Chlorophyll

In this day and age it's common knowledge that eating green vegetables and sipping green juice is beneficial to overall health and wellbeing. These natural foods have been proven to contain the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and anti-oxidants that are the building blocks of vitality. But there is one compound in particular that makes the greenest of food the most powerful- chlorophyll. 

In the book Be Your Own Doctor by Ann Wigmore (one of the O.G.s of the natural health movement), there is compelling discussion about the importance of efficient digestion, elimination and detoxification by our bodies' organs, and how different types of foods either benefit or harm our beautifully-designed body systems. The most impactful compound for supercharging these processes and restoring health, even from the most dire of circumstances, has found to be chlorophyll. All green plants contain chlorophyll, but wheatgrass is one of the most potent and readily available forms.

Chlorophyll is a compound that packs "the energetic power of the sun" in concentrated form. Studies have shown that the molecular structure of this compound closely resembles hemoglobin, the red pigment in human blood. According to Dr. Birscher, cited in the book, chlorophyll increases function of the heart, vascular system, intestines, the uterus, and lungs. It also raises the basic nitrogen exchange and has stimulating properties, making it a "tonic which can be compared with no other".

Green juice in any form packs a chlorophyll punch and is a valuable way to nourish and heal the body from the inside out. 

Starting my morning with a green juice on an empty stomach, before breakfast, is an elevating way to start the day. Drinking one alongside a meal or as a snack is also an amazing way to energize, anytime. 

Rather than using a juicer, I use my NutriBullet blender to blend:

-A handful of spinach or any other greens on hand

-3 stalks of cut up celery

-1/2 sliced cucumber

-1/4 of a green apple

-1 inch of ginger root (optional) 

-And a bit of water,

And then strain into a glass through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth. This takes five minutes or less. Treating myself to a pure wheatgrass shot is an occasional treat that I feel compelled to include more regularly in my diet after reading this book!

Building health from the inside out using the wisdom and perfect chemistry of plants allows us to prevent health problems before they begin, and heal many existing problems without turning to pharmaceuticals and expensive or extreme measures. Listening to the natural wisdom of the earth, we can truly take our health destiny into our own hands and learn to "be our own doctors".