Wheatgrass is the first young green leaves that sprout from germinated wheat grains. The grass leaves are harvested at the jointing stage, when the stem of the plant starts to form, because this is when the leaves are at their nutritional peak.
When grown in optimal conditions, wheatgrass contains most of the known vitamins and minerals, 297 proteins, over 80 active enzymes including the anti-oxidant and anti-ageing enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), fatty acids, immunomodulators, growth hormones, phytonutrients such as chlorophyll, carotenoids (including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, xanthophylls, and zeaxanthin), bioflavonoids, growth factors, RNA and DNA, and a group of unclassified micro-nutrients simply referred to as grass juice factors.
Cows are able to effectively digest grass and make use of the nutrients, due to a part of their stomach called the rumen, where the cellulose-fermenting bacteria digest the cellulose. Humans are unable to effectively digest raw grass, so some kind of processing must be carried out, in order for the nutrients to be assimilated.
The most widespread and popular method of processing wheatgrass is juicing, typically by cold-press or masticating juicers, or via triturating twin gear juicers. This process crushes and squeezes the raw grass, with the liquid efficiently extracted from the dry pulp. The dry pulp mostly contains the non-nutritional cellulose fibre, which offers no vitamins or minerals and slows down the digestion. The liquid, referred to as wheatgrass juice, contains concentrated highly bio-available nutritients, and is retained and consumed.
We believe that our wheatgrass juice powder is among the very best in the world, due to the species of wheat used, the growing conditions, the processing methods, our unique packaging that removes oxygen from the pack for at least 40 openings, and our third party lab testing for every batch.
Each batch of our wheatgrass is tested by third party laboratories, to ensure that there are no dangerous levels of heavy metals or micro-organisms. The certifications for the latest batch are viewable below.
We also periodically have third party lab tests completed for 69 pesticides and organic contaminants, carotenoids, zeaxanthin, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, chlorophyll and superoxide dismutase (SOD).
All of these third party lab tests are viewable below.
Any retailer or producer of wheatgrass should be able to show you these tests from a third party laboratory. Without third party testing, it’s completely unknown whether the product is what it claims to be, and whether it’s safe for human consumption.
The full description of PlantPills wheatgrass is:
Raw Field Grown Freeze Dried Kamut® Wheatgrass Juice Powder.
Kamut® refers to the species of the wheat grain used, an ancient variety of wheat called khorasan. Kamut® has never been hybridized or genetically modified, unlike modern wheat. The theory is that its retained many desirable qualities that have been lost or changed through the intensive breeding programs that have significantly altered modern wheat.
Kamut® wheat is organically grown, and gram for gram has several nutritional advantages over modern wheat, but crucially for our application growing high quality wheatgrass, each grain is 34% larger than standard wheat grain.
Studies have shown that while good quality organic soil is important, a significant amount of nutrition in the grass comes from the initial nutrient base of the seed. With Kamut® grain, the seed is 34% larger than standard wheat, with 34% more nutrients for the grass to utilise.
Field grown refers to the fact that our wheatgrass is grown outside, in organic soil, in fields on an organic farm. The wheatgrass grows at a natural rate for several months, before being harvested, as opposed to about 10 days for wheatgrass grown in trays, resulting in a much higher nutritional content.
Juice powder means that this product is the solids of the juice of the wheatgrass.
Having been organically grown for several months outside in organic soil, our wheatgrass is harvested just before the critical jointing stage, where the grass is at peak nutrition.
It is immediately transported to the farm’s on-site juicing facility.
The juicing process crushes and squeezes the raw grass, with the liquid efficiently extracted from the dry pulp. The dry pulp mostly contains the non-nutritional cellulose fibre, which offers no vitamins or minerals and slows down the digestion. The liquid, referred to as wheatgrass juice, contains concentrated highly bio-available nutritients.
A modified freeze-drying method then removes all moisture from the freshly squeezed juice within a few minutes, leaving just the solids from the juice in the form of juice powder. These juice solids, known as wheatgrass juice powder, are vastly more nutritious than whole leaf wheatgrass powder.
Raw refers to the fact that from the harvest of the grass to the juicing of the grass, to removing the moisture from the juice, to the packaging of the juice powder, the material remains raw. It’s not heated above around 40°C (around 104°F). This is very important for the preservation of the active enzymes, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that are denatured or destroyed by heat.
