Cereal Grass

Cereal grass, one of the most nutritionally balanced foods in all of nature, is the young green plant which will grow to produce the cereal grain. All cereal grasses, including the green leaves of wheat, barley, kamut, rye and oats are nutritionally similar. These young grasses are, in their chemical and nutritional composition, very different from the mature seed grains. They contain no Gluten.

Several growth stages are required for the development of nutritionally complete cereal grasses. Suitable soil, moisture, and temperature conditions are essential for the young wheat plant to pass through these developmental stages. The nutrients in the plant reach their peak values as they approach the brief, but critical, jointing stage.

The nutrient profile of cereal grass is similar to those of the most nutritious dark green leafy vegetables. The importance of green foods in the diet is now being validated scientifically. Because dehydrated cereal grass compares favorably with other greens with respect to nutrients, it is an excellent source of green food nutrients.

Chlorophyll and Blood Regeneration

There are many reasons why cereal grass and other dark green plants can be considered “blood-building” foods. The vitamins and minerals in cereal grass are essential to the synthesis and function of the components of healthy blood. But perhaps the most interesting connection between green foods and blood is the similarity in the structures of the two colored pigments, heme and chlorophyll. The biological relationship between these two molecules, studied for over 60 years, shows that small amounts of the digestive products of chlorophyll may stimulate the synthesis of either heme or globin or both in animals and humans.

The Nutrients in Dehydrated Cereal Grass

Walk into any health food store or drug store and you might feel over-whelmed by the number of nutrient supplements displayed there. All of the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids are available individually and in creative combinations with other supplements. In those ubiquitous displays we can find combinations to build muscles, reduce stress, grow fuller hair and raise energy levels. The most popular supplements are the multiple vitamin/ mineral combinations which supply at least the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of all the known vitamins, plus a few of the minerals.

Surrounded by multitudes of “natural” supplements and remedies, it is easy to overlook the obvious. In nature, there is no such thing as 2000 mg. of calcium or vitamin C isolated into a single nugget. Furthermore, concen-trated amounts of all of the identified nutrients are never found in individual foods.

Foods contain hundreds of compounds which interact with each other in the foods themselves and in our digestive tracts and blood streams. The combinations of nutrients and other factors found in foods bear little resemblance to those found in the supplement pills in the health food stores, and are many times more complex. Low-dose supplements may fill some nutrient gaps, and mega-dose supplements may have therapeutic value, but neither can come close to replacing our need for food nutrition.

For over fifty years, the beneficial effects of adding cereal grasses to the rations of test animals could not be duplicated by adding any or all of the known isolated chemical components of those foods. The results of many studies which demonstrate the value of green vegetables in the prevention of human diseases cannot be explained in terms of the individual nutrients they are known to contain.

Why Wheat and Barley Grasses?

The following table summarizes the levels of known nutrients contained in the cereal grasses. The nutrient concentrations depend on the growing conditions and the growth stage at which the cereal grasses are harvested, rather than on the type (barley, rye, or wheat) of cereal grass analyzed.

Typical Analysis of Dehydrated Cereal Grass

3.5 Grams (7-500 mg. tablets or I tsp. powder)

MACRO-NUTRIENTS:

AMINO ACIDS:

Nutrient Synergism in the Cereal Grasses

Dehydrated cereal grass is not the same as multi-vitamin pills. They are a concentrated combination of the nutrients found in all the higher quality dark green vegetables. As we have seen, the nutrients found in these foods work together to benefit the body as a whole. It may also have become apparent that the cereal grasses contain nutrients which support interrelated functions of our vital systems and physiological processes.

It is interesting, and rather amazing, to see how the variety of nutrients in the cereal grasses support the functions of other nutrients which are found there. A closer look at this phenomenon makes a good case for relying on foods rather than vitamin pills as sources of vitamins and minerals.

For example, vitamin C aids in the absorption of calcium and iron. iron is required to convert beta-carotene to vitamin A. Calcium and pyridoxine help absorb vitamin B 12, which is essential for the activation of folic acid. All of these nutrients are found together in the cereal grasses, along with others which support complimentary functions.

