We?ve been reporting on the nutritional excellence of green foods without let up and for good reason.? Most of us don?t eat all of the vegetables we should.? Not do we eat a great variety.? So we are telling readers to consumer super green foods.
You see, green foods, especially consumed in combination, contain such an abundance of nutrients that their nutritional value is? unsurpassed by any other type of food on earth.
Do not for a moment think that we are recommending you forego fresh vegetables.? But we do strongly advocate that health-consumers consume as wide a variety of fresh vegetables as possible, together with green food supplements.Fresh vegetables, raw or lightly steamed or cooked in a wok (Asian style), together with two or more daily servings of a quality green food supplement, will help ensure your body receives the optimal nutrition it deserves.? Your health will be reflected in your increased energy and a feeling of vitality.? You will feel better with your first glass.
Our research reviews have demonstrated the unequivocal health benefits of cereals grasses include improved acid-alkaline balance; increased energy; improved digestion; pain relief (especially from arthritis due to improved acid-alkaline balance); healthy immune function and detoxification processes (including neutralization of select pesticides and toxic chemicals); anti-inflammatory benefits; cardiovascular health; and, antioxidant protection.
One greens formula that we particularly keen on your using because of its high quality is Barlean?s Greens with certified organic shoots of young barley, rye, wheat, oat and alfalfa grasses combined with spirulina, chlorella growth factor, many different species of sea vegetables (ecklonia, sea whistle, laminaria, macrocystis, alaria), and organically grown spinach and parsley, as well as other key ingredients.? Barlean?s calls their formula the ?greener green food? because it is one of the most concentrated of the powdered green formulas.
Here are some of our most recent discoveries about green foods and why it is so smart and health to drink a glass or two of your preferred green drink daily.
[icon]? Help for Diabetics & Cardiovascular Health
Diabetics who regularly consume powdered organic barley grass juice supplements reduce heart disease risk, according to research recently published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Diabetes and Metabolism (2002; 28:107-114).
Taiwanese researchers from China Medical College in Taichung report that supplementation with barley grass reduces the levels of bad cholesterol and free radicals in the blood of type 2 diabetics.? In the study, 36 randomly selected type 2 diabetics were assigned to receive daily supplements of barley grass; a combination of vitamin C and E; or a combination of barley grass and vitamins C and E.? After four weeks, consuming barley grass reduced levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL or ?bad?) cholesterol and free radical activity, in addition to protecting LDL-vitamin E content and inhibiting LDL oxidation.? Particularly noteworthy:? barley grass, taken with vitamins C and E, more effectively prevented free radical reactions than imbibing either barley grass or taking the vitamins taken alone.? (Barlean?s Greens contains acerola cherry and RiceX, excellent sources of vitamins C and E, respectively.)? The researchers said that that daily supplementation with barley grass ?in combination with antioxidative vitamins can reduce some major risk factors of atherosclerosis.? This may protect type 2 diabetic patients from vascular diseases.?
?For individuals concerned about their cardiovascular health, this study indicates that they would be well advised to focus on a diet with lots of green foods, particularly organic barley grass,? says Richard M. Gold, Ph.D., L.Ac., author and professor at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.
Detoxification
We should be detoxifying our bodies daily, and few foods are better than green foods for this purpose.? Over the last several decades, research has shown that green foods are potent detoxifiers for a wide range of chemical toxins.? Studies have shown that green foods such as chlorella and spirulina aid the body?s excretion of carcinogens such as dioxin and kepone; help prevent mutation damage caused by environmental radiation releases from nuclear power plants and other sources; and that they can also help in the detoxification or neutralization of poisonous byproducts of food preservatives and prescription medications, ranging from chemotherapeutic drugs to over-the-counter formulas like acetaminophen, as well as alcohol.
For example, young barley grass extracts effectively degraded a variety of organophosphorus pesticides including malathion, chlorpyrifos, guthion, diazinon, methidathion, and parathion.
Cancer Prevention
With these kinds of detoxification properties, it should not be surprising that many studies have shown a higher than normal incidence of several kinds of cancer among populations consuming small quantities of green vegetables.? These cancers are generally associated with the epithelial tissues that form the lining of many of our organs.
