"She then drinks the stuff. Is that rejuvelac? Is that as good as drinking wheatgrass? "

Yes that is rejuvelac. They are different beasts. Rejuvelac is fermeted which creates potentially good bacteria for your gut along with a good dose of vitamins. I prefer saurkraut. Brian Clement, Director of Hippocrates Health Institute conducted some tests on rejuvelac and found that 40% of the time it contained beneficial flora and 60% of the time harmful bacteria were present. No follow up testing was done but should be because this could have been due to contaminated seeds or environment.

Rejuvelac
from Ann Wigmore Institute Kitchen.


2 cups soft wheat berries

1.Soak in purified water 8 hrs or overnight.
2.Drain, rinse, then allow to sprout for 2 days, without rinsing.
3. When white sprout tails begin to show, add 6 cups purified
water, cover jar with cheesecloth, put in a warm place
where it can be exposed to at least 70 degree temp for
2 days.
4. THEN pour off, drink or refridgerate or use "rejuvelac" in a recipe.
5. The leftover seeds can be used one more time, with 4c. purified water, will culture in 1 day. Then seeds can be composted, or thrown to birds.

Caveats-
do not drink soak water. Seeds Must sprout.


WHEAT GRASS


"Be Your own Doctor" by Ann Wigmore is a comprehensive book on the health-giving properties and value of Wheat Grass and we recommend it to all those who are interested in "healing themselves". (See Recommended Reading).

Wheat grass and / or its juice is a specific food which can assist in fighting a whole range of chronic ailments - from simple anaemia to leukamia; from a simple skin rash to skin cancer, from worms to ulcers. It can be chewed slowly or drunk as a juice.

How to grow wheat-grass

1. Soak adequate quantity of unpolished wheat-grain overnight in water in any container (after cleaning and washing it thoroughly).
2. Keep a few pots (preferably 7 to 9 pots- one to be sown each day of the week) ready with ordinary soil. Do not add any chemicals or fertilizers. Cow-dung or goat-dung may be added as manure if needed.
3. Spread the soaked wheat on the surface of the soil so that the grains are touching one another.
4. Sprinkle a thin layer of soil on the wheat grains .
5. Cover the pot with a newspaper to provide darkness which helps the sprouting and also to prevent the birds from eating the wheat.
6. Keep the pot in a balcony or a windowsill or a covered verandah.
7. Next day uncover the pot and spray on some water and again cover it with the newspaper.
8. Repeat step 7 everyday until you see green leaves sprouting through the soil. Stop covering the pot as soon as the green leaves appear.
9. Everyday water the pot lightly but adequately depending upon the season and also depending upon the pots used - whether they have holes or not. Beautiful green blades of grass keep growing in height everyday.
10. As soon as the grass is about 8 inches tall ( which usually happens around the 7th to the 9th day from the date of sowing) harvest the grass by cutting with a clean pair of scissors about 1/2" above the surface of the soil.
11. The harvested wheat grass is now ready to be chewed or juiced or stored.
12. A second round of wheat grass will again grow in about 6 to 7 days with daily watering as before.
13. After the second harvest from the same pot, remove all the soil in the pot onto a newspaper- breakup all the roots and mix them with the soil. Add a bit of cowdung to this to rejuvenate the soil.
14. The soil is now ready for reuse for a fresh sowing of wheat.

Choice of pots

Clay pots with or without holes can be used. However we find plastic basins of about 6 to 8 inches diameter and about 3 inches deep ideal. These can be filled upto 2 1/2 inches with soil. Also trays made from wood or plastic or steel may be used.

How much wheat to sow everday?

For a family of 4 healthy persons, about 100 grams can be sown every day in a new pot or basin so that a continous supply is available. 7 to 9 pots would ensure a fresh harvest every day of the week.

For a person who is sick the amount of wheat required to be sown everyday is about 50 to 100 grams. Again 7 to 9 pots growing at any given time would ensure one pot maturing for cutting everyday (since it takes about 7 to 9 days to get the harvest).

How to store wheat grass

The wheat grass can be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic container or a good quality cellophane bag for about 3 days. but the juice must be drunk as soon as juiced orwithin1/2 hour of juicing.

How to juice wheat grass

Please do not use electric blenders for juicing as the rapid blade movement causes oxidation of the chlorophyll and renders it useless.

A manual mince maker maybe used or you can use any stone crushing method available in the home for making chutneys.

Add a little water while grinding or pounding- strain the juice through a clean cloth into a cup or a glass. Grind again adding water - repeat this process until the remaining grass is almost white. Do not throw the leftover grass. Put it in your plants as manure.

How to use wheat grass

1. For a healthy person - a good mouthful (fairly well stuffed) and more if you wish, should be taken early morning and chewed until the remaining cud in the mouth is almost white. This can be eaten or thrown out. (Constipated people are advised to eat the cud as it provides roughage for a better bowel movement).

If being taken in juice form, a healthy person can take 1/4 to 1/3 of a glass everyday. but remember that the juice must be drunk immediately on juicing.
2. For a sick person - 1/4 to 1/2 glass of wheat grass juice is required to start with. If possible this should be spread over 2 to 3 times during the day - the important thing of course being to drink the juice soon after juicing.

The quantity should be gradually increased to about 8 ounces a day (approx one glass full).
3. Wheat can be crushed thoroughly and applied externally on Cancers and Ulcers as a poultice.
4. Wheat grass juice can be used as a rectal implant for cleansing and rejuvenating. Use an enema syringe to implant the juice in the rectum. Try and retain it for 20 minutes.
5. Wheat grass juice is also effective as an eye-bath (using an eye-cup).

How does wheat grass help our system:

Wheat Grass is almost like a blood transfusion. It is a wonderful cleanser and rejuvenator which means it helps your body to throw out toxins that have built up over the years and helps it replace old dead cells with new cells. These are the two essential factors that cause disease in our bodies and which wheat grass sets right.

In chronic ailments including cancer, there may be an attempt by the body to throw out accumulated toxins which could result in diarrhoea or vomiting. Both these conditions are to be WELCOMED. If this does happen, cut down on the quantity of wheat grass juice being consumed to half and use it diluted. Gradually begin to increase the quantity as the body begins to handle the removal of toxins in a more gentle way.

Wheat grass seva can become an important part of all our lives. Let us grow wheat grass in abundance and make it available to chronically sick patients especially those suffering from cancer, AIDS., asthma and kidney failure.