There is recorded evidence the Egyptians, ruled under King Tutankhamen, used wheatgrass as a daily energizer. The ancient Greeks were also believers in the power of wheatgrass.

Wheatgrass is not only a food, but could be considered a medicine. A cure-all for whatever ails you. Why is wheatgrass so powerful? Because it is seventy percent chlorophyll!

Renowned scientist, Dr. E. Bircher, of the Bircher-Benner Clinic is Switzerland, called chlorophyll, “concentrated sun power” and said, “Chlorophyll increases the functions of the heart, affects the vascular system, the intestines, the uterus, and the lungs. It raises the basic nitrogen exchange and is therefore a tonic which, considering its stimulating properties, cannot be compared with any other.”

Chlorophyll’s similarity to hemin is the reason it is so effective. Oxygen is carried through the bloodstream in a protein fraction, “hemoglobin.” Essentially, chlorophyll enables your body to carry more oxygen. If your body has more oxygen, it will operate more efficiently. There have been countless studies that reflect this fact. Have you ever noticed that when you are engaged in any of physical activity at high elevations you feel winded or tired? Why? Because there is less oxygen!

Wheatgrass and other “baby greens” are the richest sources of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the “blood” of plants, with a molecular makeup almost identical in composition to human blood. Drinking wheatgrass and other green sprout juice helps your body to build red blood cells which carry oxygen to every cell. By increasing the oxygenation of the body, chlorophyll-rich foods can help offset the effects of smog and carbon monoxide.

Chlorophyll helps wash drug deposits from the body, purifies the blood and organs, and counteracts toxins. Wheatgrass helps remove toxic heavy metals (lead, mercury, aluminum, etc.) that have come stored in the tissues. These deposits can upset the electrical impulses of the brain causing mental and physical disorders. Science has found that a diet rich in chlorophyll can also help offset the damaging effects of environmental radiation and x-rays.

Following is a list of the many properties and uses of wheatgrass:

  • Conditions the body, inside and out.
  • Can sustain life on its own dynamic nutritional content.
  • The body uses very little energy to digest these nutrients.
  • Science has proven that wheatgrass will arrest growth and development of unfriendly bacteria.
  • Wheatgrass juice has been found to dissolve the scars formed in the lungs from breathing acid gasses and smog.
  • Studies on animals and humans have shown that with the administration of wheatgrass, red cell count increased dramatically.
  • Extensive laboratory investigation has show that tissue cell activity and its normal re-growth are definitely increased by the administration of wheatgrass.
  • Wheatgrass juice, as well as, wheatgrass in ointments or in powder form, possesses remarkable properties when used in treatments at chronically infected or ulcerated wounds. It has a retarding action upon the bacteria which contaminate such infections.
  • Wheatgrass creates an unfavorable environment for bacterial growth.
  • The chlorophyll in wheatgrass enables the juice to wash drug deposits from the body.
  • Wheatgrass helps counteract toxins which have been ingested helping to purify the liver, improving blood sugar problems and helps sores to heal faster.

Cleanser

Wheatgrass juice is a powerful cleanser and may start an immediate reaction with toxins and mucus in the stomach and thus, one might experience slight nausea. Chlorophyll will bring toxins that have been stored away in cells or fatty tissue into the bloodstream.

Energizer - Appetite Suppressant – Weight Loss The starch of the wheat berry is stored energy which, when converted into simple sugars, is a quick energy source. It is especially good for athletes because it is a juice and is assimilated in twenty minutes. Wheat picks up ninety-two percent of the 102 minerals in the soil and contains all vitamins science has isolated. Because one ounce of juice equals 2.5 pounds of product nutritionally, it naturally shuts off the appestat in the brain.

This is the key: wheatgrass is one of the most effective ways to win the “battle of the bulge.” Most weight loss products are filled with chemicals and fillers that have virtually no nutritional value. In the years to come, people will realize just how harmful these chemically dependent short cuts to weight loss are.

