Bad Science (sorry Mr Goldacre, couldn't think of anything else to call it)

Well, after a quick look on facebook it appears that I may have rattled the cage of someone who thinks that big pharmacutical companies are bad, and that all-natural is the panacea of illnesses. I won't point names and name fingers, but I will paste our conversation.

Him: Type up 'veganism and cancer' on Google, also 'Wheatgrass and cancer' on Google, they both basically prevent cancer if you've been diagnosed with it. There's also an Amazonian plant which can heal cancer, but the state like an unhealthy nation because we then become reliant on them, believing they are trying to help us find a cure, when all they're really doing is exploiting our loved ones illnesses for profit.

Me: know what, there are so many flaws with your points Stevie that it wouldn't even be fair to point them out. But not on here.

Him: Well as it seems from your profile you're 'pro-state' anyway. My points have also been proven on various accounts including a couple of which I've witnessed, one of which a guy had lung cancer and hair loss, and a few shots of wheatgrass a day over a course of time and his lungs repaired themselves and his hair grew back, you can't disprove something like that surely?

Yes It's been edited as it was on a relatives post. Also, yes, I will disprove it.

You see, Wheatgrass contains the following ingrediants... Grass. Ok, if you want to get technical, (thank you http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/Plant-Remedies/wheatgrass.htm )

1) "Wheatgrass works by filling nutritional gaps in the diet and cleansing the blood. It is high in vitamins A, C and E, containing the same amount of vitamin C as an orange. It is also an excellent source of essential B vitamins, which are necessary for normal brain and body development.

2)Wheatgrass juice also contains many essential minerals : calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, sodium, necessary for healthy bones, teeth, hair and skin.

3)Wheatgrass juice contains natural enzymes, which help the bodies defence mechanism by strengthening cells and removing poisons from the blood stream. It helps eliminate toxins accumulated from eating processed food, breathing polluted air and drinking impure water.

4)Wheatgrass also has dilating effect on the blood vessels allowing blood to flow more easily. This improved circulation means valuable nutrients can be distributed more efficiently throughout the body. It also has an effect on red blood cells, whereby it increases the iron content in the blood."

wow, it sounds very powerful. I will debunk this part one paragraph at a time. Starting from 1.

1)Any person who knows what a perfectly balanced diet is would NOT be having nutritional gaps. Also, it is unclear about how much wheatgrass contains the orange equivalent of Vit C, is it a little? is it a lot? is it a sugar-cubes worth? is it a metric-fuckload? who knows? Anyways, moving on, B vitamins. Having looked at wikipedia, the conditions which arise from all B vitamins is pretty darn scary. However, as pointed out, any person with a varied diet (heck, even processed food these days) will be ingesting B vitamins. So that's out the window.

2) wow, sounds pretty cool, again, see point 1 about a balanced diet.

3)ENZYMES DO NOT COCKING WELL DO THAT!!!! Granted they may be primarily used in digestion and cell mediation, but they do NOT clean the blood. That's up to the Spleen and the Kidneys. The blood passes through the spleen where white blood cells attack, ingest and then digest any foreign invader (organic or not!) whilst the kidneys filter out the liquids. Enzymes don't play a part in it!

4) The only thing I could find to support this was from http://www.livestrong.com/article/442161-what-are-the-benefits-of-wheat-grass-capsules/ where it says "Ingredients in wheat grass MAY!!! stimulate your body to produce small amounts of natural nitric oxide. Nitric oxide causes your blood vessels to dilate." (see how I highlighted may? they're unsure and are guessing.)

Oh, one more thing. For people to take vitamin supplements, they normally come in a huge pill. This is because it's an enteric coating designed to take a corrosive beating from the stomach, meaning that you won't get 100% of the dose, but it's a damn sight more than a normal sugar-coating. So when you ingest wheatgrass, all them lovely nutrients and vasodilators and yummy enzymes are destroyed in the stomach. Seriously, in the continuing battle between chemicals, acids come out close to the top (alkali is worse ;-) )

Right, that's that part debunked. Let's go on about the Lung Cancer and the Hair loss. Firstly, I know not the circumstances surrounding the hair loss (could be chemo, could be alocepia, could be trauma. I dunno) But wheatgrass won't cause hair follicles to grow back. Once the root is gone, that's it, the chances of hair growing back their naturally are quite slim. If it did cause hair to grow back, I know a lot of bald blokes who would be downing it like vodka. Secondly, It appears that all those smart pharmacutical companies, biochemists and medical degrees are a waste. I mean, Cancer has been around since the dawn of time (well, seeing as it is just rogue cells, it fits really)and survival rates have never been higher thanks to modern medicine and intervention. But these are all relatively new. Say roughly 20-30 years, yet Wheatgrass has been around for millenia and still Cancer was a death sentance back then. Granted that lower life expectancy meant you wouldn't reach old age to be the most prone to cancer, but if you did live longer then, you would see.

I also refer to the little addendum after point 4. Orally ingested enzymes are digested in the stomach and have no enzymatic activity in the eater.

TL;DR? Wheatgrass curing cancer and hair-loss? Please, that's along the same lines as Homeopathy!