Wheatgrass is the green shoots and sprouts that eventually grow into wheat, before the grain is actually developed.
It’s high in antioxidants thanks in part to its high chlorophyll content, which is responsible for the bright green color of wheatgrass.
Wheatgrass can help protect DNA from damage, reduce the negative effects of an inflammatory diet, and may help improve artery health and reduce the progression of insulin resistance.
Wheatgrass is usually powderized or juiced when it’s provided as a supplement, for maximal potency and absorption.
Some people prefer to mix wheatgrass powder into smoothies and shakes, while others drink wheatgrass juice or wheatgrass shots straight-up.
We’ve ranked and reviewed all the best sources of wheatgrass on the market plus outlined all the benefits of adding wheatgrass to your supplementation routine.
Research
Rankings
1. Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass
Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass is a powder-form wheatgrass supplement that’s the most versatile option on the market.
It mixes up easily just with water, but also goes well in smoothies and shakes. The plastic tub makes spills less of a concern than with resealable plastic bags, and the purity and nutritional content is stellar.
Thanks to all of these perks, it’s our top pick.
2. Terrasoul Wheatgrass Juice Powder
Terrasoul Wheatgrass Juice Powder is an excellent wheatgrass powder that carries an organic certification and is grown and processed in the United States.
The nutrient density is great, and it comes in a resealable plastic bag in sizes up to 20 ounces, making it a fantastic option for bulk users.
3. MicroIngredients Organic Wheatgrass Powder
MicroIngredients Organic Wheatgrass Powder is a perennial favorite among the powder-form wheatgrass supplements thanks to its purity, organic certification, and very high vitamin and mineral content.
It’s great for mixing up on its own, as well as adding to smoothies or shakes.
4. Starwest Botanicals Organic Wheatgrass Powder
Starwest Botanicals Organic Wheatgrass Powder is the best option for people who like to mix their own superfood shakes and smoothies.
This one-pound bulk package of wheatgrass has exactly one ingredient: organic powdered wheatgrass.
The large resealable bag can get a little messy, but it’s hard to beat when it comes to adding wheatgrass to smoothies or protein shakes.
5. Garden of Greens Wheatgrass Shot
Garden of Greens Wheatgrass Shots are single-use liquid form shots of wheatgrass that are ready to use instantly. They’re great for travel, and they require no mixing and make no mess.
In addition to wheatgrass juice, these shots include ginger extract for an added antioxidant benefit, though there are some preservatives as well.
As such, the supplement design is not quite as clean as some other options, but the convenience is hard to beat, and thanks to the additional flavors, the taste is more palatable too.
6. Green Foods Wheat Grass Shots
Green Foods Wheat Grass Shots is an organically certified powder-form wheatgrass shot that provides all the antioxidant power of wheatgrass in a highly concentrated powder.
The only ingredient is powdered wheatgrass juice, and the vitamin and mineral content is excellent, thanks to the highly concentrated nature of the powder. It’s a solid pick for highly concentrated powder-form wheatgrass.
7. Sari Foods Wheatgrass Powder
Sari Foods Wheatgrass Powder comes from raw wheatgrass that is directly powderized, without an intermediate juicing step.
This makes the density of nutrients a bit lower, but has the added advantage of preserving the fiber content of the wheatgrass, which is usually lost in the juicing process. If you don’t get much fiber in the rest of your diet, the trade off might be worth it.
8. Pines Organic Wheat Grass
Can’t handle the taste of wheatgrass drinks? Pines Organic Wheat Grass has the solution. This tablet form wheatgrass supplement contains pressed wheatgrass along with silica and rice flour (mostly to bind the powder into a pressable tablet).
The primary downside to this and other tablet based wheatgrass supplements is the fact that wheatgrass is usually consumed in fairly high doses, so you need to take several tablets to get an equivalent dose to a wheatgrass juice shot or mixed powder.
9. Dr. Berg’s Wheat Grass Superfood
Dr. Berg’s Wheat Grass Superfood is a wheatgrass powder that comes in an eight-ounce plastic tub with a wide lid that makes measuring out doses easy.
While wheatgrass is the only ingredient, it’s not organically certified like some of the other competitors, so it ends up somewhat lower in our rankings.
10. Amazing Grass Wheat Grass Tablets
Amazing Grass makes excellent wheatgrass powder, but their tablets don’t end up ranked as highly. While the content is the same, the tablet form is slower to get absorbed by your body. That aside, if you need a dead-simple tablet-based wheatgrass supplement, it’s not a bad pick.
