 In the editorial that accompanied the landmark study showing an extract of the spiced turmeric could be used to fight ulcerative colitis, they congratulated the researchers on performing the largest study ever on complementary or alternative medicine approaches to treat inflammatory bowel disease. But that's not saying much. Two of the only other high-quality trials tried aloe vera gel and wheatgrass juice. No significant improvements in clinical remission rates or endoscopy findings on aloe vera, but the wheatgrass findings were impressive. Wheatgrass juice in the treatment of active distal ulcerative colitis. The use of wheatgrass juice for treatment of various gastrointestinal or other conditions has been suggested by wheatgrass proponents for more than 30 years, but was never clinically assessed in a controlled trial until this study. The use of wheatgrass juice in the treatment of ulcerative colitis was brought to their attention by several patients who attributed improvement to the regular use of this stuff. So in a pilot study, they gave 100 cc's a day, which is between like a third and a half of a cup, of wheatgrass juice for two weeks to 10 patients. Eight patients described clinical improvement. One had no change, one got worse. Why had I never heard of that study? Because it was never published. They thought they were really on to something, so they wanted to do it right. So this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed to examine the effects of wheatgrass juice in patients with active lower colon ulcerative colitis. They found that treatment with wheatgrass juice was associated with reductions in the overall disease activity and the severity of rectal bleeding. 90% of the wheatgrass patients improved, and none got worse. They conclude that wheatgrass juice appeared effective and safe as a single or added treatment of active lower ulcerative colitis. No answer is available at present as to the site of wheatgrass juice action. Does the active substance get absorbed into the body and have some kind of general anti-inflammatory effect? Or does it act locally, right in the colon? How would you figure that out? Well, you could always juice in the opposite direction. A study like this raises so many questions. How would wheatgrass juice do head-to-head against other treatments? Does it have any role in preventing attacks, or only when you already have one? Should we be giving it to people with Crohn's disease too? What's the best dose? It's been over 10 years since the publication of this study, yet nothing since. How sad. I mean, yes, no one's going to make a million selling wheatberries, but what about the wheatgrass juicer companies? I wish they'd pony up some research dollars. Until then, though, wheatgrass appears to offer a genuine therapeutic advantage in this disabling disease, that is, if you can stand the taste.