WHEATGRASSGREENHOUSE
MICHAEL'S UPDATE AND BLOG
Hi everyone!! COMING SOON: The GRAND re-opening of the new VIBRANT RETREAT CENTER! Location to be in the Northeast USA. 1-3 week programs available, also 3-10 day cleanse options. Don't forget to add your name to my mailing list on the home page for details, dates and programs to be offered. See you there soon!
I will stay true to what Ann Wigmore brought to light, the Earth, the Oxygen and getting leafy greens back in the American Diet. Wheatgrass / GREEN JUICE are the “Life-Blood” of any good cleanse and the most complete food on the planet today! You may contact me via email at: wheatgrassking@yahoo.com (be gentle with me as I am the one who is answering all my own emails right now) Keep checking this page and the Calendar page for updates and shows where you can come say "hello" to me!!! I look forward to meeting anyone that has spent the time reading all of this on my website!! =)
MY 1st BLOG
Hello green juice world! Michael from Hippocrates Health Institute here. It would be my pleasure to inform people of GREENS and how amazing they are!
First of all, allow myself…to ...introduce....myself. My name is Michael Bergonzi, Greenhouse / Health Expo Manager / 2 time Health Educator Director / 3 time Program Consultant Director at Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, FL for the past nine years. My career in the field of alternative health & wheatgrass began at the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego, CA back in 1990. Growing grass for a living and not ending up in jail seemed like a pretty cool job! Ok, I'll take it! Of course, the cost per one ounce is $1.00 rather than $350.00! (that was for all of our 'pot head' readers, relax, breathe, it was just a joke!!!) =)
Most people now a days have at least heard of wheatgrass juice if not actually tasted it themselves from a juice bar or health food store. (There are always some people that enjoy drinking it, but no one ever hangs around those people!) The taste of wheatgrass is not always a pleasant one and we are told that it must be our bodies that are detoxing. However, that is not always the case. You are just getting some BAD GRASS, MAN! =) There are many different ways that wheatgrass will not taste sweet. The most common is the age of the grass and being harvest too late. Another is lack of water on a daily basis and the thrid reason could be too much sunlight. For example, as a wheatgrass grower, I would bring a tray of grass to the health food store, ready to juice. If they juiced it that day, it would not taste at all bitter or cause that nausea feeling. The grass would actually taste very sweet and go down smooth. But, they choose instead to put it in the store window for a display for people to see it, and now it stays in the window for two more days in which the sun shines on it, which it should never. They haven’t watered it, which they should everyday, and now, that same sweet tasting wheatgrass has aged almost 80 years in two days. It’s kind of like people, the older it gets, the more bitter it becomes! =) Wheatgrass should be harvested when a second blade becomes visible, it is always better to harvest the grass sooner rather than later, and then the entire tray needs to be cut at the same time. It may then be stored in the refrigerator for up to one / two weeks without losing it’s value and taste. Be sure your fridge is set on very cold. Approx. 40-42 degrees. Much of this next part is in my personal artical in the Hippocrates Magazine entitled, "GREEN FOODS" volume 30 issue 3.