Category winners
Best wheatgrass overall: Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass
Amazing Grass is certified organic, comes in a large and easy-to-use plastic container, and delivers 100% pure wheatgrass powder. What’s not to like? Thanks to these advantages it takes our top overall spot.
Best wheatgrass for weight loss: Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass
Wheatgrass makes a great additive to weight loss shakes, and can help cut down on the negative effects of being overweight, and for these purposes, the high purity and ease of use of Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass is difficult to beat.
Best wheatgrass for metabolic health: Terrasoul Wheatgrass Juice Powder
Terrasoul specializes in exceptionally pure and high-quality natural ingredients, so it should be no surprise that their wheatgrass powder is profoundly high in chlorophyll and other antioxidants. It’s the best pick if you’re looking to use wheatgrass as a supplement for better blood sugar control and better metabolic health.
Best wheatgrass for heart health: Terrasoul Wheatgrass Juice Powder
Terrasoul Wheatgrass Juice Powder is great for heart health for the same reasons it’s great for metabolic health: its high purity and high antioxidant content makes it perfectly suited for applications where antioxidant activity is the number one priority.
Best wheatgrass shots: Garden Greens Wheatgrass Shot
If you want rapid delivery of the phytonutrients in wheatgrass and you don’t want to mess around with powders, Garden Greens wheatgrass shots are the way to go. These concentrated liquid-form shots deliver wheatgrass alongside ginger extract for a potent dose of antioxidants.
Best wheatgrass for shakes and smoothies: Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass
To add a powerful dose of antioxidants to your protein shakes, meal replacement shakes, or smoothies, Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass is the perfect fit. The ultra-fine powder mixes up without clumping and the plastic tub makes measuring out wheatgrass mess-free.
Who should buy wheatgrass?
Wheatgrass can be consumed by almost everyone since it’s packed with tons of vitamins and minerals. Wheatgrass is especially good at helping people who have a lot of inflammation. Furthermore, wheatgrass may help deter artery disease due to its high level of vitamin K.
Wheatgrass should be consumed by pregnant women and children if advised by a medical professional – otherwise, it’s best to avoid it since there are no studies proving its safe for the fetus.
How we ranked
Wheatgrass comes in 3 main forms: liquids, tablets, and powder. Liquids, like Garden Greens, made our list for providing an easy to drink wheatgrass supplement. However, its addition of stabilizers pushed it to the bottom of our list. Green Foods Wheat Grass Shots ranked a lot higher on our list for providing a liquid wheatgrass shot that has only one ingredient: organically certified powder-form wheatgrass. However, bottled liquids tend to lose their nutritional value fairly quickly, which is why it only ranked 5th.
Tablets are easy to consume, which is why Pines Organic Wheat Grass made our list. However, its low dose of wheatgrass per serving means you have to take multiple tabs in order to get the best results.
Powders are the ideal choice, which is why all our top rankings are in this form of wheatgrass. MicroIngredients Organic Wheatgrass Powder took 3rd spot for providing a simple and high-quality wheatgrass powder. Terrasoul Wheatgrass Juice Powder is manufactured in the USA and is organically certified, which limits the number of pesticides in the product.
Our top pick Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass mixes very easily with a variety of beverages, leaving no clumps. It also comes in a tub, reducing spills and making travel a breeze. With its organic certification and commitment to quality, it’s no surprise it took the top spot.
Benefits
Wheatgrass can reduce dietary inflammation. Nutrition researchers are honing in on the fundamental causes of the negative health effects of poor diets and obesity, and they all seem to share one root cause: inflammation.
This research has even prompted some dietary patterns to be “pro-inflammatory,” and there seems to be a relationship between negative diets, inflammation, and obesity, which itself promotes more inflammation.
The good news is that wheatgrass appears well-suited to attack and reduce dietary inflammation, according to research conducted in India (1).
Rabbits that were fed an obesity-inducing high-fat diet were given a wheatgrass supplement, and the researchers tracked the levels of a number of blood biomarkers of inflammation.
The researchers were able to demonstrate that the wheatgrass supplement was associated with a decrease in leukocytes and neutrophils, which are closely linked to systemic levels of inflammation.
Other research published in 2014 in the Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences demonstrated similar anti-inflammation effects of wheatgrass in rats (2).
