Has anyone tried wheatgrass juice to get vitamins, etc.?
 

I was just wondering if anyone has tried drinking wheatgrass juice to get 'vegetable' vitamins and minerals. One ounce has about one carb. You only drink one or two ounces a day. Two ounces of wheatgrass juice is equivalent to the nutritional value of roughly 4 pounds of organic green vegetables in vitamin and mineral content.

Where I live, we have this juice place called 'Jamba Juice' and you can get a little one ounce serving of wheatgrass juice. It tastes like the juice of lawn clippings, but you can drink it really fast and then bite into a wedge of orange they give you. It makes me feel more secure that I'm getting enough nutrition while doing Atkins.

I searched this site and was surprised no one else was drinking wheatgrass juice, or maybe I didn't search right!

:read2:

Good question!

Most of the information I could find on the benefits of wheatgrass juice comes from those with a vested interest. I did find an article by a highly respected Australian nutritionist and this is what she said: -

Although many people swear by wheatgrass juice, there are no scientific studies to back the claims that it purifies the blood or the liver, washes out drug deposits or helps with hangovers or indigestion. That doesn't mean you won't feel better if you drink it, but it could mean that you feel better simply because you expect to feel better.

What is in it?

It's claimed wheatgrass juice contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Rosemary says that it does have a worthwhile amount of beta carotene and small quantities of some B vitamins, but insignificant amounts of other nutrients, including minerals and amino acids. Wheatgrass is marketed as a living food containing enzymes. While that is important for the plant, we make all the enzymes we need for digesting foods and we can't actually use the ones in wheatgrass.
Wheatgrass contains chlorophyll, which may act as an antioxidant in the body. Normally we make our own antioxidants and get extra from fruits, vegetables, olive oil, wholegrains, nuts and even red wine and tea. Many scientific studies back the value of all these foods, but there is no objective evidence to back any specific or extra health benefits of wheatgrass.
Spirulina, an edible blue-green algae high in protein, is sometimes added to wheatgrass juice. According to the label, this spirulina is high in vitamin B12. However, very little of the B12 in spirulina can be absorbed by humans and you can get far more from fish, meat, chicken, eggs or dairy products.
HTH
Zedgirl