Humans tend to forget that we are animals which need minerals and vitamins -- not chemicals – to sustain a healthy life. According to scientists around the world, the human body was built to last roughly 120 years, but it never seems to make it because we subtract a little time every day when we sit down to eat. Study after study reveals that what we eat or do not eat condemns us to an early grave. There are 54 foods with proper nutritional balance – wheatgrass being the most important – to help us live a longer, more productive life.

The pounds will literally shed off if these foods are combined with a diet of wheatgrass and moderate exercise.

Antibiotic

Science has proven that chlorophyll will arrest growth and development of unfriendly bacteria. It acts to produce an unfavorable environment for bacterial growth, rather than by any direct action upon the bacteria themselves. Rapp and Gurney at Loyal University, established that water soluble chlorophyll inhibits the purification of protein by some of the bacteria that are commonly found in the digestive tract of meat eaters.

Carcinogens

Dr. Chiu-nan Lai, Ph.D., at the University Of Texas Cancer Center Department Of Biology in Houston, Texas, has determined through using the Ames Bacterial Mutagenicity Test that chlorophyll is the active factor in wheat sprout extract which inhibits the metabolic activity of carcinogens. A twenty year study of 2,000 telephone company workers has found that a natural ingredient in carrots and leafy green vegetables significantly reduce the risk of lung cancer in cigarette smokers. They determined that a diet high in beta-carotene negated those bad effects of 30 years of smoking. The National Cancer Institute reports that nine out of twenty-one studies over the years have indicated diets high in beta-carotene contribute to at least a forty percent reduction in developing some kinds of cancer.

Anemia

Chlorophyll (wheatgrass) aids in rebuilding the bloodstream. Studies on various anemias have shown chlorophyll to be free of any toxic reaction. The red cell count has returned to normal within four to five days after the administration of chlorophyll, even in those animals which were known to be extremely anemic or low n red blood cell count.

Deodorizer

Dr. F. Howard Westcott reported that when wheatgrass is taken internally adequate quantity, it reduces or eliminates offensive body and breath odors. His studies showed it effective in neutralizing obnoxious odors in the mouth from food, beverages, tobacco and metabolic changes (halitosis). It effectively neutralized obnoxious odors from perspiration due to physical exercise, nervousness, menstrual odors, etc.

Skin Disorders

The bland soothing effects of wheatgrass ointments are very beneficial to the treatment of various skin diseases involving outer and underlying layers of the skin, including; itching and burning of the rectum, ivy poisoning, weeping and dry eczema and even in conditions caused by insect bites or infection. For first and second degree burns, the use of wheatgrass has been established as an outstanding aid. Sunburn can also be alleviated by the use wheatgrass ointment at the time of exposure. This can reduce discomfort, and possibly infection, to a minimum. Applied after severe sunburn, it also has some gratifying results as on regular burns. The same can be said of x-ray burns. Chlorophyll can also reduce or eliminate foul odor associated with burns.

Radiation

The United States Army exposed guinea pigs to lethal doses of radiation. The guinea pigs which were fed chlorophyll-rich vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli had half the mortality rate as those fed a non-chlorophyll diet.

Dangerous Chemicals

Dr. Earp Thomas found that an ounce of wheatgrass in a gallon of fluoridated water would turn the fluorine into harmless calcium-phosphate-fluoride compound. Used in wash water, it adds softness to the face and hands. In the bath, it is most soothing. It stops bleeding, eases itching, and helps sores and pimples to heal. Dr. Earp Thomas further discovered that fruits and vegetables contaminated by sprays were thoroughly cleaned and the negative food transformed by wash water with a wisp of wheatgrass placed in the water.