Now, let’s talk about the ‘greens’ on the planet Earth. First of all, everyone can agree that we, as humans, are mammals. Most of the mammals on this planet are living on leafy greens. In fact, we are one of the few mammals that still eat meat and the only mammal that cook our food. To say that protein only comes from eating meat is an uneducated statement. Sprouts, sprouted beans and GREENS are the best source of proteins for our bodies. Think about it on a bigger scale. How is it possible that most every mammal (and you all agreed that WE humans are mammals) can live on eating just leafy greens? Elk, moose, deer, giraffes, gorillas, elephants, horses, etc… and don’t forget the one that WE get most of our food here in the USA from, the COW!!! Ahhhhhhh… and here is the problem now a days. You see, in the past, when you lived on red meat and dairy products, in-directly you lived on GRASS. The cow was eating the grass; we were eating the cow. It just makes sense. We were getting the EARTH in our diets. But, today, that is NOT the case. Most cows are now trough fed, mostly grains, which are making their systems too acid base, and are having to be shot full of antibiotics, steroids and of course hormones. They go over to the trough, eat as much as they can, and now want to take a nap because they are ‘full.’ (Ringing true to us as humans these days who drive through the fast food joint, meaning WE are being trough fed too! Staying full, getting tired and staying sick.) A cow taking a nap because it’s too full? Are you kidding me? So, the problem now is our red meat and dairy aren’t what they used to be. We are not getting the GRASS (green / earth) in our diet any longer. Look, I have been in this field now for 24 years, too long to judge anyone for what they choose to eat. I just want to educate people on “what’s simple is TRUE.” Get the Earth back in your diet, more oxygen back into your cells and exercise once a day. (yoga, walking, stretching, etc…)
OK. Is any of this making sense yet? Let’s go to the first thing your body needs to live. Before food, before water, you need OXYGEN!!! Everyone reading this, please pause for a moment and take a DEEP BREATH… Count to three on the inhale and three on the exhale. Wasn’t that good? Let’s face it, the only people that really focus on breath these days, unless you’re into yoga, thai-chi or meditation, are smokers! =( Personally, I smoked for 10 years, and I know why I felt the ‘need’ for a cigarette, because it would relax me. Exactly, what are you doing when you smoke? (You now have to leave your job and go outside the building. Amen to that law, so you get a bit of stress relief too.) You’re BREATHING DEEP, for the first time all day. I am NOT encouraging smoking, however, I am encouraging breathing. Try it without the “stick.” Walk away from people, your job, etc… and go somewhere, by yourself, and spend 5 minutes breathing deep. It’s amazing how much calmer you will be after doing this.
Now, let’s take a moment and go back to how ‘wheat’ grass came to light. A woman by the name of Ann Wigmore founded Hippocrates in Boston approx. 50 years ago. She actually healed her own health issues by chewing on ‘lawn’ grass. That’s right; I said lawn grass, not wheatgrass. She began chewing on it and got sick for many weeks, but stayed with it till she eventually started feeling better and better. She learned that the grass / greens were the most complete foods on the planet, as well as having other healing properties. The wheat seed was chosen because of its sweeter, more palatable taste. (Her cat picked it out.) She also learned that the green / chlorophyll will increase the hemoglobin in the blood which then distributes oxygen to every cell in our body. Take another deep breath! Remember that oxygen is a good thing? Ann started this because of watching the animals do it, as well as a statement that was made to her as a child, “Instinct guided creatures, left to them selves, do not make mistakes.” (I LOVE that one.) Most of us chewed on grass as children, if it was around. Why then and not now? We lost sight of our instinct. Here’s a FYI on oxygen content on the planet these days: 100 years ago, there was over 30% and now it is at an average of 15%. The most out there, if you live in a lush, green area, is 21%. However, in downtown major cities it is down to 9% or less. Does anyone remember ‘smog alerts’? I do, but not since 1990, when they stopped telling people. Fact: Oxygen in the cells means less chance for cancer to survive. GREENS = Chlorophyll = increased hemoglobin = more OXYGEN in your cells. GET IT NOW? Don’t forget, fresh wheatgrass juice is the best way to FEEL a difference. Drinking 2 ounces / day on an empty stomach is optimum.
In closing, remember these two simple words: “Stay Present" and one of my personal favorite sayings, "Don't let food define your happiness". Take some deep breaths, many times each day as I get to do here in the greenhouse, breathing in approx. 30% oxygen everyday! I can't sleep at night, so send me emails to give me something to do!! =P For questions on growing your own wheatgrass or sprouts, click around all the links on this website and I am positive, you will find your answers or send me an email anytime. Just go to the 'contact us' link at the top of this page. Enjoy your time on my personal website!! Thanks for stopping by... Michael Bergonzi
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