Compared to a placebo, a wheatgrass supplement reduce inflammation and pain in rats with an induced paw injury.
These findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory benefits of wheatgrass extend beyond just dietary inflammation: they could help with other sources of inflammation, like injury, arthritis, and other types of tissue damage.
Wheatgrass can inhibit DNA damage. As with many “green” supplements, wheatgrass exhibits both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
A scientific paper published in the Journal of Food Science in 2006 by a team of researchers in Italy showed that biologically relevant concentrations of wheatgrass juice significantly reduced damage to DNA that was induced by a common oxidative agent (3).
Moreover, the researchers studied the antioxidant powers of wheatgrass when harvested at different points in its growth cycle.
The antioxidant properties of wheatgrass are much stronger in the germination phase, as the bright green shoots of wheatgrass sprout up from the wheat seed.
Once the wheat plant reaches maturity, there’s a marked drop off in antioxidant content.
High quality wheatgrass juices, powders, and shots are all harvested precisely to optimize the antioxidant content, which makes a stronger case for commercial sources of wheatgrass, versus do it yourself kits.
The high vitamin K content of wheatgrass may slow the progress of artery disease. Wheatgrass is rich in several vitamins and minerals, but its vitamin K content is particularly noteworthy because this essential nutrient is fairly rare in other foods and supplements.
Despite its rarity, it plays a critical role in a wide range of functions in your body. One of these appears to be regulating the health of your arteries, and some clinical evidence suggests that vitamin K may slow the progress of artery disease.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition randomly assigned almost 400 healthy older adults to receive either a multivitamin alone, or a multivitamin plus vitamin K (4).
After three years of followup, the researchers found that the vitamin K group had slower progression in coronary artery disease. The researchers linked this process to vitamin K’s role in regulating calcium distribution in the body.
Wheatgrass may also slow the progress of insulin resistance. One outcome of a chronically poor diet can be the development of insulin resistance, which is closely linked to metabolic syndrome and type two diabetes.
When insulin resistance increases, your body does not respond to increasing levels of the hormone insulin, and your blood sugar levels remain chronically high.
The high vitamin K content in wheatgrass may help reverse this process. A study published in the journal Diabetes Care examined whether realistic levels of vitamin K intake could reduce the progression of insulin resistance, which typically gets worse over time (5).
This three-year study in older adults found that supplementing the diet of older adults with vitamin K helps reduce the progress of insulin resistance, which could have implications for treating and preventing type two diabetes.
Side effects
Since wheatgrass is harvested before any of the wheat grain is produced, it is technically gluten-free. Hence, it should, in theory, be okay for people with celiac disease.
The problem is that in practice, wheatgrass is often harvested and processed with the same equipment that is used to harvest wheat later in the growing season, when it is producing wheat grain and abundant gluten.
As such, the National Celiac Association recommends avoiding wheatgrass, even when it’s labeled gluten-free (6).
The gluten free label requires that the product contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten, so it’s possible that a wheatgrass product could pass this test while still containing some gluten.
Some manufacturers use a highly sensitive test called the R5 ELISA test, and in these cases, a wheatgrass product that passes this test should be okay, even if you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
FAQ
What does wheatgrass do to your body? Wheatgrass helps to reduce toxins and waste in the body, which helps to improve blood sugar, cholesterol, body weight, and inflammation.
In terms of actual nutritional content, wheatgrass has incredibly high amounts of vitamins and minerals like vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, as well as riboflavin, zinc, and potassium. In studies conducted in 2015 and 2017, scientists analyzed the physical composition of wheatgrass to determine its role in the prevention of cancer. Both studies successfully concluded that wheatgrass is a useful tool in cancer prevention (7, 8).
Another 2015 study placed additional emphasis on other diseases and conditions that wheatgrass can improve or prevent. Researchers in this study concluded that wheatgrass could be an incredibly helpful tool for reducing the symptoms of diseases like arthritis, diabetes, obesity, and ulcerative colitis (9).
Does wheatgrass negatively affect your GI tract? Wheatgrass can adversely affect your GI tract and cause issues like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, and appetite reduction. In severe cases, you may develop a fever. The main reason wheatgrass may cause these issues is that your body doesn’t know how to deal with the new food. Another problem might be that the wheatgrass itself is contaminated.
