Unlike most plants, barley grass provides all nine essential amino acids (those which your body can’t produce). Barley grass is a powerful antioxidant that is believed to assist the body kill cancer cells and overcome many different ailments, including acne and ulcers. An antioxidant called alpha-tocopherol succinate – a potent relative of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) may produce much of the plant’s anti-tumor action, according to Allan L. Goldstein, Ph.D., head of the biochemistry department at George Washington University’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., who has studied barley grass. Though its mechanism is unknown, alpha-tocopherol succinate seems to inhibit several kinds of cancer, including leukemia, brain tumors, and prostate cancer. According to Yoshihide Hagiwara, M.D., a researcher in Japan and author of the book “Green Barley Essence” (Keats, 1985), barley grass helps cure skin diseases and ulcers by promoting the growth of new cells. It’s not at all known exactly how this happens, although barley grass has scary levels of chlorophyll, an antibacterial green pigment.

In an experiment at George Washington University, Goldstein and his colleagues exposed leukemic cancer cells to dehydrated barley grass extract. The extract killed virtually all of them. Encouraged, the researchers then subjected brain cancer cells to the extract. It eradicated 30 to 50 percent of these cells. In a third trial, the extract inhibited the growth of three types of prostate cancer cells by 90 to 100 percent. In Japan, where barley grass extract is popular, there is anecdotal evidence that it helps the body heal from many illnesses. In one informal study, a Japanese dermatologist observed several 7.5 patients with skin diseases ranging from melanosis (darkening on the skin) to eczema. The patients who took barley grass extract healed faster than did those who did not. They also noticed improvements in appetite and bowel regularity. For optimal health and disease prevention, Hagiwara advises taking 2 to 6 g of powder – dissolved in water or juice to generate a green drink – two or three times a day. To treat skin or stomach ailments, you may need to require 12 g of powder 2 or 3 times a day. Expect improvements within three months. pHion Green Superfood not only contains barley grass, but also contains other favorable grasses like wheatgrass, kamut grass, oat grass and alfalfa. Most of these grasses work synergistically together to help balance pH.

——————————————————————————– Source: The Acid-Alkaline Diet for Optimum Health by Christopher Vasey, N.D