Okay, first to put a little MA angle on what I am about to post, if it actually did what the video says, wheatgrass would be great for fighters.
Check this out:
YouTube- Health Benefits of INS Wheatgrass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b6fwCE7O80&feature=grec_index)
I am stumped as to whether this video is a spoof or whether it was made as a real advertisement. I couldn't contain myself when I saw how they measured alkalinity.
Anyway, I thought this would be good food for thought in this forum as this post isn't serious enough to go in PT, and some discussion of "superfoods" would be interesting, I think.
I tried wheatgrass a couple times, and I don't mind the taste, but its annoying how the aftertaste stays with you for like 3 hours. Also, its damned expensive so I have resolved to just try and eat more veggies or have a V8 instead. According to wikipedia, wheatgrass juice is about on par with spinach juice in terms of nutritional value, but some claim that the chlorophyll and alkalinity of the wheat grass have extra effects.
One thing I think about when I view internet material on wheat grass is how expensive it is, and how much money can be made sprouting and selling it. It at least appears that way. Some other things I think about is the cost of harvesting new seeds. All the videos show how to grow grass from seeds then throw out the roots after you harvested grass for juice, but why not complete the cycle and regrow the grass to full germination again?
Petter
8/19/2010 1:47am,
I am stumped as to whether this video is a spoof or whether it was made as a real advertisement. I couldn't contain myself when I saw how they measured alkalinity.
On the one hand, I’m tempted to agree with you that it’s got to be a spoof. It “contains more alkaline” than any other food, “66.4 MHz”? Alkaline is not even a noun, let alone a substance; if it were a substance, frequency would not be a proper measure…and so on. Then they claim that chlorophyll is similar to hæmoglobin. (?!) It contains “13 out of the 17 kinds of amino acids”. (In actual fact, of course, there are more than 17 amino acids.)
On the other hand, it contains precisely the sort of idiocy that certain parts of the alt med movement just eat up, like the benefit of eating food with unspecified “enzymes”, the lunacy about “acidic bodies”, or the old favourite, “strengthening the immune system”.
According to wikipedia, wheatgrass juice is about on par with spinach juice in terms of nutritional value, but some claim that the chlorophyll and alkalinity of the wheat grass have extra effects.Some people think (and I’m not kidding, though I wish I were) that an “acidic body” is the cause of cancer or all disease. Personally, I don’t see what eating shitloads of alkaline food is supposed to do for you, except to raise the pH of your stomach. (Of course, it’s acidic for a reason. Did you know that eating too many antacids can cause nasty infections by allowing bacteria to pass through your stomach into your gut?)
As for chlorophyll, I’ve no idea what that’s supposed to do. Some people talk about it as though its benefits were a matter of course (photosynthesis! energy!), but unless you circulated intact chloroplasts throughout your body, and then provided some sort of interior illumination, like little full-spectrum lights in your arteries or transparent skin… Yeah, I don’t know.
pokeroo
8/19/2010 12:33pm,
The other "superfoods" which I find receive a lot of hype seem to be the açai berry, the goji berry, matcha matcha green tea, and the goji berry. It may be true that these foods are jammed with vitamins, but they're given the title "superfood" because they are said to impart health benefits beyond those of the recognized vitamin and antioxidant content. Chlorophyll may have some kind of positive effect on digestion or be used to make something useful by the body, but I haven't heard of any scientific evidence of this. If it were true, I think eating lots of salad would be a cheap alternative.
Quikfeet509
8/19/2010 3:46pm,
Back in the UFC 40's [I think] Randy Couture was touting the "alkaline" diet and how it gave him the best endurance of his life. Now he was in great shape for the fight and won, then...nothing about at any subsequent fights.
Guess he moved on fairly quickly.
pokeroo
8/19/2010 4:00pm,
People who try the acid/alcaline or the alcaline diet that I can think of have generally told me that it works well for them. I think it might just be that the foods required for this diet are healthy + a little bit of placebo / suggestion.
W. Rabbit
8/19/2010 4:24pm,
Okay, first to put a little MA angle on what I am about to post, if it actually did what the video says, wheatgrass would be great for fighters.
Check this out:
YouTube- Health Benefits of INS Wheatgrass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b6fwCE7O80&feature=grec_index)
I am stumped as to whether this video is a spoof or whether it was made as a real advertisement. I couldn't contain myself when I saw how they measured alkalinity.
