With its medicinal qualities, wheatgrass juice has answers to many health issues. Mita Banerjee finds out more

LOOKS like green sludge, but it has the power to keep you young and beautiful inside out for years. Are you ready for it? Wheatgrass juice, the new heady health drink doing the rounds of spas and gyms, is a bright emerald green juice that is supposed to be quaffed down in the morning on an empty stomach. While wheatgrass juice may not be everybody's idea of a refreshing draught, those with certain health problems treat it like nectar.

Naturopath Dr Shilpa Shroff, claims, "It is helpful for anything from cancer to the common cold. It is especially helpful after surgery or delivery, when the body needs to regain blood levels and build up tissues. It is also helpful for those with eye problems."

Enthuses Dr Chidanand Murthy, Director, National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune, "It is especially good for those with blood cancer and thalassemia; wheatgrass builds up resistance to diseases, eliminates body toxins and because of its alkaline properties, is a good diuretic."

Manna For Thalassemia
Thalassemic children especially benefit greatly from drinking this juice. Fourteen-year-old Nusrat has not had any blood transfusions ever since she started wheatgrass treatment. Her haemoglobin level stays steady at 8 or 8.5. For Rohan Desai, three, wheatgrass powder capsules have had positive results. Two years ago, Seema was taking two units of blood per transfusion at an interval of 18 to 20 days. With wheatgrass juice therapy, intervals between blood transfusions have increased to 45 days and the haemoglobin level has stayed between 10 and 12.

Green Blood
The use of wheatgrass juice for getting rid of many diseases has been practised for more than half a century. Dr Ann Wigmore, who runs her own sanatorium in the US, is perhaps a pioneer of this therapy and has written a book, 'Why Suffer? The Answer? Wheatgrass Manna'. The basic constituent of wheatgrass is chlorophyll. Although chlorophyll is present in all green plants, wheatgrass is considered its best source.

Enthusiasts call wheatgrass 'Green Blood' because there are a lot of molecular structural similarities between haemin (found in haemoglobin) and chlorophyll, found in wheatgrass. This is probably why wheatgrass juice is quickly absorbed in the blood and is beneficial to the human body. Chlorophyll is reported to be a potent germicide that also purifies blood, boosts the functioning of the heart, and improves blood vessel, intestine, lung and kidney functions.

Experts point out wheatgrass, loaded with Vitamins E, A and C, acts as an anti-oxidant and retards ageing of cells in the body that cause brain and heart problems. The 'live enzymes' present in the chlorophyll are a deterrent to cancerous cells. The juice also contains laeterite or Vitamin B12, which is used in the treatment of various types of cancers. The presence of magnesium in large quantities in this juice is supposed to help in reducing arteriosclerosis.

According to Dr Ann Wigmore, "Wheatgrass is an effective tonic, beneficial for arthritis, skin allergies, greying or hair loss, weakness, kidney stones, weak eyesight, pyorrhea or dental infections and fatigue. It not only works on wounds and burns faster than antiseptic ointments, but is also super effective in serious cases of heart disease, acute stomach ache, infection of the digestive system, gas, paralysis, asthma, constipation, diabetes, leucoderma, leukemia and other cancers."

An All-purpose Tonic
"The NIN sells fresh wheatgrass juice, apart from selling it in powder and tablet forms," informs Dr Murthy. "All you have to do is mix a teaspoon in a glassful of water." Dr Shroff grows the grass in her home. Stacked in neat tiers, she follows a meticulous routine of sowing, cutting and extracting, taking care to use only organic manure. She also has a system of home delivery - a 50 ml shot costs only Rs 10. "For full benefit, the first time you try it, take it once a day on an empty stomach - for 21 days. Take a break for a couple of weeks and then start following the therapy again for six weeks," she advises.

"The juice should be drunk absolutely fresh as the nutritive quality reduces the longer it is left to stand. The medicinal value after three hours is absolutely nil," she adds. So here's to the green healing nectar! Bottoms up!

DIY Grass
First soak and sprout the wheat seeds to hasten the germination process. Use about 100 gm of sprouted seed per flowerpot. Pots should be shallow - 6 cm in depth and 24 cm square. The wheat grass will attain a height of 14 to 16 cm in eight or nine days. Cut it with scissors or pull it out by the roots. After thorough washing, snipoff the roots and then grind the rest of it in a mixer.

Strain the juice through a muslin cloth. And drink up. Remove the soil from the roots and plant afresh. For promoting faster growth, the flowerpots should be filled with a mixture of earth and organic manure in the ratio of 75:25. Don't use any chemical fertiliser.