Get into the Green Habit

By Arleah Baingan

When the organs are at its optimal best, the body has the natural ability to heal itself. However with the kind of lifestyle that we lead these days, especially in big cities, the body takes a beating from poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and environmental factors like pollution, second-hand smoke and other toxins that can affect and weaken the immune system.

This is probably the reason why so many health and beauty supplements are available in the market, each claiming to boost the body’s defense against sickness, premature aging and even poor memory. But before reaching for yet another supplement, think about changing the way you eat. Most of us can get the necessary nutrients required by the body from food anyway.

Improving your diet is one of the easiest tweak that you can do to start the change. Eat less of processed foods and more of organic, natural choices like grass-fed meat, fruits and vegetables.

If you don’t have time to prepare your own meal, there is a viable solution to this “time-is-not-enough” lifestyle. Think green. Add super foods to your diet and reap its benefits. Super foods are called as such because they strengthen the immune system, balance the body’s pH level and also packed with anti-oxidants, essential vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids (EFAs) and soluble and insoluble fiber, which all contribute to good health and keep the body functioning well.

Two of these super foods that are gaining popularity here in the country are wheatgrass and barley grass. Benefits of taking these greens include delaying aging, preventing and/or reducing inflammation, correcting metabolism, reducing bad cholesterol, regulating blood pressure and blood sugar levels, promoting healthy digestive system and even preventing degenerative diseases such as hypertension, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis to name a few.

Barley grass and wheatgrass come in powder and tablet form so it is easy to integrate it to your diet every day. Take note that these two are not supplements but food and since they are natural and organic, there is no danger of overdose and your system wouldn’t have a hard time processing them unlike synthetic drugs.

Both barley grass and wheatgrass are highly alkaline because of its potassium content. A diet that is high in potassium and low in sodium is ideal for heart and other organs’ health. In 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration “announced that it has finalized a rule that allows foods containing barley to claim that they reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”

According to Health Wealth International Corporation website, one of the companies that sell green barley in the Philippines, organic barley contains 11 times the calcium in cow’s milk, 5 times the iron in spinach, 7 times the Vitamin C in oranges, vitamin B12 and significant amount of chlorophyll.  It also has the enzyme 2-O-Glycosyisovitexin which is said to be “more effective as an antioxidant than beta-carotene or Vitamin E.”

Another company, the Herb-All Organic Barley in their website emphasizes the powerful enzymes found in barley such as Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) which “restores the functions and repairs the body’s DNA to prevent cancer cells from developing,” P4D1 which repairs damaged molecules of the cells and amino acid Arginine which can “improve sexual performance and also increases sperm/egg cell production and motility.”

Wheatgrass on the other hand is also highly alkaline, contains 13 vitamins, 10 minerals, 17 amino acids and enzymes that, according to the company website of Easy Pha-Max Wheatgrass, can cleanse, alkalize and nourish the blood and the body. Just like barley grass, wheatgrass also controls pH balance in the body, has anti-inflammatory properties, delays aging, boosts the immune system, improves digestive health and cleanses the body of harmful toxins, the reason why the company World of Wellness calls it a powerful health drink.

Both grasses have high chlorophyll content which is responsible for its deodorizing, detoxifying, stimulating tissue growth, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. For those who are having weight problems, barley grass and wheatgrass can help you get to your ideal weight because they boost metabolism and corrects hormonal imbalance, if that is what causing your excess pounds or lack of it.

Wheatgrass and barley grass were cited in the website Oprah.com, listed in Dr. Perricone’s top ten super foods. Dr. Perricone is a high-profile board certified clinical and research dermatologist in the U.S. He is known as the Father of Inflammation Theory of Aging. According the site, “There is very little nutritional difference between wheat grass and barley grass, although it is important to note that barley grass acts as a free radical scavenger that also reduces inflammation and pain, and wheat grass contains P4D1, a "gluco-protein" that acts like an antioxidant, reducing inflammation. It is also thought to be able to help the body attack cancer cells.”

Not everyone can afford to buy supplements to maintain good health. Fortunately, there are super foods that you can turn to for effective and natural healing which can also boost your energy level and as a bonus, even make you look younger. You got to try it to believe. Wishing you all good health!