Arteriosclerosis

Dr. Theodore M. Rudolph says that daily use of chlorophyll is most beneficial, at least to a certain degree, and in combination with other accepted methods of treatment in hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis), high blood pressure (hypertension) and even arthritis. It seems that the ability of chlorophyll to combine with oxygen and its cleansing ability, contributes much to the removal of foreign matter from the walls of the blood vessels, thus bringing the desired relief.

Sinuses

Doctors R. Redpath and J.C. Davis found that a chlorophyll pack inserted into the sinuses produced a drying effect, clearing up congestion, and gave immediate relief. Congested heads cleared up within 24 hours. During the investigation, Doctors Redpath and Davis (ear, nose and throat specialist at Temple University) treated over 1,000 patients, ranging in age from very young children to elderly people. They were suffering from a wide variety of ailments such as head colds, acute catarrhal inflammation, hay fever and acute sinus infections. Dr. Gurskin, in commenting on his associates experience with chlorophyll writes, “It is interesting to note that there is not a single case recorded in which either improvement or cure has not taken place.”

Alertness

For drivers of automobiles, students on the night before exams, or before an evening of entertainment, the chewing of wheatgrass has a tendency to banish sleepiness and to bring on alertness.

  • Wheatgrass juice actively purifies the blood, and acts as a detergent to cleanse the body.
  • Wheatgrass juice is excellent in combating dandruff. Rub the juice into the scalp, then rinse and shampoo until dandruff is gone.
  • Many women report that douching with a solution of wheatgrass juice invigorates them.
  • Tooth decay is a major problem throughout the world and is a result of the degenerative changes in the body. Wheatgrass in the diet has been proven to prevent tooth decay.
  • Gargling with wheatgrass juice will soothe toothaches and sore throats. People with pyorrhea of the mouth should take wheatgrass pulp (soaked in juice) and apply it to the diseased area, and notice the immediate results.
  • Drink wheatgrass juice for skin problems, i.e. eczema, psoriasis.
  • Wheatgrass juice can be used as a sterilizer.
  • Wheatgrass juice keeps hair from graying.
  • Wheatgrass juice is an excellent source of multiple vitamins.

Scientist and soil expert, Dr. G. H. Earp Thomas, has isolated over one hundred elements, including all the known minerals, from wheatgrass. He concludes that wheatgrass is a complete food, and that fifteen pounds of wheatgrass is nutritionally equivalent to three hundred fifty pounds of the choicest green vegetables.

Wheatgrass is one of the richest natural sources of vitamin A, the complex B complex, as well as vitamins C, E, and K. Wheatgrass is also a natural source of laetrile (B-17). According to research by Dr. Ernst Krebs, Jr., the laetrile content of sprouts and young fresh greens is up to one hundred times higher than that of the seen from which they came, and up to fifty times higher than that of the nature plant. Experts agree that wheatgrass is effective in combating dietary carcinogens.

Wheatgrass juice helps to increase the enzyme level in our cells, aiding in the rejuvenation of the body and the metabolism of nutrients. The high enzymatic content helps to detoxify the body by increasing the elimination of hardened mucus, crystallized acids, and solidified fecal matter. These enzymes also help to dissolve tumors. The regular use of chlorophyll-rich juices is the fastest, safest, and surest way to eliminate internal waste and provide an optimal nutritional environment within your body.

Wheatgrass juice is a powerful detoxifying agent, and it is best taken on an empty stomach.

To avoid uncomfortable cleansing reactions, start off with an ounce of wheatgrass juice and gradually work up to four or more ounces 3-4 times per week. If desired, wheatgrass can be diluted with carrot or other soluble juices or with water. Freshness is critical with wheatgrass juice and the bottled product available at some health food stores is not recommended. Fresh wheatgrass juice tastes better than bottled and is more “alive”.

In addition to wheatgrass; barley grass, sunflower greens, and buckwheat lettuce are some of the finest chlorophyll-rich food available, and should be included in everyone’s nutritional program for their interactive, healing and rejuvenating properties.

