It is an extremely weak article (if you can even call it that). There are only 3 references; two of which are his own.

Find me scientific data that proves that chlorophyll can not be utilized by the human body and I am open to reading it. Cellulose,which is a fiber from plants can not be absorbed, however chlorophyll is simply a pigment.

I agree with what some of you have said regarding science. Having a Bachelor Begree in Biology with a area of concentration of Molecular Biology and Organic Chemistry I can tell you all that science is the continuous pursuit of the truth.

Constructing better studies to include control groups and attempt to identify specific properties of different substances for health and well being is a tremendous feat no doubt. That said, it is also very reductionist.

Wheatgrass like general raw food (you know the stuff by which we all evolved from?) is in its entirety a huge complex of nutrients that work synergistic with each other.

For general health and well being, I believe that whole foods are the way to go. Time and time disease risk factors decrease not with individualized compounds (natural or pharmaceutical), but with whole foods; increased fruit and vegetable consumption. Wheatgrass happens to be an extremely nutrient dense whole food.

Yes our body produces enzymes, however it requires building blocks from food. Otherwise we wouldn’t be absolutely dependent on food in the first place.

Science is not close minded and open minded perspectives can be indeed very scientific.

I wish you all the best,

R. Horovitz

Physicians in this country easily kill a thousand Americans a day, but Michael Shermer is worried about wheatgrass juice.

After a hemolytic crisis I have tried to build my hemoglobin back up with iron, vitamin c, B12, folic acid, and even 1/2 pound of lean red meat every day with no results. But if I add a few teaspoons of wheat grass powder to the mix my blood count immediately starts rising. I have no idea why, but it’s saving me from transfusions.

If the best lie is 99% truth then maybe we should be looking at these “false claims” that people fall for and try to figure out what might be some valid empirical evidence instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

There are good and bad practitioners in any discipline, occidental, Chinese or holistic medicine. And that’s in my opinion the point: the people but not the discipline.

The first one is from: Wheat Grass Juice Reduces Transfusion Requirement in Patients with
Thalassemia Major: A Pilot Study R.K. Marwaha, Deepak Bansal, Siftinder Kaur and Amita Trehan
From the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Advanced
Pediatric Center, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research,
Chandigarh 160 012, India.
BRIEF REPORTS
The treatment of transfusion dependent
b-thalassemia imposes a considerable burden
on the family and institutional resources. In
economically challenged nations, basic
management (red cell transfusions, iron
chelation) is a distant dream for the majority,
who, consequently, endure a poor quality of
life. In chronic illnesses, seeking remedy in
alternate systems of medicine is a common
practice. After learning of the potential
benefits, some patients started consuming
wheat grass juice, which has been promoted as
a supplementary health food/tonic for many
years. Atleast 3 of these children perceived an
increase in the interval between transfusions
with the desired level of hemoglobin
being maintained for a longer period. The
observations were significant and prompted us
to scientifically evaluate the effects of wheat
grass juice therapy in patients with transfusion
dependent b-thalassemia.
Subjects and Methods
Randomly selected patients with transfusion
dependent b-thalassemia, enrolled in the
thalassemia unit of the Advanced Pediatrics
Center were recruited for the study. Patients
were enrolled irrespective of whether
they were receiving chelation therapy with
defiriperone/desferrioxamine or not.
Manuscript received: July 29, 2003, Initial review completed: November 19, 2003;
Revision accepted: January 11, 2004.
Wheat grass juice is the juice extracted from the pulp of wheat grass and has been used as a
general-purpose health tonic for several years. Several of our patients in the thalassemia unit
began consuming wheat grass juice after anecdotal accounts of beneficial effects on transfusion
requirements. These encouraging experiences prompted us to evaluate the effect of wheat grass
juice on transfusion requirements in patients with transfusion dependent beta thalassemia.
Families of patients raised the wheat grass at home in kitchen garden/pots. The patients consumed
about 100 mL of wheat grass juice daily. Each patient acted as his own control. Observations
recorded during the period of intake of wheat grass juice were compared with one-year period
preceding it. Variables recorded were the interval between transfusions, pre-transfusion
hemoglobin, amount of blood transfused and the body weight. A beneficial effect of wheat grass
juice was defined as decrease in the requirement of packed red cells (measured as grams/Kg body
weight/year) by 25% or more. 16 cases were analyzed. Blood transfusion requirement fell by
>25% in 8 (50%) patients with a decrease of >40% documented in 3 of these. No perceptible
adverse effects were recognized.

The second article is published in Nutrition and Cancer 2007;58(1):43-8.
Wheat grass juice may improve hematological toxicity related to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients: a pilot study.Bar-Sela G, Tsalic M, Fried G, Goldberg H.
Division of Oncology, Rambam Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 31096, Israel. g.barsela@rambam.health.gov.il

Myelotoxicity induced by chemotherapy may become life-threatening. Neutropenia may be prevented by granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (GCSF), and epoetin may prevent anemia, but both cause substantial side effects and increased costs. According to non-established data, wheat grass juice (WGJ) may prevent myelotoxicity when applied with chemotherapy. In this prospective matched control study, 60 patients with breast carcinoma on chemotherapy were enrolled and assigned to an intervention or control arm. Those in the intervention arm (A) were given 60 cc of WGJ orally daily during the first three cycles of chemotherapy, while those in the control arm (B) received only regular supportive therapy. Premature termination of treatment, dose reduction, and starting GCSF or epoetin were considered as “censoring events.” Response rate to chemotherapy was calculated in patients with evaluable disease. Analysis of the results showed that five censoring events occurred in Arm A and 15 in Arm B (P = 0.01). Of the 15 events in Arm B, 11 were related to hematological events. No reduction in response rate was observed in patients who could be assessed for response. Side effects related to WGJ were minimal, including worsening of nausea in six patients, causing cessation of WGJ intake. In conclusion, it was found that WGJ taken during FAC chemotherapy may reduce myelotoxicity, dose reductions, and need for GCSF support, without diminishing efficacy of chemotherapy. These preliminary results need confirmation in a phase III study.

PMID: 17571966 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]