Wheat Grass

Wheat grass can be traced back in history over 5000 years, to ancient Egypt and perhaps even early Mesopotamian civilizations. It is purported that ancient Egyptians found sacred the young leafy blades of wheat and prized them for their positive affect on their health and vitality.

The goddess Isis is said to have brought wheat and barley grains to the people of Egypt from Lebanon.

In the early 1900’s a man named Charles F. Schnabel attempted to popularize the plant for consumption. Think of those old soap-box newspaper sales boys, but instead of newspapers he was selling grass. Wheat grass is one of the original superfoods with a history dating back to the 1930s when health fanatics focused on wheatgrass after a series of experiments showed health benefits to chickens.

People just went a little nutty for wheatgrass it seems. Schnabel conducted his first experiments with young grasses in 1930, when he used fresh cut grass to nurse a dying hen back to health. Turns out, the hens not only made a full recovery, but the eggs they produced were of higher quality than the other hens.

This sparked considerable interest to Schnabel and, using his agricultural chemist background, devoted a considerable amount of time researching the health benefits of wheat grass.

Thus the promotion of wheatgrass into general society began. Schnabel started promoting his discovery to feed mills, chemists and the food industry. Two large corporations that are still with us today (Quaker Oats and American Diaries) invested millions of dollars into funding further research.

Schnabel, in an attempt to mass market the product, powdered wheat grass and sold it in nutritional supplements. This took off and later became a staple in a nutritious healthy diet. Dr. Charles Kettering learned about the healing properties of chlorophyll in the 1940’s.

Chlorophyll is an essential chemical compound that is found in many green plants, including wheatgrass. Ann Wigmore also did a study in the 1940’s which concluded that all natural grasses are beneficial to people’s health and that wheatgrass had the best results of all. Wigmore later set up a health institute to study the health benefits of natural food. This institute still studies wheat grass.

Throughout the history of wheatgrass, it has been recognized for its beneficial health effects. Scientists have recently studied wheatgrass and other grasses and have made some similar conclusions about the natural health benefits of wheatgrass and other grasses. This website will give you even more valuable information about wheatgrass.