Analysis of Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass is not an herb or a food supplement, but a complete food, as evidenced by one recent analysis performed by Harvey Lisle and provided by Ann Wigmore Foundation, which showed that 3,500 m.g. of wheatgrass contained the following:

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In addition to these factors, Wheatgrass also contains the following enzymes and compounds:

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Comparative Analysis

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Wheat grass juice in the treatment of active distal ulcerative colitis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial

"Wheat grass juice appeared effective and safe as a single or adjuvant treatment of active distal UC."

Ben-Arye E, Goldin E, Wengrower D, Stamper A, Kohn R, Berry E., Dept. of Family Medicine, The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.

BACKGROUND

The use of wheat grass (Triticum aestivum) juice for treatment of various gastrointestinal and other conditions had been suggested by its proponents for more than 30 years, but was never clinically assessed in a controlled trial. A preliminary unpublished pilot study suggested efficacy of wheat grass juice in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC).

RESULTS

Twenty-one patients completed the study, and full information was available on 19 of them. Treatment with wheat grass juice was associated with significant reductions in the overall disease activity index (P=0.031) and in the severity of rectal bleeding (P = 0.025).

CONCLUSION

Wheat grass juice appeared effective and safe as a single or adjuvant treatment of active distal UC.

Natural Chlorophyll but Not Chlorophyllin Prevents Heme-Induced Cytotoxic and Hyperproliferative Effects in Rat Colon

"Chlorophyll, but not the [synthetically created] chlorophyllins, completely prevented these heme-induced effects. In conclusion, inhibition of the heme-induced colonic cytotoxicity and epithelial cell turnover is specific for natural chlorophyll and cannot be mimicked by water- soluble chlorophyllins."

Johan de Vogel,{dagger},, Denise S. M. L. Jonker-Termont,{dagger}, Martijn B. Katan, and Roelof van der Meer * Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences (WCFS), Nutrition and Health Programme, 6700 AN, Wageningen, The Netherlands; {dagger} NIZO food research, 6710 BA, Ede, The Netherlands; and * Wageningen University, 6703 HD, Wageningen, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT

Diets high in red meat and low in green vegetables are associated with an increased risk of colon cancer. In rats, dietary heme, mimicking red meat, increases colonic cytotoxicity and proliferation of the colonocytes, whereas addition of chlorophyll from green vegetables inhibits these heme-induced effects. Chlorophyllin is a water-soluble hydrolysis product of chlorophyll that inhibits the toxicity of many planar aromatic compounds.

The present study investigated whether chlorophyllins could inhibit the heme- induced luminal cytotoxicity and colonic hyperproliferation as natural chlorophyll does.

Rats were fed a purified control diet, the control diet supplemented with heme, or a heme diet with 1.2 mmol/kg diet of chlorophyllin, copper chlorophyllin, or natural chlorophyll for 14 d (n = 8/group). The cytotoxicity of fecal water was determined with an erythrocyte bioassay and colonic epithelial cell proliferation was quantified in vivo by [methyl-3H]thymidine incorporation into newly synthesized DNA. Exfoliation of colonocytes was measured as the amount of rat DNA in feces using quantitative PCR analysis.

Heme caused a >50-fold increase in the cytotoxicity of the fecal water, a nearly 100% increase in proliferation, and almost total inhibition of exfoliation of the colonocytes. Furthermore, the addition of heme increased TBARS in fecal water.

Chlorophyll, but not the chlorophyllins, completely prevented these heme- induced effects. In conclusion, inhibition of the heme-induced colonic cytotoxicity and epithelial cell turnover is specific for natural chlorophyll and cannot be mimicked by water-soluble chlorophyllins.

Digestion, absorption, and cancer preventative activity of dietary chlorophyll derivatives Mario G. Ferruzzia and Joshua Blakesleeb

Department of Food Science, Purdue University, 745 Agriculture Mall Dr, West Lafayette, IN 47907. Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, J Walter Wilson Laboratory, Providence, RI 02912. Received 8 June 2006; revised 11 December 2006; accepted 14 December 2006. Available online 31 January 2007.