This ad first lost me at 0:15 when the well-mannered narrator used the word "heaty" to describe the effects of INS wheatgrass roots.
It's a real advertisement for New Age fake herbalist bullshit.
New Age Herbalist Bullshit (not to be confused with actual herbalism) likes to use words like vibrational energy, alkalinity, and MHz to describe the effects of their products. None of it is remotely factual.
Alkalinity has nothing to do with energy or frequency, and it is definitely not measured in hertz.
Yes, you can become exposed to higher frequencies/energy (like when using cell phones). Specific Absorption Rate is how this is measured. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_absorption_rate. MRI scans usually operate in the MHz range. The human body and even foods do resonate at various frequencies...but they are nowhere near the VHF band that 66.4MHz sits within...broadcast television uses that band. The most rational measurements of human body resonance I have ever seen are in the hertz range around 70-80Hz...not too surprisingly, close to the resting human pulse rate. The inner eardrum can resonate at up to 10kHz (10,000 Hz). If it resonated at 66.4MHz it would explode.
No foods are anywhere close to naturally vibrating at megahertz frequencies on their own. If they did, they'd likely be radioactive.
W. Rabbit
8/19/2010 9:57pm,
I went to double check my own knowledge of body frequencies and harmonic resonances (the real kind, not the kind for selling exotic oils and herbs), and noted something very interesting.
It turns out a lot of the marketing ads for things like INS wheatgrass, "Essential Oils" and other Internet hooey are all misquoting actual physics research, by a factor of a million. They are literally adding 6 orders of magnitude/zeros in order to sell products.
If you look at actual physics sites, educations sites, or even things like cell phone safety sites (http://cellphonesafety.wordpress.com/2006/09/17/the-frequency-of-the-human-bodyand-your-coffee/), you'll see a commonly cited research reference about a study done at Eastern State University in WA:
“In 1992, Bruce Taino of Taino Technology, an independent division of Eastern State University in Cheny, Washington, built the first frequency monitor in the world. Taino has determined that the average frequency of a healthy human body during the daytime is 62 to 68 Hz. When the frequency drops, the immune system is compromised.Note the units: hertz.
Now, do a Google search for this same study but notice how now you are bombarded with sites about spiritual healing, "Essential Oils", magical bug repellents, and all sorts of other snake oil.
You'll note all of these advert sites have magically added 6 orders of magnitude to the research cited: from "62 to 68 Hz" (which somewhat corresponds to resting heart rate, naturally), to "62 to 68 MHz", a VHF band frequency used in television sets.
The reason? The word "MEGA" sells product, and there is way more interest in selling things that do "MEGA" whatever instead of the actual research they quote, which actually showed the frequency of the human body being literally a million times smaller.
What a gimmick...also used by the INS wheatgrass ad above. Sadly, Googles scoring all but assures bullshit claims by herbal products will continue into the future.
Petter
8/19/2010 10:07pm,
“The frequency of a human body” still doesn’t make sense in isolation, even if you measure it in plain Hertz: Frequency requires a recurring event to be measured, and a body is not itself a recurring event, though it may contain and participate in such. The frequency of a human body doing what? My body has a frequency of repetitive motion if I swing on a swing set. You could measure the frequency of my pulse. You could presumably measure some frequencies in my brain waves. My body has a frequency of being asleep (on average, once per day). But a body does not “have” a frequency all by itself.
Is Taino another quack, I wonder, or just poorly paraphrased and abused?
W. Rabbit
8/19/2010 10:21pm,
“The frequency of a human body” still doesn’t make sense in isolation, even if you measure it in plain Hertz: Frequency requires a recurring event to be measured, and a body is not itself a recurring event, though it may contain and participate in such. The frequency of a human body doing what? My body has a frequency of repetitive motion if I swing on a swing set. You could measure the frequency of my pulse. You could presumably measure some frequencies in my brain waves. My body has a frequency of being asleep (on average, once per day). But a body does not “have” a frequency all by itself.
Is Taino another quack, I wonder, or just poorly paraphrased and abused?
In isolation I agree. All sorts of things can be measured in frequency, your body does vibrate in tune with your heart rate so as long as you are alive and breathing, your body "oscillates" about 70 times a minute, corresponding to the pulses of your cardiovascular system. That's pretty easy for most people to follow.
