Wheatgrass

[jamesey]

Hi,

I used to grow my own wheatgrassand juice it, and although the taste wasn't too bad, i never liked the over-sweetness it has, and sometimes felt sick afterwards.

Then i read by a few people on the internet, is that the sweetness from trayed weheatgrass grown within 7-10 days is from the mold that comes when growing it. And the feeling sick or bad after having it is not from Detox at all, but from consuming a moldy wheatgrass juice!! Also, apparently there is absolutely NO sweetness in wheatgrass which is naturally grown outodoors is gorws for Months before its ready to cut.

I am very convinced by this because it links straight in with my experience too.. altho i haven't grown any wheatgrass outside.

Can anyone comment about this - wheatgrass grown naturally outidde vs in the tray for 10 days? Is the wheatgrass trays juiced like also putting mold in your body too?

[kaybee]

the stuff grown outside is harvested at a different age than the stuff in the trays. the stuff in the trays is much younger, and i think it naturally has that sweetness; i dont think the sweetnes is due to mold, just to the young age of the grass. the thing about the mold on the young wheatgrass causing nausea may be legitimate though. i too have grown it in the past and always feel nauseous just from the smell and would have to hold my nose and chug it down, and it never gave me a buzz or instant energy like people talk about. some people say that if it makes you nauseous that just means your body is really toxic, but i personally dont believe this is the case. the people that grow it outside say that because they plant the seed before winter and the ground freezes, it kills the mold. this could well be true. i have tried growing it directly in the ground in the summer in ireland, had no problems with mold, though did have problems with birds and rats, and i found the taste of the juice to be more tolerable--more grassy and less sweet. though i still didnt notice health benefits from jjuciing it and the mature grass is tougher, more fibrous, and harder on your juicer and produces less juice than tender, 10 day old plants. also, i dont think the mature wheatgrass has the same amazing makeup of nutrients as the young, trayed stuff. the young stuff is better in my understanding because it is at its nutritional peak at 7-10 days....SO...nutritionally, it sounds to me like the young, trayed wheatgrass is the clear winner, BUT, for me, like for you, this stuff makes me sick....so.......i dunno :/

kaybee

[jamesey]

thanks for the reply kaybee.. good to hear someone else a bit skeptical about it. Yet the flipside it you still hear people feeling positive results through it, and all through using wheatgrass trays...

[sport]

If you are worried about mould perhaps you would avoid it if you cut further up the shoot.
I buy in trays now but I have grown it in the past. I have never seen any signs of mould while it is growing but I have noticed some if the tray is still here a week after cutting.
I have often experienced a sick feeling after drinking but only if I try to increase my intake too fast. You should increase it gradually.

[jamesey]

I might give it another go, but i'm going to order trays already grown. I remember spending most of 2006 growing wheatgrass and i could just not avoid the mold no matter how differently and correctly i folllowed different peoples instructions. Thinking about it now, mold actually started to form within 24-48 hours of starting.. basically before or as soon as the wheat started to shoot and sprout!!

[kaybee]

if you decide to grow it yourself again, you might want to try different/varied sources of wheat. i was generally happy with the wheat i got from "the mail order catalog for healthy eating" i did have problems with mold in the soil if they were overwatered etc, but sometimes i had no visible mold anywhere, in contrast to using wheat from other sources which had more mold when i tried to grow it. so if youre having bad luck with wheat from one source, try another. i suspect that you might get better quality wheat (and still pretty cheap) from a mail order sprouting company than from the bulk bins at the hfs. its probably fresher, handled less, and stored under better conditions than the hfs stuff. if you CAN get back into growing it, its FAR cheaper to grow then buy trays, if money is an issue for you.

[jamesey]

thanks for the great advice kaybee, im going to buy a wheatgrass tray first and see how i react to it.. if it goes ok i'll order the wheatgrass seeds from another supplier.. i agree with you - this may be been the problem.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Thank you for starting this post. I have been having problem too with wheat grass. I got a feeling too that if i would have something fresh and very green, i wouldn't experience so much nausea. The smell of the sweetness after juicing is enough to make me sick. I found someone that have a green house and will be growing wheat grass, i can't wait to try his batch. I am going to try to grow some this summer outdoor see how i react compare to the one i buy. Tomorrow, i will do the kale smoothies, i love it and this give me a buzz, lol....

[sugarsnap]

In my "internet" research I too have read the following:
grown indoors at a faster rate the wg tends to have more sugar and carbs than slower outdoor grown.
the mold from indoor will cause dizziness, sick tummy etc.

I use the frozen wg.
So I guess ditto