In 1943, Dr. George O. Kohler, published research in The Journal of Biological Chemistry that substantiated
Dr. Charles F. Schnabel's earlier research showing how all nutritional values build in the tissue of cereal grasses as they approach the jointing stage, and then more quickly lose their nutrient density as the joint moves up the stem and grows in size.
Pines Harvests at Jointing Stage
At Pines we point customers to this research as proof that development of nutritional concentration in wheatgrass and other cereal grasses supports the later development of the grain. In other words, cereal grass is to grain what the the placenta is to the embryo in mammals. Because of that stored nutrition, wheatgrass and other cereal grasses at that once-a-year stage are one of nature's most nutrient dense green foods.
Kohler Confirms a Decade of Research by Schnabel
Both Kohler's and Schnabel's Research is Discussed in this free
online book Dr. Kohler's research confirms the importance of harvesting cereal grasses before the joint forms a stem. Once the stem forms, the nutrient density rapidly drops. Thee stored nutrition goes toward the growth of the seed as it moves up the stem. Besides the nutritional concentration, Kohler, Schnabel and other scientists discovered other elements. They found a growth and reproductive factor in the unjointed cereal grass and called it, "The Grass Juice Factor". They determined this factor is abundant in cereal grass before jointing. The scientists believed this factor caused the significant improvements in health in all animals tested, including humans. They found the factor quickly drops after jointing. In fact, when wheatgrass is harvested after the joint starts it's journey, the flag leaves that grow off the stems are not wheatgrass at all. Rather, when a cereal plant is past the jointing stage, it is not cereal grass. A more description is "a green stem with flag leaves" rather than cereal grass.
Growing It Taller Makes More Money but Lowers Nutrition
This picture shows the difference between wheatgrass harvested at the stage Pines harvests it, which is the most nutritious point, compared with when most producers harvest their cereal grasses.
The picture on the left is at the stage Kohler and Schnabel documented as the correct time to harvest for maximum green food nutrition. The picture on the right is when some other companies, except Pines, harvest their wheatgrass. Please look closely at the bottom of each stem The wheatgrass became dried, brown and literally drained of nutrition. In the picture on the left, the true wheatgrass at the jointing stage is lush and green.
You Can See How Cheating Results in Dead Cereal Grass
Here is another view of the wheat plant at the post-jointing stage. Again, please notice that the wheatgrass at the bottom of each stem is no longer green.
The wheatgrass at the base of each stem has become dry and drained of nutrition. The stored nutrition in the wheatgrass, which took 200 about days to build through a winter of often freezing temperatures, went to make the embryonic seed head (the joint) that is growing inside each stem. If you split open the stem a week after Pines harvests, you can actually see the grain embryo. It has quickly gone from tiny, nearly microscopic in size at the stage when Pines harvests, to a rapidly developing embryonic seed head inside each stem at the stage when other companies harvest.
The Joint of Real Cereal Grass is Almost Microscopic
Here is a picture of one of the stems opened up to expose the embryonic seed head that has been developing thanks to the nutritional concentration that was in the wheatgrass.
As the embryonic seed head becomes larger, the stem develops a wide spot. You can see the wide spot in the picture on the left. In the picture on the right, the stem was opened to expose the seed head. It had developed to about one half inch in length. The reason the seed head grew so quickly resulted from stored concentrated nutrition that was in the wheatgrass.
True Wheatgrass Contains Low Gluten
True wheatgrass contains is
gluten free by FDA standards. Obviously if a company allows the seed head to develop and move up within a stem, there is going to be gluten present. Some companies solve this gluten problem and excess stem fiber by using aspiration to blow off the stems along with the gluten contained in them, leaving only the flag leaves. Even so, flag leaves are not true wheatgrass. Kohler's research showed that although the flag grass does have some nutritional value, it is not nearly as nutritionally dense as true wheatgrass. Pines specializes in harvesting only naturally gluten-free true wheatgrass. We do not have to aspirate the stem to get rid of the gluten because when we harvest there is no stem! When we harvest there is also no gluten, and we frequently test to make sure.
Kohler's Data Confirms Schnabel's Earlier Research
The data summary in the charts that follow is from the research published in 1943 by Dr. Kohler. It confirmed Dr. Schnabel's a decade earlier. The data from both scientists showed the importance of harvesting wheatgrass and other cereal grasses before or at pointing. That stage occurs before the growth of the seed head. Before jointing, cereal grass builds nutrition that will be used to make seed. For the highest nutritional density, the harvest of cereal grass must occur before the nutrition goes to make grain. For the research data below, Kohler used spring wheat, which reaches the jointing stage at about 30 days. Schnabel for the obtained for winter wheat. Winter wheat reaches the jointing stage at about 200 days in the spring. That occurs after a winter of very slow growth in often-freezing temperatures. Here is a summary of the data from the Kohler research:
Harvesting Past Jointing Stage Results in Poor Color
The picture below shows the color of seven products compared to the color Pines Wheat Grass. Pines always harvests at the jointing stage when nutrition is high and color is vibrant. Pines packages in amber glass bottles with special metal caps. That allows us to
remove the oxygen from each bottle. Greens packaged in
plastic tubs and packets easily oxidize. Some of the poor color below may also result from inappropriate packaging.
Find Pines Products
The USDA says that 9 out of 10 people do not eat enough veggies. Pines offer servings that are easy to consume and that cost considerably less per serving than other greens. You can find Pines' green superfoods at a store near you with our
locator. You can also use our
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