Wheatgrass – Superfoods- The Real Story S1-Ep4 teaser
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Cancer is a complex disease caused by abnormal DNA cells going rogue. This makes the condition notoriously difficult to contain, so early diagnosis is favourable to curative treatment. There is some evidence that diet has the power to counter the growth of cancer. Wheatgrass, for example, has been found to reduce blood cancer cells by 65 percent in a matter of days.
Wheatgrass has garnered a great amount of attention in recent years for its wide-reaching health implications.
According to Alice Williams, Nutritionist at Origym Centre of Excellence: “Wheatgrass is the young grass of the common wheat plant.
“It can be eaten raw or consumed in a capsule form, but it is most commonly used in a powder and incorporate into things such as smoothies and juices.
“It has been used by farmers as animal feed for years, but it is recently emerging as a superfood due to its impressive health benefits, being packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins and antioxidants”.
Indeed, the superfood has a considerable amount of health benefits thanks to its antioxidants such as:
Glutathione
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Once consumed, antioxidants ward off free radicals in the body and reduce levels of oxidative stress, giving them a role in cancer prevention.
These effects are conducive to creating an environment that is less vulnerable to becoming cancerous.
Miss Williams added: “As well as being said to improve immunity and lower cholesterol, more and more research is pointing to wheatgrass as having anticancer properties.”
In one test-tube study, wheatgrass was shown to induce cell death and reduce the number of leukaemia cells by up to 65 percent within three days of treatment.
The findings, published in the Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, revealed that the death of leukaemia cells increased with time after exposure [to wheatgrass], for 24, 48 and 72 hours respectively.
Miss William continued: “Scientists have found that wheatgrass has a similar structure to haemoglobin, which is the protein that carries oxygen around the blood.
“So, wheatgrass can therefore help increase oxygen levels in the blood.
“Since cancer cells grow best in oxygen-deprived conditions, the role of wheatgrass is increasing oxygen levels can therefore stall the growth of cancer cell”.
Combined with traditional treatments, there is evidence wheatgrass may help quell adverse effects.
“As well as the potential to prevent cancer cells from growing, wheatgrass may also be useful in the treatment of cancer,” noted the nutritionist.
“Research has suggested that wheatgrass may boost the effectiveness and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy treatment”.
Although these benefits are alluring, evidence of these anticancer effects in humans remains limited, warranting further research.
The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre adds that some people may suffer side effects from wheatgrass.
These may include nausea and difficulty swallowing the juice due to its strong grass-like taste.
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