Question for Nora Lenz

December 29, 2003

Hi Nora,

I am just sure that at one of Loren's talks he told us that we do not have

the enzyme to digest wheatgrass or any grasses and therefore are wasting our

time by taking the grasses. Do you remember this and if this is so can you tell

me more. I keep reading and hearing people saying to drink lots of wheatgrass

but every time I tried it I almost threw up. It was soapy and bitter tasting. I

also remember Loren saying if we taste something that is bitter to us then we

are not meant to eat it. I for one think that makes a lot of sense and am now

very pleased that I no longer feel I have to juice or consume any bitter greens

since there are so many sweet ones to choose from. Thanks for any info about

this. Breezi

December 30, 2003

Hi Breezi,

There are lots of people on the list who can answer this question, but I'll

start the discussion with my understanding. Grass isn't something our bodies

are adapted to eat in its natural form because of its dense cellulose content.

We can digest it if we juice it, but it is my considered opinion (and that of

many others) that anything that has to be processed in order to be digested

isn't natural human food. Juicing in general isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Our bodies need nutrients the way they are found in nature, not in unnaturally

concentrated, fractionated forms. Additionally, since we've identified so few

of the nutrients found in foods, who's to say we aren't missing really important

stuff when

we remove the fiber from a food and drink only the juice.

Wheatgrass juice is touted as a " curative " or " healing " food, which is a

flawed concept in itself since only the body is capable of healing. It is

generally advocated by people who seek to correct health problems with treatment

methodologies. Wheatgrass has lots of nutrients in it, but it also has

substances that are not good for us. That's why it tastes bitter. For a food

to be truly suitable for our consumption, ALL of its component parts must be

good for us and it must appeal to all our senses. The relative nutrient content

of a food is not appropriate criteria by which to judge its fitness for

consumption. Further, wheatgrass is not pleasant to eat in its natural state.

Even if we were hungry and it

was the only food available, we'd eat very little. If we knew nothing about the

pseudo-science of nutrition and we had both grass and fruit available, we'd walk

on the grass and go straight to the fruit. Yeah, grass is good! Good to walk

on, or sit on while we're eating real food.

All of this not to say that someone who is mineral deficient might not

benefit from consuming wheatgrass juice. There is always a trade off, however,

because the substances in it that cannot be used by our bodies have to be

eliminated. Anyone wanting to consume it should do so in very small amounts, so

as to not overwhelm the body with these substances. My opinion is that if you

want to add minerals to your diet, why not eat foods that are easy to digest and

don't require a trade-off of any kind. Lettuce and celery are good examples.

Personally, I share your opinion of the deeper greens. I used to force

myself to eat them when I was first transitioning but then when I started

hearing that they are not appropriate food, I gave them up with great relief.

By that point I was starting to feel nauseous after drinking green juice, a sign

that my body was getting more sensitive to inappropriate foods.

Hope this helps!

Nora

bobandbreezi wrote:

> Hi Nora,

>

> I am just sure that at one of Loren's talks he told us that we do not have