Healthy Blood and Circulation

Green food nutrients support healthy blood and circulation. Iron, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin B 12, pyridoxine, and protein are all vital for the formation and maintenance of adequate levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells. Chlorophyll may also be beneficial in these processes. In addition, chlorophyll, vitamin K, and calcium are all involved in blood clot formation and breakdown.

The Nutrients in Dehydrated Cereal Grass: A Summary

Seibold, Ronald L., M.S., in his book Cereal Grass Nature’s Greatest Health Gift, sums all this cereal grass.

Anti-cancer properties of Lemon Grass

In 2006 a research team from the Ben Gurion University in Israel found that Lemon grass (cymbopogon citratus) caused apoptosis (programmed cell death) in malignant cancer cells. According to the research team citral is the substance that causes the cancer cells to kill themselves. The influence of citral on normal cells and malignant cancer cells that were grown on a petri dish. The quantity added in the concentrate was equivalent to the amount in a cup of regular tea using one gram of lemon grass in hot water. While the citral killed the cancer cells, it left the normal cells unharmed. This selective toxicity amazed the researchers.

The Shiitake mushroom is the most widely cultivated specialty mushroom in the world and is both a prized medicine as well as a culinary delight. Because of its traditional use in folk medicine and its availability, it has been the subject of intense research. Cochran’s review of medicinal mushrooms, “Medical Effects” (Biology and Cultivation of Edible Mushrooms, Academic Press, 1978), list Shiitake as having antifungal, anti-tumor, and antiviral effects.

Shiitake is now one of the most popular sources of protein in Japan, and a majorstaple in China, and other parts of the Pacific Rim. As a food source, it has the combined attributes of being appetizing, nourishing, dietetic and healthful. Shiitake has adequate nutritional qualities to serve as a main dish. It adapts well to recipes as a meat substitute.

The antiviral effects are believed to be caused by Shiitake’s ability to produce interferon. Researchers have reported that consumption of Shiitake mushrooms lowers blood cholesterol levels by as much as 45 percent. The most dramatic results occurred when high-cholesterol foods were eaten simultaneously with Shiitake . In two human studies, cholesterol dropped 6 to 15 percent when the amount of Shiitake consumed was nine grams per day or approximately 10 dried medium-sized mushrooms. Shiitake has also shown the capacity to lower high blood pressure in laboratory animals.

Additionally, the ability of shiitake to accelerate the metabolism and excretion of cholesterol was first reported in 1966 by Kaneda and Tokuda. The Donko and Koshin varieties of shiitake produced a 45% and 36% reduction in total plasma cholesterol respectively. The active principle is an amino acid named eritadenine. Eritadenine lowers all lipid components of serum lipoproteins in both animals and man. It exhibits very low toxicity and is effective when administered orally. One hundred twenty-four derivatives of eritadenine have been synthesized and tested. Patents for consumable products capitalizing on shiitake hypocholesterolemic effect have been issued. Lowering plasma lipids by a method as simple as consuming a proprietary blend, such as Health Power, is very appealing to the health-conscious public. As a functional food, Shiitake contains all eight essential amino acids in better proportions than soy beans, meat, milk, or eggs as well as a good blend of vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, B, B12, C, D and Niacin. Shiitake produces a fat-absorbing compound which aids in weight reduction.

Lentinan, which is the name given a highly purified polysaccharide fraction extracted  from Shiitake mushrooms, is an approved drug in Japan. It is generally administered by injection and has been used as an agent to prolong survival of patients in conventional cancer therapy as well as in AIDS research. “In Japan, mushroom extracts have become the leading prescription treatment for cancer” . Lentinan is not only useful for cancer treatment, but may also prevent the increase of chromosomal damage induced by anti-cancer drugs. And with lentinan there are no known side effects. In the west, we are still in the dark ages; making immunopotentiators available to patients undergoing radiative therapy has yet to be accepted here. There are also documented cases of greatly reduced side-effects from radiation and chemotherapy in patients who took herbal immunopotentiators at the same time. The noncytotoxic nature of polysaccharides offer a way to destroy unwanted cells without damaging the host. Chihara writes that “The leading principles of the function of lentinan resides in the fact that it can cure patients by restoring their homeostasis, and through enhancement of their intrinsic resistance against diseases