As someone with celiac disease, you almost certainly know that you need to avoid the grains wheat, barley and rye because they contain gluten, the protein that causes your symptoms. However, you may have read that barley grass should be safe for celiacs to consume because the grass part of the barley plant doesn't contain gluten. However, you should tread carefully and speak with your physician before consuming any product that contains barley grass.
Basics
In celiac disease, gluten-containing products create intestinal damage and uncomfortable symptoms such as diarrhea, fatigue and bloating. Therefore, once you're diagnosed with celiac disease, you need to avoid gluten for the rest of your life, which means eliminating everything that contains wheat, barley and rye grains. However, pure barley grass doesn't contain gluten; the gluten proteins form in the seeds, or grains, of the plants, not in the leaves. Therefore, in theory, people with celiac disease should be able to tolerate barley grass.
Policy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers young barley grass to be gluten-free, as long as the product containing barley grass contains fewer than 20 parts per million of gluten.
Recommendations
Even though pure barley grass won't contain gluten, it's still possible for the grass to get cross-contaminated by barley grain, especially if a few of the plants in a field go to seed prior to harvest. Dietitian Tricia Thompson, an expert in celiac disease, warns against consuming anything that contains barley grass unless it's specifically labeled gluten-free, which should mean it's been tested for gluten and contains fewer than 20 parts per million. In addition, barley grass appears on numerous lists of foods to avoid when you have celiac disease due to the possibility that the grass will contain a small amount of grain.
Considerations
Both wheat grass and barley grass contain high levels of iron, along with an assortment of vitamins, including vitamin C. However, multiple other green vegetables, including spinach and dark green romaine lettuce, contain similar levels of these nutrients. As someone with celiac disease, you need to balance the risks of consuming barley grass -- which can include short-term intestinal discomfort and long-term health effects -- against the benefits barley grass can provide. You may decide you'd be better off substituting another type of grass -- perhaps alfalfa grass -- for barley grass in your diet.
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