ABSTRACT

The growing body of epidemiological and experimental evidence associating diets rich in fruits and vegetables with prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer has stimulated interest in plant food phytochemicals as physiologically active dietary components. Chlorophyll and its various derivatives are believed to be among the family of phytochemical compounds that are potentially responsible for such associations. Dietary chlorophyll is predominantly composed of lipophilic derivatives including chlorophyll a and b (fresh fruits and vegetables), metal-free pheophytins and pyropheophytins (thermally processed fruits and vegetables), as well as Zn-pheophytins and Zn-pyropheophytins (thermally processed green vegetables). Water-soluble derivatives including chlorophyllides, pheophorbides, as well as a commercial-grade derivative known as sodium copper chlorophyllin (SCC) also contribute to the diversity of dietary chlorophyll derivatives. Although the use of chlorophyll derivatives, especially SCC, in traditional medical applications is well documented, it is perhaps the potential of chlorophyll as a cancer preventative agent that has drawn significant attention recently. Biological activities attributed to chlorophyll derivatives consistent with cancer prevention include antioxidant and antimutagenic activity, mutagen trapping, modulation of xenobiotic metabolism, and induction of apoptosis. Although most research has focused on commercial-grade SCC, the extent to which natural chlorophyll derivatives modulate biomarkers of cancer risk is also being explored. Recent research efforts have also included investigation of the impact of digestive factors on chlorophyll structure and bioaccessibility as a means to better understand the extent to which these pigments may be bioavailable in humans and therefore have more systemic impact in the prevention of cancer.

Effect of wheat grass juice in supportive care of terminally ill cancer patients: a tertiary cancer centre experience from India

"We concluded that wheat grass juice is an effective alternative of blood transfusion. Its use in terminally ill cancer patients should be encouraged."

Author(s): S. Dey, R. Sarkar, P. Ghosh, R. Khatun, K. Ghorai, R. Choudhury, R. Ahmed, P. Gupta, S. Mukhopadhyay, A. Mukhopadhyay. Citation: Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2006 ASCO Annual Meeting Proceedings Part I. Vol 24, No. 18S (June 20 Supplement), 2006: 8634

Abstract

Background: The solid content of juice made from wheat grass is 70% chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is often referred to as "The blood of plant life" and has almost the same chemical structure as haemoglobin.

Chlorophyll cleanses the blood by improving the supply of oxygen to the circulatory system. Wheat grass is also a complete protein with about 30 enzymes, vitamins & minerals.

Wheat grass juice has been proven over many years to benefit people in numerous ways, building the blood, restoring balance in the body, removing toxic metals from the cells, nourishing the liver & kidneys and restoring vitality.

The aim of our study was to see the effect of wheat grass juice in terminally ill cancer patients to improve the quality of life. Methods: During period from January 2003 to December 2005 we selected 400 solid organ cancer patients in our palliative care unit of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute to see the effect of wheat grass on improvement of haemoglobin level, serum protein & performance status on terminally ill cancer patients.

The age range of the patients was 22 year to 87 year (median age 42 years). The different types of cancers were Lung (25%), Breast (20%), Oesophagaus (11%), Colon (9%), Ovary (8%), Hepatocellular carcinoma (6%), Stomach (6%) and others (15%) respectively.

We cultivated wheat grass in our campus. When the grasses were 5 days old we took the fresh leaves including roots and made fresh juice out of that and had given 30ml of juice to all our 400 cancer patients for continuous 6 months.

Result: The mean levels of haemoglobin, Serum total protein, albumin and performance status were 8gm%, 5.4gm%, 2.2gm% and 50%. Fifty patients required transfusion support & those patients were excluded from the study. Other 348 patients are evaluated 6 months after giving wheat grass juice. The mean values for haemoglobin, total protein & albumin were improved significantly (pvalue < .005) and were observed mean of 9.6gm%, 7.4gm% and 3.1gm%. White blood cell & platelet count were same in both the cases.

