Is Frozen Wheatgrass
As Good As Fresh Wheatgrass?
It might even be better. Let me explain.
Freeze and defrost a whole tomato and it will look lot less appetising than it did. Clearly, something irreversible is going on. Plant cells are enclosed in a ridged cellulose cell wall. It is this cell wall that gives plants their overall rigidity - compare a carrot to a chicken breast. When we freeze fruit and vegetables the water they contain turns to ice and expands. This bursts the cells open and destroys the overall structure. Defrosted fruit and vegetables have lost their 'bite'. This is true for pretty much all fruit and vegetables, even the ones sold frozen in the supermarket.
Animal cells are enclosed in a flexible lipid membrane instead of a ridged cell wall and are much less susceptible to cell bursting.
What does this mean for the health value of frozen fruit and vegetables?
Broadly speaking, there are two reasons your Mum made you eat all your vegetables: fibre and vitamins.
Fibre, the indigestible part of your vegetable diet, is more or less unchanged by freezing even though is is the cellulose cell walls that burst that make up most of this fibre.
Vitamins are organic compounds required in our diet in tiny amounts because we can not synthesise them ourselves and need them for essential functions. The wikipedia entry on vitamins is well worth reading. Freezing does not directly affect vitamins. If you leave fruit and vegetables sitting around, many of the vitamins they contain will slowly become oxidised by free radicals. This is the reason that the anti-oxidant vitamins are good for your health, they get oxidised on your behalf.
The best time to eat vegetables is at the moment they are picked. From that point onward, they loose their anti-oxidant power. The rate of this loss is slowed by cooling. That is part of the reason that food stays fresh for longer when it is kept in the fridge and will last even longer when frozen. So, in terms of health benefit, if you don't have the opportunity to eat your vegetables on the day they are harvested, you are better off eating from frozen. Research on the question started a long time ago, Am Journal Public Health Nations Health, 1932 has been well documented in the media: by the BBC and lots of others, ivillage, explanations.
So, what does this mean for wheatgrass? The same rules apply. The fresher the better. Our wheatgrass is cut, juiced and rapidly frozen all at the same time. The wonderful antioxidant benefit of wheatgrass is protected by its freezing temperature. Once you receive the wheatgrass juice all you need to do is make sure that you keep it frozen until you are ready to drink it. All the other important health giving properties of wheatgrass juice like its chlorophyl and alkalinity ar perfectly preserved.
Didn't I say that frozen wheatgrass juice might even be better? To explain let me answer another question first: why isn't grass a natural part of our diet? Grass cells have a particularly tough cell wall. Try eating plain wheatgrass and a couple of days latter you will see that not much has happened to the grass while it was in your body. Humans lack the natural ability to extract the nutrients from grass.
I may not be a cow but I have wheatgrass juicer!
Ruminants, the specialised grass eaters, like cows and sheep have two tricks up their sleeves. Firstly, they regurgitate partially-digested grass (cud) to re-chew it over and over again. This slowly breaks down the extra tough cell wall in grasses to release the nutrients. And secondly, they cultivate specialised microbes in their fore-stomach, which produce enzymes that break down the cellulose cell wall.
A wheatgrass juicer does this job for us: it bursts the nutrients out of wheatgrass cells so that we can absorb them. But inevitably, some intact cells slip through. Freezing the wheatgrass juice unlocks these last cells. Having said that, this is probably only a minor benefit and not worth doing unless you have some other reason to freeze the wheatgrass.
Comments
Frozen Wheatgrass As Good As Fresh?
COOL! That's really awesome.
Austen
5:35pm 25 May 2008
I belive it is the same in many ways but they should really release a marmalade flavour.
Sam Curtis
12:58pm 18 September 2008
Hmm, does anyone have a more useful critique than Sam and Austin?
Tyson
10:34am 29 September 2008
One simple question. Since its frozen, when do you think it will be the best time to be served after defrost?
Teng
6:51am 07 October 2008
Teng, there is a very simple answer to your question. You should drink your wheatgrass within 15 minutes of defrosting. The sooner the better. The vitamins in the juice will slowly oxidise and loose their health value. This is the reason we snap freeze our wheatgrass immediatly after it is juiced.
Infact, we find that as an added bonus, still ice cold, freshly liquidised frozen wheatgrass juice tastes better than freshly juiced wheatgrass. We are starting to serve frozen wheatgrass as an option at the juice bar for this reason. It is particularly good for wheatgrass newbies.
