Wheatgrass: Benefits, Juice vs Powder, Gluten and Safety

Wheatgrass is the young grass of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum, harvested about a week or two after sprouting and sold as fresh juice shots, frozen juice, powder and tablets. It contains chlorophyll, flavonoids and vitamins C and E, but the human research behind popular wheatgrass benefits claims is thin: a handful of small trials, several with design problems, and no large studies. Below is what wheatgrass is, what those studies actually tested, how juice and powder differ, whether wheatgrass is gluten free, and who should be careful.

Peptide Labs does not sell wheatgrass juice or straight wheatgrass powder; one greens gummy we carry lists wheat grass in its blend, noted below. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

What is wheatgrass?

Wheatgrass is simply the leafy shoot of the same plant that later produces wheat kernels. Growers sprout wheat seeds in trays or fields and cut the green blades before the plant heads out. The blades are tough and fibrous, so people do not eat them like lettuce; instead they are juiced, frozen, or dried and milled into powder. Wheatgrass became a health-food staple in the US in the second half of the 20th century, and juice bars still sell it as a small shot.

A 2015 review in Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry (Bar-Sela and colleagues) lists chlorophyll, flavonoids and vitamins C and E among its components and stresses that composition varies with how the grass is grown and processed. That is why there is no single nutrition profile for wheatgrass. USDA’s standard reference database has no wheatgrass entry, and branded powders and tablets differ in serving size, added ingredients and fiber. The Nutrition Facts or Supplement Facts panel on the product you are holding is the only reliable number.

Wheatgrass juice vs wheatgrass powder vs tablets

The main forms differ in fiber, taste, food safety and how easy they are to compare:

Fresh juice deserves a food safety note. FDA warns that juice made from raw produce that has not been pasteurized or otherwise processed to kill bacteria can carry harmful germs, and that children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are most at risk. Packaged unpasteurized juice must carry a warning label, but juice poured by the glass at a juice bar or farmers’ market does not. Memorial Sloan Kettering adds that microbial contamination is possible because the sprouts grow for 7 to 10 days in warm, moist conditions before harvest.

Wheatgrass benefits: what the research shows

Wheatgrass has a long list of claimed benefits, from energy and immunity to alkalizing the body. Very few of these claims have been tested in people. The clinical studies that exist are small and mostly come from one research group in Israel:

• 2002 randomized trial (Ben-Arye and colleagues, Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology): 23 adults with active distal ulcerative colitis drank wheatgrass juice or a matching placebo for one month. Complete data were available for only 19 people. The juice group had lower scores on a disease activity index and less rectal bleeding, with no serious side effects. A one-month study this small cannot guide care, and it has not been repeated in a larger trial.
• 2007 pilot study (Bar-Sela and colleagues, Nutrition and Cancer): 60 women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer were assigned to wheatgrass juice plus usual care or usual care alone, without randomization. The juice group had fewer blood-count problems that interrupted chemotherapy. Six women stopped the juice because it worsened their nausea, and the authors said a larger phase III trial was needed.
• 2015 review (Bar-Sela and colleagues): after surveying lab, animal and human studies, the authors concluded that all the clinical trials were small, that several had methodological problems, and that larger studies are needed before recommendations for the public can be made.

Memorial Sloan Kettering’s herb database states that wheatgrass juice has not been shown effective against cancer or AIDS. Put plainly, wheatgrass is a green food with some vitamins and plant compounds, and any specific health benefit is unproven. If you have a chronic condition, do not swap prescribed care for juice; talk with your clinician about adding it alongside.

Many of wheatgrass’s claimed perks overlap with other green superfood supplements. If you are comparing options, our guides to chlorella, spirulina and moringa lay out the evidence for each. For fiber, ordinary vegetables, beans and whole grains do far more than a juice shot; see our list of high-fiber foods.

Is wheatgrass gluten free?

Gluten is a protein stored in the wheat kernel, not in the green leaf, so pure wheatgrass cut before the plant forms seed heads should contain no gluten. FDA’s gluten-free labeling rule reflects this: the agency stated that the young grasses of wheat, rye and barley are different from the grains these plants produce at maturity, and it allows wheat grass or barley grass in a food labeled gluten-free as long as the finished product contains less than 20 parts per million gluten.

The catch is harvest timing and processing. If grass is cut late, or if seeds and kernels end up in the product, gluten can get in. Celiac dietitians suggest choosing wheatgrass products labeled gluten-free and asking the manufacturer how it tests both ingredients and finished product. A true wheat allergy is a different issue from celiac disease; if you are allergic to wheat, ask your allergist before trying any wheat-derived product, grass included.

Wheatgrass side effects and who should be careful

• Nausea and taste: Memorial Sloan Kettering lists nausea and difficulty swallowing the juice because of its strong grassy taste as the main side effects, consistent with the dropouts in the 2007 pilot study.
• Contamination: raw juice and sprouted products can carry bacteria or mold. People who are pregnant, older, very young or immunocompromised should choose pasteurized products or skip fresh juice, per FDA juice safety advice.
• Celiac disease and wheat allergy: see the gluten section above.
• Medicines and medical care: no well-studied drug interactions are documented, but Memorial Sloan Kettering advises telling your care team about every supplement you use, especially during cancer care.
• Quality: greens powders are dietary supplements, so FDA does not approve them before sale. Look for third-party testing; our guide to third-party tested supplements explains the seals.

Wheatgrass in greens supplements

Wheatgrass often appears as one ingredient in greens blends rather than on its own. One example we carry is Bloom Nutrition Super Greens Gummies: the Supplement Facts list a greens, fruits and veggies blend that includes wheat grass along with barley grass, chlorella, spirulina and sodium copper chlorophyllin, plus fiber, a probiotic and added vitamins and minerals. The label is marked gluten-free, which is the FDA grass rule in practice, and sugar is the first of its other ingredients. Because wheatgrass is one part of a mixed blend, a gummy like this is not a substitute for eating vegetables, and the label does not say how much wheatgrass is inside. If you are deciding between wheatgrass and a fruit juice, our sibling guide to pomegranate juice covers a very different drink.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a food allergy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Spirulina vs Chlorella: Benefits, B12 Myths and Safety, Chlorella Benefits, Side Effects and What Tablets Contain, Moringa Benefits: Leaf Nutrition, Research, Powder and Side Effects.