Powdered wheatgrass maybe next best option to real thing

In the book “Healthy at 100” by John Robbins, there is the story of American dentist Weston Price and wife Monica who traveled around the world in the 1930s to study and document 14 tribes that reportedly were on diets that seemed to provide not only nearly complete immunity from tooth decay, but also extraordinary resistance to illness. The couple also found that when some members of these tribes began to eat what Price called “the displacing foods of modern commerce,” the results were uniformly disastrous.

“While eating their native foods, they enjoyed robust, vibrant and nearly disease-free health, but when they began eating improved white flour, sugar, jams, jellies, cookies, condensed milk, canned vegetable oils, confections and other refined foods, their health rapidly deteriorated,” Robbins wrote, quoting Price’s investigation.

Though the 1930s may seem more than 80 years removed from our present day, the same diet-health relationship is still being encountered by members of modern society. Eating healthy and living well is still very much hinged on eating natural foods.

But what can we do if we live in cities and urban communities where natural foods are scarce? Some food supplement companies are probably making the next best thing to natural. An example is Easy Phamax Inc., the maker of powdered wheatgrass.

Vital role

“Because of the modern lifestyle, it is truly difficult to find fresh, natural, organic, chemical-free fruits and vegetables,” says Jennie Laureles-Julaton, VP for sales and marketing of Easy Pha-max Philippines. Julaton claims that its powdered wheatgrass is “high-quality and natural, in a convenient form.” She also says powdered wheatgrass “plays a vital role in ensuring that urbanites are taking their greens on a daily basis.”

Jenelyn Manalo, RND, product research and development officer of Easy Pha-max, says this brand of wheatgrass is grown and packed in Malaysia, where the manufacturing company Origin Foods Sdn Bhd is located.

“[The wheatgrass used] was not planted into the soil. It is cultivated using the indoor organic aeroponic cultivation, that ensures clean and bacteria-free wheatgrass. The company uses organic fertilizer that allows the wheatgrass roots to grow even in the absence of soil,” she says.

Free from pollutants

“Our wheatgrass is grown in an indoor system [with no soil], making it free from pollutants. The temperature, water and even sunlight is controlled to make the crops grow healthy at its most suitable condition,” Manalo adds.

The company claims its powdered wheatgrass is made of 100-percent wheatgrass leaves and roots with no added chemicals or preservatives.

On the eighth day of growth, the wheatgrass is cut and harvested. Then it is freeze-dried (to maintain the nutrients in wheatgrass), followed by micro-low temperature grinding to turn the wheatgrass into powder. Once it is in powdered form, it is immediately packed into individual sachets to preserve its freshness.

Incorporated in November 2007, Easy Pha-max is the official distributor of wheatgrass powder and wheatgrass-based health products in the Philippines.

And while powdered wheatgrass may truly be convenient and packed with health, nothing still beats the real thing, nutrition and health experts stress. Whenever you get the chance, buy fresh vegetables and fruits.