The performance status was improved from 50% to 70% (Karnofsky) after wheat grass treatment.

Conclusion: We concluded that wheat grass juice is an effective alternative of blood transfusion. Its use in terminally ill cancer patients should be encouraged.

Nutritional Therapy for Primary Peritoneal Cancer: A Case Study

"The results from this case offer significant implications for medicine. One implication is that cancer is a nutritional deficiency which can be treated, if not cured, through the elimination of the deficiency. Another implication is that nutrition may be an effective preventative, as well as first line therapy, for cancer. This an implication has been proposed for years, yet rarely tested scientifically. This case suggests that such testing can be cost effective and health beneficial."

Guisseppi A. Forgionne, PhD University Of Maryland

Medical literature concerns a case of peritoneal cancer, a form of cancer which is rapidly fatal. The 89 year old patient refused chemotherapy and instead used wheat grass therapy with complete remission of the cancer four years after treatment.

The theories are being tested on an elderly woman diagnosed with primary peritoneal Stage 111A, Grade 3, papillary serous carcinoma expressing in the left ovary and omentum. This woman refused postsurgical chemotherapy, instead opting for a nutitional therapy regime. The regime has continued since the surgery.

Based on the pathological results, then, the patient was diagnosed with Stage IIIA, Grade 3 papillary serous carcinoma. Since the origin of the disease was believed to be in the peritoneal cavity, rather than the ovaries, the disease was also diagnosed as primary peritoneal cancer.

On the followup visit with the gynecological oncologist, the patient was informed about the severity of her illness. She was also told that, since the cancer most likely originated in the peritoneal cavity and had spread to the omentum, there were likely to be cancerous cells remaining in the peritoneal cavity, even though the mass and corresponding cancerous tissue were completely removed. Without further conventional treatment, the gynecological onocologist believed that the cancer would return soon and in a severe form. No specific time period was identified, but the implication was that the remanifestation would be relatively soon.

The gynecological oncologist recommended traditional 6-round chemotherapy with paclitaxel and cisplatin. The patient was opposed to this treatment, but said that she would take and examine the the literature offered by the oncologist. After examining the available information, the patient decided against chemotherapy. Instead, she requested alternative, and if necessary experimental, treatments that would have less severe side effects and a better potential for a cure, rather than a delay in recurrence of the disease.

Additional consultations with the oncologist, the family physician, the gynecologist, and a referred John Hopkins oncologist did not convince the patient to accept chemotherapy. The Johns Hopkins oncologist was most candid in her consultation, indicating that: (a) the cancer could return in months or possibly years and (b) the patient's refusal of chemotherapy was a reasonable decision given the person's age. The Johns Hopkins oncologist, however, gave the distinct impression that the cancer would most likely return within a year. All physicians noted that the cancer would be fatal when it returned.

The patient did not give up hope and through an intermediary began searching for reasonable alternative treatments for her form of cancer. The intermediary's search revealed the independent treatments of wheat grass, coenzyme Q-10, and bovine cartilage.

Wheat grass, coenzyme Q-10, and bovine cartilage theoretically offer systematic attacks on cancer. Each, however, has a somewhat different mechanism of attack. Moreover, there may be synergistic effects from combining the mechanisms of attack. For these reasons, it was hypothesized that a nutritional regime involving all three ingredients may be effective in treating primary peritoneal cancer.

