Wheatgrass Juice

Wheatgrass, and the juice produced, is nearly always held in high regard by those who regularly produce their own vegetable juice. Most, if not all of the impressive claims made on behalf of wheatgrass have never been proven scientifically however.

One of the most popular claims about wheatgrass, and one that is frequently made by both supporters and retailers, is that 1 ounce of wheatgrass juice is as nutritionally valuable as 1 kg (2.2 lb) of green vegetables.

When searching the Internet for information on wheatgrass, I saw this claim being made many times over. You will almost certainly hear the same claims being made if you visit most health food stores.

I don't believe that most people are trying to mislead anyone, but I think that they were probably always told the same theories regarding wheatgrass and always assumed they were accurate.

When comparing the available nutritional data of wheatgrass with broccoli and spinach, this claim cannot be supported. In fact, the vitamin and mineral content of 1 ounce of wheatgrass juice is roughly equivalent to the vitamin and mineral content of 1 ounce of fresh vegetables. This conclusion does not include phyto-nutrient comparisons of these foods.

One area in which wheatgrass is thought to be superior to other vegetables is in its content of Vitamin B₁₂, a vital nutrient. B₁₂ , it turns out, is not a vitamin contained within wheatgrass or any plant, but rather a byproduct of the microorganisms living on the plant. Because of this there are no reliable plant sources of Vitamin B_12.

Because of what I have found to be factual regarding the nutritional value of wheatgrass, I personally don't use it in my juice. I see no advantage when I can get the same nutritional value from a couple leaves of spinach as I can from a fairly large volume of wheatgrass.

I'm not speaking out against wheatgrass by any means. I just feel I need to express my honest opinions and just the facts as best I can on this site.