Is wheatgrass safe to use?
Wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum) is sprouted from winter wheat seeds or wheat berries. Most wheatgrass manufacturers state that people with wheat allergies or intolerance actually react to the gluten found in the wheat seed/berry, not the grass.
However, not everyone with a wheat allergy or intolerance react just to wheat gluten, especially those people who have been identified with an auto-immune response to wheat as a whole.
Pure wheatgrass is considered gluten free as long as it is prepared correctly. By pure we mean that only the grass is used and not the seeds. Which means that the grass must be harvested before the new seed has formed, which contains the gluten, and that no seeds are accidentally harvested with the grass.
If you were considering ingesting wheatgrass you would need to be certain that it was only the gluten you react to, not the wheat itself. That the grass has been harvested at the correct stage of the growing cycle before it splits/joints and forms a gluten containing seed. Also that no cross-contamination has accidentally introduced gluten into the wheatgrass, or make sure that the product has been tested using the R5 ELISA test for gluten and is verified as gluten free.
Sources/further info:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatgrass
http://celiacdisease.about.com
The contents of this page are not to be taken as medical advice, or as an endorsement of taking wheatgrass by anyone with a wheat allergy, intolerance, auto-immune reaction, or celiac disease.
Last updated: 03/06/2014