Philippe (ADMIN)
3:42am 15 October 2008
I have seen two quite different shades of frozen wheat Grass ? I have bought the very dark green one from an eco shop in Finland 100% organic , so im hoping i have the right one! HELP.
Also is two cubes a day a good start? I take them as a shot, not adding anything else!
Tracey
3:06pm 18 April 2009
Is putting it in the freezer the same? Will it still be as good as freshly frozen? I have grown a lot at one time and don\&srquot;t want to waist it!
lionelh
10:35pm 13 June 2009
Hello,
I grow my own wheat grass and after I harvest my tray I put the grass in the fridge in an airtight bag and then take out what I need and juice it. Does this still keep the nutrients?
Kaiya
12:22am 19 July 2009
Why cant a person just juice grass, like on your lawn?
Sissy
7:57pm 31 August 2009
just realise there is a big space inbetween the article and title, any way just gotta love wheatgrass
Gisela
6:10pm 02 September 2009
Can I freeze my wheatgrass after I juice it? Will it lose any thing ?
Will
3:42pm 27 December 2009
Strange so many questions aren\&srquot;t being answered!
I drink wheatgrass,but am convinced some claims are hugely exaggerated,and some vendors are dishonest.
Buyer beware
Conkerz
11:04pm 14 March 2010
I drink wheatgrass the frozen cubes everyday one shot as I am a cancer patient. and I agree that some vendors are hugely exagerated and dishonest and this is sad as it has become a huge business.
Nasseem.
4:39pm 19 March 2010
The analysis of minerals, etc, in wheatgrass is extraordinary.
How much does one take, per day?
Presumably on an empty stomach?
I am undergoing chemotherapy and have been taking powdered barley grass, which I guess is a sister to wheatgrass. Certainly, Dr Hagiwara\\&srquot;s work features in both grasses.
Regards
Peter Lewin
10:41pm 27 August 2010
Do you use a slow or fast speed juicer for extraction in your factory?
Philip
8:17pm 13 September 2010
newbie to wheatgrass and somewhat perturbed that questions on this site havent been answered for over a year !!!!! ????
caroline
10:06am 17 October 2010
great article. shared it on facebook luzvida. we are a fresh and frozen wheatgrass company from buenos aires argentina. i have been trying to contact you through your contact link without success. we would like to propose page link ups for wheatgrass fans that travel. please write to us, info@luzvida.com.ar
mariela
8:32pm 24 August 2011
answer the questions or stop this option please
s g
10:39am 03 November 2011
Just curious, what about the enzymes? After all these are a major benefit of wheatgrass juice and I have heard that they are damaged by freezing the juice. Have you had any nutritional tests done before and after freezing to quantify the damage?
Rachel
12:43pm 11 November 2011
If you want answers get in touch with Aconbury www.aconbury.co.uk I have found them to be very helpful
Sally
1:02pm 11 November 2011
Even though wheatgrass is an exceptionnally great product for your health and brings a lot of benefits to the body, if the rest of our diet is high in fat and processed foods, the benefits will surely not be as rewarding....
Jocelyne
5:02pm 13 January 2012
I read that freezing wheatgrass does not kill of the enzymes but slow them down
Enzymes
Enzyme activity can lead to the deterioration of food quality. Enzymes present in animals, vegetables, and fruit promote chemical reactions before and after harvest, such as ripening. Freezing only slows the enzyme activity that takes place in foods. It does not halt them.
lulu
11:13pm 29 February 2012
good knowledge ON THIS SITE
Varinder Goel
1:22pm 23 March 2012
good knowledge ON THIS SITE
varindergoel330@gmail.com
Varinder Goel
1:24pm 23 March 2012
Thanks for all the info! Very helpful! LOVE WHEATGRASS!!
Rachel
5:18pm 24 April 2012
I use frozen wheat grass cubes, 2 a day, and I blend them in a \"green smoothie\" I blend them with raw spinach, raw Arugula, raw almonds, raw pumpkin seeds, aloe juice, water and blueberries....I figure when doing this, I am also combining raw enzymes too, so that may help with the assimilation of the nutrients in the wheat grass.
Christina
5:11pm 21 June 2012
Does wheatgrass make you blow off. If yes, how much would I need?
Pete
11:49am 23 July 2012
Your \"contact us\" link on the website does not work.
Neither does the payment page.
Peter Carey
7:36am 26 March 2013
It is important to be noticed that wheatgrass extract is highly nutritious, and it has aomost everything that is required to stay healthy. People use wheatgrass juice as rich source of Vitamins A, C & E, iron, chlorophyll, amino acids and minerals.
Jenny
3:42pm 30 April 2013
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