Taino is horribly misquoted (on purpose) it seems. He is apparently a legitimate agricultural and biotechnology researcher, from what I read about him. He is not connected to the snake oil ads. But there is a string of misquote research in these snake oil ads...like this commonly misquoted line from
"The Body Electric (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0688069711/webdeb) " by Robert Becker, M.D:
Measuring in hertz, we found that processed/canned food had a zero Hz frequency, fresh produce had up to 15 Hz, dry herbs from 12-22 Hz, and fresh herbs from 20-27 Hz. Essential oils started at 52 Hz and went as high as 320 Hz, which is the frequency of rose oil. A healthy body, from head to foot, typically has a frequency ranging from 62 to 78 Hz, while disease begins at 58 Hz.These food "frequencies" (which are probably just oscillatory vibrations from the environment, maybe based on water content?) are very small but are also magnified in the snake oil adds to this kind of bullshit:
Processed/Canned Food 0 MHz
Fresh Produce Up To 15 MHz
Dry Herbs 12-22 MHz
Fresh Herbs 20-27 MHz
Live Sprouts 150 MHz
Essential Oils 52-320 MHzThere you have it. "Essential Oils", guaranteed to clear wrinkles and grow your penis size, apparently oscillate in the UHF band, according to these ads.
pokeroo
8/19/2010 11:03pm,
This ad first lost me at 0:15 when the well-mannered narrator used the word "heaty" to describe the effects of INS wheatgrass roots.
It's a real advertisement for New Age fake herbalist bullshit.
New Age Herbalist Bullshit (not to be confused with actual herbalism) likes to use words like vibrational energy, alkalinity, and MHz to describe the effects of their products. None of it is remotely factual.
Alkalinity has nothing to do with energy or frequency, and it is definitely not measured in hertz.
Yes, you can become exposed to higher frequencies/energy (like when using cell phones). Specific Absorption Rate is how this is measured. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_absorption_rate. MRI scans usually operate in the MHz range. The human body and even foods do resonate at various frequencies...but they are nowhere near the VHF band that 66.4MHz sits within...broadcast television uses that band. The most rational measurements of human body resonance I have ever seen are in the hertz range around 70-80Hz...not too surprisingly, close to the resting human pulse rate. The inner eardrum can resonate at up to 10kHz (10,000 Hz). If it resonated at 66.4MHz it would explode.
No foods are anywhere close to naturally vibrating at megahertz frequencies on their own. If they did, they'd likely be radioactive.
W. Rabbit, I was about 90% sure that it was an add not originally intended for comedy. No-one worth replying to on this site is unaware that alkalinity is not measured in Hz. The operating frequencies of VHF are not of relevance here.
I went to double check my own knowledge of body frequencies and harmonic resonances (the real kind, not the kind for selling exotic oils and herbs), and noted something very interesting.
It turns out a lot of the marketing ads for things like INS wheatgrass, "Essential Oils" and other Internet hooey are all misquoting actual physics research, by a factor of a million. They are literally adding 6 orders of magnitude/zeros in order to sell products.
If you look at actual physics sites, educations sites, or even things like cell phone safety sites (http://cellphonesafety.wordpress.com/2006/09/17/the-frequency-of-the-human-bodyand-your-coffee/), you'll see a commonly cited research reference about a study done at Eastern State University in WA:
Note the units: hertz.
Now, do a Google search for this same study but notice how now you are bombarded with sites about spiritual healing, "Essential Oils", magical bug repellents, and all sorts of other snake oil.
You'll note all of these advert sites have magically added 6 orders of magnitude to the research cited: from "62 to 68 Hz" (which somewhat corresponds to resting heart rate, naturally), to "62 to 68 MHz", a VHF band frequency used in television sets.
The reason? The word "MEGA" sells product, and there is way more interest in selling things that do "MEGA" whatever instead of the actual research they quote, which actually showed the frequency of the human body being literally a million times smaller.
What a gimmick...also used by the INS wheatgrass ad above. Sadly, Googles scoring all but assures bullshit claims by herbal products will continue into the future.
Are you sure its not just pure coincidence combined with ignorance and MHz is more scientific sounding. The fact that some scientist published something about the human body or foods with Hz in the study doesn't mean that they are necessarily misquoting it.
In isolation I agree. All sorts of things can be measured in frequency, your body does vibrate in tune with your heart rate so as long as you are alive and breathing, your body "oscillates" about 70 times a minute, corresponding to the pulses of your cardiovascular system. That's pretty easy for most people to follow.