How much wheatgrass should you drink a day? It’s completely safe to drink wheatgrass 1-2 times a day, but more may cause issues. If you notice that you’re beginning to develop side effects, it would be in your best interest to consume less or stop altogether.
How do you drink wheatgrass powder? The most common method of drinking wheatgrass powder is mixing the powder into water, juice, or a smoothie. The usual recommendation is combining one tablespoon of wheatgrass with about two to four ounces of another beverage. However, you can use more liquid, which will water the wheatgrass down a bit.
Most people call these two to four-ounce servings of wheatgrass “shots” due to their small serving sizes.
Can humans digest wheatgrass? No, wheatgrass is not entirely digestible. Due to its high nutritional content, wheatgrass can help regulate your digestive tract functioning and help to relieve the major symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders. It also contains a high amount of fiber (4 grams per serving), which helps keep you regular and nourish your healthy gut bacteria.
What is the nutritional value of wheatgrass? Wheatgrass contains a significant number of different vitamins and minerals that can help improve many bodily functions. Per serving, you’ll be consuming about 6 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, and about 76% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin K. Wheatgrass also contains about 25 calories for every tablespoon of wheatgrass. Though you’ll only be consuming 1-2 tablespoons at a time, these values are quite significant given the size of the dose.
Is wheatgrass keto-friendly? At 6 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon, one serving per day shouldn’t affect your diet, making it safe for keto. However, consuming more than this (which is relatively easy, given its size)m can kick you out of ketosis by providing too many carbohydrates.
What is wheatgrass? Wheatgrass is the first stage of the wheat plant. Before the grass fully grows into a full wheat plant, farmers will harvest the plant while it’s in the grass stage. It’s most commonly added in the form of powder to water, juice, smoothies, or any other type of liquid. Wheatgrass can also be juiced directly from its grass form to create pure wheatgrass juice, which is usually served in the form of a shot.
How do you grow wheatgrass? After germinating the seeds and preparing them for planting, you’ll lightly bury them under the surface of about two inches of soil. Gently water the newly planted seeds and cover them in moist paper to provide the greatest growing environment.
After several days of watering the plants and keeping the paper moist, you can remove the paper and allow the grass to grow freely. It’s best to keep your wheatgrass in an area that receives some sunlight daily, but not hours of direct sunlight. When the wheatgrass begins to split, it’s time to cut the wheatgrass, which is now ready to consume. Do not pick the wheatgrass, as it will kill the whole plant. By cutting the plant, you allow the wheatgrass to continue growing, letting you harvest it continuously.
Does wheatgrass give you energy? It is entirely possible that you’ll experience a slight boost in energy when you begin adding wheatgrass to your diet. The primary reason for the energy boost is the chlorophyll that you’ll be consuming, which is known to cause an increase in energy.
With loads of minerals and vitamins, wheatgrass provides the necessary building blocks for a cellular pick me up. Unlike caffeine, wheatgrass won’t cause a crash in energy after a few hours.
Is wheatgrass good for fatty liver? Wheatgrass may benefit fatty livers beaching as a liver detoxifying agent.
What is the best way to consume wheatgrass? The most common way to consume wheatgrass is in the form of powder mixed with juice, water, or smoothies. Wheatgrass is also available in the form of tablets and liquid. If you do not enjoy the taste of wheatgrass, wheatgrass tablets are an easy way to gain the nutritional benefits of wheatgrass without directly consuming the product. Wheatgrass can also be consumed raw, but it’s not recommended due to the taste and texture of raw wheatgrass.
The best way to consume it would be to drink raw wheatgrass juice, immediately after its extracted in the form of a shot.
Can you eat wheatgrass? Yes, you can eat raw wheatgrass; however, it tends to have an unpleasant taste. The major reason that people mix wheatgrass with juice or smoothies is that these ingredients tend to mask the taste of wheatgrass. It’s also much easier to drink a serving of wheatgrass than eat it raw.
Does wheatgrass improve your mental health? A 2014 study set out to determine if wheatgrass could reduce chronic fatigue syndrome. Five groups of albino mice (20-25 g) were selected for the study, with five animals in each group. The extract-treated groups showed significantly improved locomotor activity, decreased anxiety level, elevated catalase levels and reduction of malondialdehyde (MDA) (10).
