America is the wealthiest nation in the world, but it is also one of the unhealthiest. Americans spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, computer software or new cars. Every month more than 90 percent of American children eat at McDonald’s; the average American eats three hamburgers and four orders of French fries every week. The majority of U.S. adults are overweight, nearly one in five are daily smokers, and one in five consume at least five alcoholic drinks in a day at least once in a year, according to the U.S. government’s national health survey.
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Kevin Haas ’05 has not accepted Western medicine for nearly three years. Advil? “Nope.” Tylenol? “I think not.” Robitussin? “No way, man.” DayQuill? “Definitely not.”
Is it isolation? Has Haas simply kept himself from the cold, the flu, sore throats, coughs, and headaches by isolating himself from the world around him, from people, from college life, from cities with drugstores? To put it bluntly: No. Haas is your average college student who studies hard, parties hard, and stays up until all hours of the night. Except for one thing: he has discovered the all-natural power of wheatgrass juice, and just this year started one of the nation’s first ever Wheatgrass Co-op’s here at Wesleyan.
“In my junior year in high school, I had a brutal sore throat for about a week,” explains Haas. “I tried cough syrup and throat medicine, but none of that stuff worked. My older brother Brian suggested I check out wheatgrass, so I went to a health foods store, gargled some for a few seconds, and my sore throat was gone and I felt a rush of energy.”
Ever since, Haas, who hails from Broken Arrow, OK, has been spreading the news about the power of wheatgrass to many of his friends at school. He started growing it at Wesleyan last year because there was no place to buy fresh wheatgrass in Middletown. He found that it was so easy to grow and so healthy that he wanted to share it with everyone.
With the state of American health as bleak as it is, the Wesleyan Wheatgrass Co-op gives hope to those wishing to pursue a healthier lifestyle. Wheatgrass juice is perhaps the most nutritious and cleansing juice there is. Fresh squeezed wheatgrass juice is easily digested; its nutrients and enzymes are quickly absorbed into the blood stream, providing an instant boost of energy and nourishment. One ounce of wheatgrass is equivalent to over two pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, and is loaded with natural vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, and chlorophyll that helps rid your body cells of harmful toxins.
Chlorophyll (wheatgrass) rebuilds the bloodstream, helps purify the liver, and increases the function of the heart, the vascular system, the intestines, the uterus and the lungs. It reduces the effect of carbon monoxide since chlorophyll increases hemoglobin production. Gargling wheatgrass can also eliminate toothaches and help cure sore throats.
Haas does stress, however, that wheatgrass is not a cure-all, and cannot be a substitute for taking good care of your body. “Eating well, exercise, and staying healthy are essential,” says Haas. “Wheatgrass certainly enhances health, but it doesn’t do everything.”
After returning from a semester abroad in Italy, Haas started the Co-op this January in his house at 84 High Street, and it already has over 20 members. Monthly dues of $5 cover the cost of growing supplies—including trays, seeds, kelp, and organic soil, as well as juicing materials. “Our goal,” explains Haas, “is to share wheatgrass with as many people as possible. We want have to wheatgrass ready for juicing for every member of the Co-op every single day.”
Andreas Mendez-Penate ’05, a member of the Wheatgrass Co-op, agrees wholeheartedly. “It’s amazing to get so many people involved in the growing process. I tend to have trouble taking good care of myself, but this semester, wheatgrass has kept me healthy and kept me going.”
“I just took a shot of wheatgrass,” explains David Rood-Ojalvo ’05, another member of the Co-op, “and I feel like Superman.”
Without a doubt, this is some heady grass.
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