Taino is horribly misquoted (on purpose) it seems. He is apparently a legitimate agricultural and biotechnology researcher, from what I read about him. He is not connected to the snake oil ads. But there is a string of misquote research in these snake oil ads...like this commonly misquoted line from
"The Body Electric (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0688069711/webdeb) " by Robert Becker, M.D:
These food "frequencies" (which are probably just oscillatory vibrations from the environment, maybe based on water content?) are very small but are also magnified in the snake oil adds to this kind of bullshit:
There you have it. "Essential Oils", guaranteed to clear wrinkles and grow your penis size, apparently oscillate in the UHF band, according to these ads.
W. Rabbit
8/19/2010 11:58pm,
W. Rabbit, I was about 90% sure that it was an add not originally intended for comedy. No-one worth replying to on this site is unaware that alkalinity is not measured in Hz. The operating frequencies of VHF are not of relevance here.
The operating VHF frequency I described is being used in fraudulent INS Wheatgrass advertisements (and lots of other scams) that you posted asking for comment on, so I think it's very relevant.
Are you sure its not just pure coincidence combined with ignorance and MHz is more scientific sounding. The fact that some scientist published something about the human body or foods with Hz in the study doesn't mean that they are necessarily misquoting it.
I don't think its ignorant or coincidence, since its fraud: its deliberate and probably illegal to violate truth in advertising laws in this fashion. A bunch of scientific horse **** was thrown into this and other ads, misquoting scientific research to gain legitimacy.
Dr. Robert Becker is by the way a very well known neurosurgeon and medical icon with real credibility (texts in Oxford, SUNY etc). So misquoting his research to sell expensive grass is tantamount to misquoting Einstein to sell an expensive car.
"This car's got 4,000 MPG because Einstein's Law says it has no mass because its also energy! SHAMWWOWW! http://andrewamarino.com/Becker/robcv.html
Also, this is the guy who has that Youtube video on his account...who lives in Trinidad. Don't send him your money!
Occupation:
Network marketing Profession and Trainer Internet Marketing and lead Generation
Schools:
St Benedict's College La Romain
Interests:
helping People succeed in business and reaching their full potential
W. Rabbit
8/20/2010 12:11am,
One thing I think about when I view internet material on wheat grass is how expensive it is, and how much money can be made sprouting and selling it. It at least appears that way.
You hit it with this statement right here. You are very, very smart.
Want to know how to make a lot of money on the Internet?
Step 1: Grow some wheat grass. Doesn't even have to be wheat grass, any grass will do.
Step 2: Advertise on the Internet, misquoting real, advanced medical research to convince high performers like athletes and martial artists that wheat grass makes you uber.
Step 3:...
Step 4:Profit!
YouTube- South Park soundtrack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1XTBESG4BQ)
Edit: Step 5: Avoid the Law.
pokeroo
8/20/2010 12:34am,
Regarding selling wheatgrass, the instructions for sprouting it are quite simple, and there are juicebars that will buy it. Booster Juice in my area might. No internet needed.
As far as the misquotation thing goes, I am not sure your understanding me. Your quotation which you presented was
“In 1992, Bruce Taino of Taino Technology, an independent division of Eastern State University in Cheny, Washington, built the first frequency monitor in the world. Taino has determined that the average frequency of a healthy human body during the daytime is 62 to 68 Hz. When the frequency drops, the immune system is compromised.Lets look at what the video said that was at all similar:
Wheatgrass is known as the king of alkaline food, because it has the highest content of alkaline, approximately 66.4 MHz, making it the most alkaline food. Its closest rival alkaline food, which is spinach, has a content of 39.6 MHz of alkaline.
First off the video wasn't making a quotation, it was presenting the information as raw data without sourcing anything. Second, the only similarity between the two are a number and a unit of measure, and even those are only a bit similar.
Now lets get back to talking about how stupid newagers can be. I wonder if anyone can find a alternative health promotional video that is worse than this one.
Petter
8/20/2010 1:30am,
Now lets get back to talking about how stupid newagers can be. I wonder if anyone can find a alternative health promotional video that is worse than this one.
It’s not really promotional per se, but this one is deservedly [in]famous.
YouTube- Homeopathy with Dr. Werner (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0c5yClip4o)