What is the best time to take wheatgrass? Since wheatgrass is commonly associated with providing consumers with an energy boost, it’s best to consume wheatgrass soon after waking up. Wheatgrass is also a good pick me up during the afternoon slump. It would be best if you consumed wheatgrass with or around a meal because consuming wheatgrass on an empty stomach can cause gastrointestinal upset. Wheatgrass should be avoided before bed because it may cause insomnia.
What is the best place to buy wheatgrass? The best places to purchase high-quality wheatgrass are nutrition, health, and wellness stores. It’s improbable that you’ll find wheatgrass in major retail stores, but there’s always a possibility that there may be a selection within the health food and supplement section. You may purchase it online as well now that it has grown in popularity.
Can you drink wheatgrass on an empty stomach? Wheatgrass can be consumed on an empty stomach, but it’s not recommended. Wheatgrass can be difficult on your digestive system, which is why you should consume it with food or near a meal. This is especially true when you are just starting out. As your body gets used to wheatgrass, you’re less likely to suffer GI side effects when it’s consumed on an empty stomach.
Does wheatgrass help with chemotherapy treatments? Wheatgrass may help reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy treatments in certain individuals. It is thought to be because of the chlorophyll which acts as a detoxifying agent in the body (11).
Can wheatgrass protect your heart? Wheatgrass may be able to protect your heart by helping to promote healthy cholesterol levels.
Can you use wheatgrass topically? While wheatgrass is most often consumed in the form of liquid, many advocates believe that the product can also be used topically on the surface of the skin. By rubbing wheatgrass into the skin, some people believe that it helps to exfoliate, remove toxins, and even rebuild damaged skin. If you’re planning to use wheatgrass on your skin, the most common method is rubbing wheatgrass on the skin, letting it sit for several minutes, and then washing it off. However, it should be noted that no studies have proven its efficacy when used topically.
Is wheatgrass good for kidneys? Wheatgrass can be hard on the kidneys for people with kidney disease due to the amount of potassium it contains.
Can wheatgrass help with digestion? Yes, wheatgrass can help with digestion by providing healthy prebiotic fiber for your healthy gut bacteria to feast on. Furthermore, it has been shown to reduce overall systemic inflammation which can help mange inflammatory GI diseases like IBS.
Does wheatgrass prevent cancer? Wheatgrass doesn’t prevent cancer 100% of the time, but it may help in deterring its formation in the body. Wheatgrass contains many nutrients which have been shown to combat cancerous cells. It also helps to bolster the immune system, further bulletproofing the body from cancerous cells. A 2011 review of various studies showed that the antioxidant progress of wheatgrass may indeed help prevent certain cancers (12).
Can wheatgrass lower blood pressure? Yes, wheatgrass can help lower and normalize blood pressure. This is because chlorophyll acts similar to hemoglobin in the body, increasing blood cell count. It also lowers inflammation and my purge toxins the blood.
Does wheatgrass help with arthritis? Wheatgrass may play a positive role in combating arthritis due to its powerful anti-inflammatory affects in the body.
When is wheat grass harvested? Wheatgrass comes from the exact same plant as wheat and flour, but the time that it’s harvested makes all the difference. Wheatgrass is harvested when the wheat plant is still a green, grassy shoot, before it’s produced any grain. As a result, it contains tremendous amounts of vitamins E and K, as well as other essential micronutrients.
On top of this, the high content of chlorophyll (responsible for its vibrant green color) and other aromatic compounds make wheatgrass a potent antioxidant that can reduce inflammation and fight free radicals in the body.
It’s an excellent all-around superfood, and for these reasons, it’s a popular ingredient in smoothies and shakes (though it’s also healthy when mixed with plain water).
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Recap
Wheatgrass, whether in powder, juice, or shot form, is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.
The young, bright green shoots of wheatgrass are rich in chlorophyll and other molecules that scavenge free radicals, and can help reduce dietary inflammation and protect DNA from oxidative damage.
Wheatgrass is also rich in vitamin K, which plays an important role in artery and bone health. While it is, in theory, gluten-free, experts advise caution in people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, as wheatgrass is often harvested and processed on the same equipment that processes mature wheat, which does contain gluten.
Aside from these special cases, wheatgrass is well-tolerated and a good way to augment your intake of antioxidants.
Wheatgrass powder is easily mixed up in water for a quick antioxidant boost, and can also be incorporated into protein shakes and smoothies.
For anti-inflammatory action on the go, opt for a wheatgrass shot for a clean and easy source of wheatgrass.
For BodyNutrition’s #1 wheatgrass recommendation, click here.
