Preface

We walk over it, lie down on it, mow it once a week during the summer, and knock little white balls into holes cut in it, but the thought of eating grass seems absurd. Unless you happen to be the winner of the Kentucky Derby, or Aunt Nellie's prize heifer, you probably have never entertained the thought of chewing on a bunch of grass. And if you haven't visited the Hippocrates Health Institute, chances are that you have not tried wheatgrass juice.

In this book I hope to persuade you to consider using wheatgrass and its juice as food, medicine, and an overall tonic for various ailments. Whether you suffer from chronic fatigue, sinusitis, ulcers, or a more serious illness like cancer, wheatgrass chlorophyll extracted from seven-day-old wheat sprouts may help you even where other medicines have failed. Of course, nothing can replace a sound diet, exercise, and a positive attitude in keeping you in top shape. But wheatgrass can give you energy and strength to help you gain better control of your health.

Chlorophyll, the green juice of grasses, has been valued since biblical times. Grass has been used as a folk medicine remedy by many people around the world. During the First World War, I began to learn about its remarkable healing properties. My grandmother used grasses to heal wounded soldiers in the European village where I was born. I came to America to live with my parents while I was still a child. It wasn't until about thirty years later, during the early 1950s, that the memories of my grandmother's use of grasses and other plants resurfaced as a result of personal health problems.

I began my own experimentation with wheatgrass and other grasses on animals. Wheatgrass proved to be the fastest and easiest variety of grass to grow. The wheatberries used to grow it were (and still are) inexpensive and easily obtained. Moreover, wheatgrass turned out to be favored by my pets. It worked miracles for their well-being (I will show you how you can use it to help your pets live longer and in better health in Chapter 8), yet I still doubted its usefulness for human health. So I expanded my study of grasses, focusing on wheatgrass in particular.

I contacted my friend and associate Dr. G. H. Earp Thomas for his expert opinion of the potential usefulness of wheatgrass for human health. A soil and plant scientist, Dr. Thomas had prior knowledge of grasses and chlorophyll. Yet after a few weeks of chemical analysis and library research, he was quite surprised to find that wheatgrass contained many vital nutrients which he felt could serve as regenerative and protective factors in human health. According to his findings, fresh wheatgrass juice was theoretically capable of sustaining human health and life for weeks or even months at a time. Dr. Thomas also came across some research papers written by Dr. Charles Schnabel, who advocated the use of young wheat and other grasses in animal and human nutrition. Schnabel estimated that fifteen pounds of wheatgrass was equal in protein and overall nutritional value to three hundred and fifty pounds of ordinary garden vegetables. I will speak more about the nutritional content of wheatgrass in Chapter 5.

The real proving ground was my own body, which was sickly and weak after twenty years of living and eating as an average American. A few weeks after I started chewing and juicing young blades of fresh wheatgrass, and eating fresh sprouts and greens, a festering case of colitis that I had suffered with for months began to improve. The problem, which is particularly difficult to remedy with conventional medical treatments, eventually cleared up entirely.

My energy level soared and I felt well again. I knew that wheatgrass was a powerful invigorator of the body. To prove to myself that it would also help others get well I began delivering fresh wheatgrass juice to a number of bedridden ill and elderly people in my neighborhood. I was amazed at the results. In a matter of weeks, all of them were able to get out of bed, and they became more active than they had been in years.

I'm sure that much of the degeneration and illness we suffer from today is brought on by the lack of vitality and life in the food we eat. Most food that Americans eat is overcooked and half-dead (for example, 100 percent of the enzymes in food are destroyed by cooking). Beverages are loaded with sugar, alcohol or stimulants that create an illusion of energy which fades quickly as the day wears on. In contrast, the nutrients in wheatgrass and raw foods such as sprouts, fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and Hippocrates Diet preparations made from them, are not destroyed by cooking or processing. These living foods can restore vigor and energy to an ailing, tired body.

For years, at the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston, we have been witnessing a transformation in our guests—they arrive worn out and run down, and return home vitalized and full of pep.

An analysis of blood samples drawn from more than two hundred Hippocrates guests before and after the two-week program gave scientific support to our observations. Performed at the Arthur Testing laboratory by Thelma Arthur, M.D., the study showed that within two weeks of following the Hippocrates live food Diet and drinking wheatgrass juice, the blood is detoxified and the immune system is strengthened. Both of these changes lead to more energy and an improved ability to combat and reverse illness.

Wheatgrass is not only healthful, it's easy to grow and easy to use. With a handful of wheatberries, some water, a tray filled with an inch of topsoil, and a cover, you can grow your own wheatgrass in just seven days—at a cost of about ten cents a tray. If you can't grow the grass yourself, you can probably buy it locally from someone who does, because wheatgrass and sprout growers in almost every major city in the U.S. and abroad.

A tray of wheatgrass yields about seven to twelve ounces of juice (depending upon the size of the tray). Once you get some juice (about one to four ounces at a time will do) all you have to do to get its health benefits is drink it. Some people enjoy the taste, but even if you dislike it at first, you will love the way you feel within a few minutes—and for hours later.

In addition to drinking wheatgrass juice, there are dozens of other ways you can benefit from it. For example, wheatgrass juice can be used as a scalp treatment for lusterless hair, or as a cleanser, astringent, and tightener for all types of skin. Several drops in each nostril will help to clear blocked sinuses, and a few ounces in your bath water or rubbed into your skin will stimulate healthy circulation and give you a warm glow. But that's not all. True to my childhood memories of wounded soldiers becoming well through the use of grasses, wheatgrass helps heal cuts and bruises faster, and draws poisons out from deep inside the body so they can be eliminated.

Who can benefit from using wheatgrass? Anyone. Whether you're overweight or underweight, have a tendency towards anemia or are afraid of cancer, wheatgrass can help. In this book I will show you how you can use wheatgrass for cleansing and healing your body, improving your diet and appearance, and preventing illness.

In addition I will share my discovery of the wheatgrass fast, a shortcut to better health and weight loss that combines wheatgrass and chlorophyll-rich "green drinks" with special cleansing techniques. Finally, you will also find some delicious recipes that are popular favorites at the Institute. Have you heard of a Grasshopper? Wait until you try your first Wheat- grasshopper (see page 89)!

One question I'm often asked is, "Do I have to change my diet totally in order to benefit from wheatgrass? " Of course not. However, I do feel that for the best possible results you should follow the Hippocrates Diet of raw, living foods as closely as you can. I also recommend that you use fresh wheatgrass rather than dehydrated or tablet forms. These serve as a good source of dietary fiber, but they carry with them little of the life force (enzyme power) found in fresh wheatgrass juice. In fact, at the Institute we suggest that you juice wheatgrass immediately after you cut it, and drink or use it right after you juice it, thereby getting the maximum benefit of its enzyme life forces.

From the juice bars of California to the health spas of New York, wheatgrass is fast becoming one of the most widely used supplemental health foods. After years of experience of working with wheatgrass, it is my feeling that if you begin to use fresh wheatgrass juice on a regular basis, you will gain a bounce in your step, a better physique, an improved complexion, and a sparkle in your eyes. And it is my hope that your use of wheatgrass juice will help to move the medical establishment toward more research on this valuable nutritional and health aid.

Chapter 1 - Green Power From Wheatgrass

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