Nutritional Regime

Using the scientific theories and the few reported studies as a basis, a nutritional regime was devised that involved 100 mg of coenzyme Q-10, 2 grams of whaet grass, and 9 grams of bovine cartilage per day. The wheat grass was initiated within 1 week of surgery. As the other ingredients became known, they were added to the regime. One hundred miligrams of coenzyme Q-10 was added to the regime 1 week after the wheat grass, and 9 grams of the bovine cartilage followed 2 weeks later. By the end of the first month from surgery, then, the patient was receiving all three components of the nutritional therapy. For economic reasons, the Q-10 dosage was increased to 150 mg per day approximately 9 months into the regime.

Patient General Health Progression

The patient has shown continuous improvement in her general health since the nutritional regime has been implemented. She feels stronger, is not usually tired, and is in good spirits. Her body weight has increased from a low of 111 pounds after the surgery to a high of 124 pounds, and she has maintained her weight at about 120 pounds for the past several months.

The patient's appetite, bowel movements, and all main organ functions have been normal since her surgery. She also generally has experienced no pain in the pelvic or abdominal areas. The patient also is able to work around the house and yard at levels of performance experienced when she was about 5 or 6 years younger. She has experienced no adverse effects from the nutritional regime.

The patient's CA-125 test scores have remained in the normal range since the surgery. Indeed, they are in the low end of the normal range. While a decline in the CA-125 score after surgery is expected, it is nontypical for active cancer to express a score at the low end of the normal range and to remain there for over 1 year.

Conclusions

The results suggest that the primary peritoneal cancer is in remission for the studied patient more than 1 year after her surgery. Moreover, the evidence indicates that the primary peritoneal cancer has not metastasized. Since the patient has received no conventional treatment postsurgical, the possibility exists that the nutritional regime has been at least a contributing factor to these positive results. It is also possible that the nutritional regime is an effective postsurgical first line therapy for primary peritoneal cancer. Since there are no adverse effects from the regime, the therapy can be continued indefinitely.

Moderating Factors and Alternative Clinical Explanations

There are potential moderating factors and alternative clinical explanations for the results. It is possible that no cancer cells remained after the surgery. There have been reports of such outcomes. However, these outcomes are unusual.

Another possibility is that the cancer cells remain but are inactive at this time. The primary peritoneal cancer, or a metastic form, then could express itself at a later time. Given the mature nature of the patient's cancer and its rapid development earlier, however, it seems improbable that a recurrence would be delayed beyond a year with no conventional treatment. Moreover, there seems no reason for the inactivity in the cancer.

A third possibility is that the primary peritoneal cancer, or a metastatic form, is present but has yet to be detected by the CA-125 or imaging tests. Second look surgery would be needed to investigate this possibility. However, the patient would neither consent to, nor would a physician likely recommend, this examination. Perhaps new diagnostic tools on the horizon can offer an alternative, and less invasive, mechanism to perform the investigation.

Medical Implications and Future Research Suggestions

Further followup will provide additional evidence about the efficacy of the nutritional regime for cancer treatment of this patient. Even if the results of this followup continue to be encouraging, further studies on other patients will be needed to confirm or refute these findings. Strict controls will be needed to isolate the effects of the nutritional regime on other patients.

Another issue involves the length of treatment. The patient has continued with the nutritional regime, for health maintenance and other reasons. If the regime were discontinued, it is unknown if the cancer would bcome active. Moreover, it is unclear whether the dosages should be maintained, reduced, or increased over time. In short, it is unknown if the nutitional regime has curative, preventative, or control effects. Therefore, research is needed to resolve this issue.

Additional investigations will be challenging. Alternative cancer treatments have not be adequately funded, and future resources may be even more limited. Cancer patients may be reluctant to try unconventional approaches as a first line therapy. Researchers may be reluctant to abandon their current lines of research.

Still, the results from this case offer significant implications for medicine. One implication is that cancer is a nutritional deficiency which can be treated, if not cured, through the elimination of the deficiency. Another implication is that nutrition may be an effective preventative, as well as first line therapy, for cancer. This an implication has been proposed for years, yet rarely tested scientifically. This case suggests that such testing can be cost effective and health beneficial.