When water is added to our wheatgrass juice powder, the resulting liquid is virtually identical to freshly squeezed wheatgrass juice, as the only processing that was done to the original juice was the removal of the water at low temperature. All the live enzymes, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients remain active, due to avoiding exposure to heat, light and oxygen during processing, and being able to harvest, juice and powder on-site at the farm.
Although our wheatgrass is non-GMO, gluten free, herbicide and pesticide free, and grown and processed organically, PlantPills has not yet applied for organic certification in the UK, so we can not yet claim that our wheatgrass is organic, and do not sell it as organic.
It is imperative that wheatgrass juice powder is transported and stored in an oxygen-free environment, even after opening. If wheatgrass juice powder is exposed to oxygen, the nutritional value quickly starts to diminish, because vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants are particularly sensitive to oxygen.
PlantPills wheatgrass juice powder is supplied in our unique PillFresh™ packaging, which keeps the powder sealed in an environment with an oxygen content of less than 0.1%. After you open your PlantPills wheatgrass juice powder, just seal it back up, and incredibly, our unique PillFresh™ packaging will again reduce the oxygen content to less than 0.1%, continuing to keep the wheatgrass juice powder fresh.
This packaging will continue to do this time and time again, for 40 openings.
It is sensible for anyone who is new to taking wheatgrass, to initially take just a quarter of one 5ml teaspoon spoon (about 0.6 grams) and monitor themselves for any adverse reactions for 24 hours. If there is no reaction, proceed with supplementation the following day.
One 250g pack of PlantPills Wheatgrass Juice Powder contains the solids of 4.1 litres of wheatgrass juice (1.1 US gallon).
4.1 litres (1.1 US gallon) was extracted from 5.3 kilograms of fresh raw Kamut® wheatgrass (11.7 lb).
5.3 kilograms of grass is roughly equivalent to 12 trays of wheatgrass (each tray measuring 40x28cm or 16x11”).
One 250g pack of PlantPills Wheatgrass Juice Powder contains the equivalent of 138 shots (30ml or 1oz) of wheatgrass, with 1.8 grams of PlantPills Wheatgrass Juice Powder equivalent to one 30ml/1oz shot of wheatgrass.
One 5ml teaspoon is roughly 2.5 grams of powder, extracted from 41ml of juice (1.4 x 30ml/1oz shots).
Two 5ml teaspoons is roughly 5 grams of powder, extracted from 82ml of juice (2.8 x 30ml/1oz shots).
Three 5ml teaspoons is roughly 7.5 grams of powder, extracted from 124ml of juice (4.1 x 30ml/1oz shots).
Ann Wigmore specified that “1 to 4 ounces at a time will do”, this is equivalent to 1-3 teaspoons of PlantPills wheatgrass juice powder.
Directions: Mix into liquid before drinking, ideally on an empty stomach.
The most traditional way of consuming wheatgrass juice is via a “shot”. To administer via this method, first add water to a cup, and then place the powder onto the water, and mix.
40ml (about 1.5oz) of water should be added to the cup for every 5ml teaspoon of powder. Then use a fork to mix the powder into the water (about 100 revolutions in each direction), before drinking.
As with other powders (such as milkshake powder, hot chocolate powder, etc.) there may be some clumps of powder. These can be reduced with thorough mixing, but are perfectly fine. Consume immediately after mixing.
When drinking the wheatgrass juice, it is best to hold some in the mouth for a while. Spread it around the mouth, including on the cheeks and under the tongue, holding the contents in the mouth for a minute or so, like a mouthwash, before swallowing.
This route of administration is called buccal and sublingual, and provides highly efficient absorption of some of the molecules within wheatgrass juice. Some of the absorption is provided via the blood vessels under the tongue, bypassing the digestive tract, and can result in a much more efficient absorption rate, depending on the molecule. Wheatgrass juice has an intense flavour, so this may be difficult or impossible for some people.
For people particularly adverse to the taste of wheatgrass, it is common to add the wheatgrass powder to a smoothie or other drink, in order to comfortably consume. A blender can cause significant degradation via oxygenation to the wheatgrass, so gentle manual mixing is preferred. Consume immediately after mixing.
Recommended dosage: 2.5 grams (1x level 5ml teaspoon) per day.
Upper dosage: 7.5 grams (3x level 5ml teaspoons) per day. Ideally should be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Can be taken all at once, or split up throughout the day.