A limited amount of research has been reported concerning the potential anti-cancer effects of cereal grass.? In 1979 in a letter to Barron?s Magazine, Dr. Arthur Robinson describes skin cancer experiments carried out over a three-year period at the Pauling Institute.? One diet, consisting solely of wheat grass, carrots, several fruits, and sunflower seeds ?caused a remarkable 35-fold decrease in cancer incidence? when combined with high doses of vitamin C.[i]? (Vitamin C, when given in high doses without the special diet, produced a five-fold decrease in skin cancer.)
That same year, Dr. Chiu Nan Lai, of the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, presented information at a meeting of the American Chemical Society that suggested that wheat grass might have cancer-preventive properties.[ii]? Using the standard Ames Test, she showed that an extract of wheat grass, when applied to known chemical mutagens (which cause cells to become cancerous), decreased their cancer-causing ability by up to 99 percent.? Later studies showed that several green vegetables provide anti-mutagenic protection from a number of cancer causing chemicals.[iii]? This activity was found to be proportional to the amount of chlorophyll in the vegetables.[iv]
Lung cancer is the most lethal of all cancers for American men, and is rapidly becoming the leading killer of women as well.? Many factors contribute to one?s risk of getting lung cancer.? A large body of research indicates that eating dark green vegetables and foods high in beta-carotene may offer some protection from the development of lung cancer.[v]
One Italian study demonstrates that smokers who seldom eat green vegetables or carrots have several times the risk of getting lung cancer as smokers who consume green vegetables and carrots frequently.? While it is possible that the nutrient responsible is carotene, the contribution of other substances present in the foods must be considered.[vi]
Countering Harmful Effects of Alcohol
Health experts note, ?Recent research now suggests that the oxidation product of alcohol, acetaldehyde, may be responsible for cancer and other health problems related to alcohol consumption. Acetaldehyde is toxic to tissues and may produce genetic mutations by damaging DNA.?
Chronic drinkers and people who imbibe excessively may wind up with a level of acetaldehyde in their body that may not be metabolized fast enough to prevent damage.? It is well known that esophageal cancer is linked to heavy alcohol consumption (but the cause has not yet been determined).
Since acetaldehyde is produced in the gut during drinking, it may be possible to breakdown the acetaldehyde by consuming certain drinks or food.? Returning to fresh, young barley grass juice, we find that it helps reduce levels of acetaldehyde, according to research done by Dr. Takayuki Shibamoto at the Environmental Toxicology Department at the University of California, Davis.
Improved Dental Hygiene
Green foods are rich in chlorophyll, which appears to have health benefits for humans. For more than 40 years, chlorophyll has been an ingredient in dental products to help kill bacteria that cause mouth infection, gum disease, tooth decay and bad breath. Chlorophyll may also reduce several types of inflammation ranging from sore throats to ulcers.
Prescription for Healthy Living?Drink a Salad in a Glass
When we compare various green food supplements to different combinations of vegetables typically found in salads, we find that the super green food products usually have higher amounts of vitamins and minerals, yet fewer calories and carbohydrates.
Thus, it is fair to say, that using selected nutrients as markers of overall nutrient content, the results indicate that a single serving of some green food preparations provide a more concentrated and convenient source of essential nutrition than several servings of a well rounded salad.? Eat your greens.? But be smart.? Drink them too.
Availability?Barlean?s Greens is widely available at health food stores.? To find a natural health center in your area, call Barlean?s toll-free at (800) 445-3529 or use their store locator service at www.barleans.com.
References
[i] Robinson, A.? ?Diet and cancer.?? Barron?s, September 3,1979:7.
[ii] Schultz, D. ?Sprouts vs. cancer? Checkup on Medicine.?? Science News, May, 1979:78.
[iii] Lai, C., et al.? ?Antimutagenic activities of common vegetables and their chlorophyll content.?? Mutation Research, 1979; 77:245-250.
[iv] Lai, C.? ?Chlorophyll:? the active factor in wheat sprout extract inhibiting the metabolic activation of carcinogens in vitro.?? Nutritional Cancer, 1978;1:19-21.
[v] Ziegler, R., et al.? ?Carotenoid intake, vegetables, and the risk of lung cancer among white men in New Jersey.??? American Journal of Epidemiology, 1986;123:1080-1093.
[vi] Pisani, P., et al.? ?Carrots, green vegetables and lung cancer:? a case-control study.?? International Journal of Epidemiology, 1986;15:463-468.
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