December, 2004 Thalassemia - Chlorophyll & Medical Research

Hello Everyone, This is my last newsletter for 2004, and I'm glad to say that wheatgrass as an effective therapeutic herb is ending the year on a strong note. This is mainly due to its now widely known efficacy in inherited blood disorders and particularly for thalassemia major. Being Christmas, it might be a good time to reflect on the suffering of millions of thalassemics around the world. If children with this disorder are fortunate enough to be diagnosed before they die and are even more fortunate to access adequate and appropriate treatment, they will probably require at least monthly blood transfusions for the rest of their lives. They will also need to have daily infusions of iron chelating agents that mop up the excess iron resulting from destruction of red blood cells. Added to this are the risks of a number of often life-threatening complications such as heart and liver failure coupled with chronic fatigue and debilitation. Because most of these children come from developing nations where treatment is not available, many of them will simply die. Whichever part of the world they come from, thalassemia is always potentially life threatening and the pain and suffering of the patients is usually shared by that of parents and friends. Last week, there was a posting on a forum called "Thalassemia Patients and Friends" where a mother poignantly expressed her feelings and fears and frustrations about her thalassemic child. You might like to read it here on my website. There are two postings, and they will give you a very clear idea of what goes through two parents' minds, and how they cope with such a daunting and challenging problem. Another new feature on my website is a selection of summaries of 27 medical and scientific journal references that support the clinical efficacy of wheatgrass/chlorophyll. Having debunked the usefulness of chlorophyll other than for photosynthesis on a number of occasions, it may seem rather strange that I have included it in this list. The fact is that chlorophyll has been attributed with healing properties since the 1930's. From what I can glean from a fairly large body of literature about wheatgrass/chlorophyll trials and clinical reports, researchers have blindly followed the dictum of the original wheatgrass researchers, even to the present day. In other words, because chlorophyll is similar to hemoglobin, it carries life-giving oxygen. In fact it is not at all like hemoglobin except for a porphyrin ring in the centre of the molecule. There are numerous other points of difference that refute the old argument. In fact, there are many other smaller biologically active molecules in wheatgrass and other cereals that in the 1930's were not detectable by the then current technology. Because of the recent cellular assays done in Melbourne, we now know there is a molecule or molecules that specifically induce fetal hemoglobin. We don't know what it is, but we know it's not chlorophyll because there is none in the wheatgrass extract. On this basis alone, I believe the entire literature on cereal grass/chlorophyll should be reviewed excluding chlorophyll from the equation. We could then apply modern technology and thinking to an old idea that could give us remarkable new insights into natural healing. Finally, because of time constraints largely due to an exponential rise in email requests for consultations (which I am happy to provide), I will be reducing my monthly newsletters to bi-monthly in 2005. I would also like to thank you for your support and interest in wheatgrass therapy and for keeping my brain active and on the ball. Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone. Dr. Chris Reynolds.