Benefits & Side Effects of Wheatgrass & its Usage

Have you been watching your diet in the past few months but looking out for something more? Looks like your fitness goals need a jumpstart to keep you going strong. Well, the best thing you can do is to add superfoods like wheatgrass to your diet. Indeed, wheatgrass is popular, not only to lose weight but also to maintain your fitness levels. Let us understand the benefits of wheatgrass, along with the side effects and the usage methods for best results.

The grass of the common wheat plant is sold as juice and powder concentrate. Wheatgrass can also be ingested as a tablet and it is sold in a number of supplements and beauty products. Wheatgrass is rich in nutrients like vitamins A, B, and C, as well as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium.

Wheatgrass is also rich in protein, along with all the amino acids. In addition to all of this, wheatgrass is rich in chlorophyll, enzymes, antioxidants, and beta carotene. All this makes wheatgrass a very essential food. Superfoods, like wheatgrass can take your health and fitness goals to an altogether a different level.

The benefits of wheatgrass are numerous, and range from skincare benefits to gastrointestinal.

• Skincare Benefits of Wheatgrass – Good blood circulation is necessary for your skin and hair. Daily intake of wheatgrass gets the oxygen moving and in turn, keeps your skin clearer, and your nails and hair looking healthier. If your skin has been cut at any point, wheatgrass is a great cover up for the wound. Its anti-bacterial properties also help clean the wound. It is also a good fix for a sunburn, as it helps facilitate the healing properties of skin. The antioxidants in wheatgrass help slow down aging making you look younger; which is probably the most popular benefit of wheatgrass.
• Wheatgrass Replenishes your Body’s Oxygen – Chlorophyll is the life-giving molecule in plants which facilitates the production of energy from sunlight. Wheatgrass contains high amounts of chlorophyll, which means that daily intake of this food helps to oxygenize the body, offering you a great benefit of feeling fresher and healthy.
• Wheatgrass Helps in Weight Loss – One of the major benefits of wheatgrass is that it can be your best buddy on your journey to losing weight and getting a strong body. Being a nutrient-rich superfood that it is, shots of wheatgrass in the morning, or during the day, help control your appetite. The control of the appetite means that you eat slightly lesser at mealtimes, meaning you take in fewer calories. Wheatgrass is a low-calorie supplement full of vitamins, iron and magnesium.
• Wheatgrass Aids Digestion – Another benefit of wheatgrass is that being high in fiber, it helps regulate bowel movements. Any problems of constipation are a thing of the past with a regular intake of wheatgrass. The plant also helps improve the digestive function and stimulates metabolism. Because of the high fiber, as well as vitamin B, wheatgrass also keeps you feeling full. The high amounts of vitamin B in wheatgrass also help in keeping the lining of the digestive tract in good condition. Additionally, the plant stabilizes blood lipid levels, which fights high cholesterol.
• Bone Health Benefits of Wheatgrass – High acidic levels in your body are a surefire way for your bones to give out early. Acidic levels of the body rise with meat and dairy-rich diets. Wheatgrass has high alkaline levels, which helps neutralize the body’s acidity, and strengthen your bones. This is another benefit of wheatgrass, in which it helps prevent and heal arthritis. It also helps prevent tooth decay, and in turn, bad breath.
• Wheatgrass Helps to Keep the body young – Along with vitamins and amino acids, antioxidants, and chlorophyll, wheatgrass also contains enzymes which break down the free radical that normally accumulate in the body over time. These free radicals are the toxins that slowly break down your immune system, and start making your skin and eyes look old too. Wheatgrass helps to prevent that. An important benefit of wheatgrass is that it flushes the body of all its toxins, helps purifying the liver along with it, improves blood sugar problems, and maintains blood sugar levels.

Wheatgrass is a powerful plant, and in no way should be consumed without restriction. It is packed with nutrients and enzymes and any wrongful use of it could be highly detrimental to the body.

An important side effect of wheatgrass is that consuming too much of wheatgrass can cause nausea. The detoxification facilitated by wheatgrass may be a bit much to take and it leads to expelling of waste by mouth. This is something the body adapts to rather quick, so a regular diet of wheatgrass is encouraged, despite the nausea.
Consumption of a large amount of wheatgrass is also associated with headaches, which is another possible side effect of wheatgrass. This along with dizziness go hand in hand with the rapid cleansing that your insides are going through. Too much wheatgrass in too short a time can lead to diarrhea which is yet another common side effect of wheatgrass.

Some people have found themselves to be allergic to wheatgrass. Even though it is completely natural and gluten-free, some bodies reject the plant altogether. That can be another side effect of wheatgrass. If you find yourself sensitive to wheat generally, avoid wheatgrass.

Wheatgrass is available in the market as juices and powders. The correct usage of wheatgrass may vary from person to person. For a beginner, one teaspoonful of wheatgrass powder in a glass of water every day is a decent start. If that is too much, reduce the amount of powder used. Half a glass of readymade juice works for the beginner as well. For children, start them at lower dosages. Screen their effects cautiously, as some younger children may not be ready for wheatgrass.

The powder can be consumed as is, but is not advised, as it may be too reactive. The usage of wheatgrass on an empty stomach is known to show best results. So, it is better if you take wheatgrass in the morning or as advised by your physician.

Wheatgrass may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but slowly incorporating it into your diet, with proper usage can help you reap the benefits of wheatgrass and not get affected by the side effects of it.