I'm Derek Stem with DynamicGreens wheatgrass. We have been growing wheatgrass for over 35 years and have a vast amount of experience. Here is what I can tell you about the source of these issues:

Grass allergy (affects only a very small number of people)

• People with known grass allergies should avoid wheatgrass juice
• If you have a grass allergy and take the juice, it will likely present as stomach cramping. In some cases, it may result in itchiness.

Mold Problems

• Mold is responsible for bitter taste and the side effects you often read about.
• This is a common problem in tray grown grasses and you can read more about the struggles growers have with mold in Steve Meyerowitz's book, Wheatgrass - Nature's Finest Medicine on pages 93-94, 98, 113, 115, 158-161, 163-173, 175-176, 197, 202, 210, 217.
• The challenge with mold is that while it in and of itself does not remove the health giving properties of wheatgrass, it does create tolerance issues for many and sometimes has serious side effects. The most common effect by far is that after a few tries, people raise a glass of wheatgrass juice to their lips and their body simply refuses to drink it. It is actually the inability to drink wheatgrass juice that takes away the health giving benefits.
• The side effects are caused by something called mycotoxins which are released by the molds. There are over 400 known mycotoxins and they are very unusual. This is because the reactions to mycotoxins are often specific to the individual. In other words, 2 people can drink the same juice and one may love it while the other experiences more common side effects like dizziness, headache, nausea or the less common side effects of vomiting or severe allergic reaction. You can read more about mycotoxins here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycotoxin

Mold does not need to be an issue and in our experience, here is the best approach:

• Recall that science and technology does not often trump nature.
• Simply growing outdoors is key as mother nature prevents mold issues from occuring.
• You don't just grow outdoors anywhere. It is important that your area is naturally supportive of wheat and can grow it without intervention in natural sun, air and soil. This means your location needs to feature cool nights which generally puts you into more northern areas and into traditional wheat growing country.
• This alone will stop the issues will molds and mycotoxins.

Wheatgrass grown without mold:

• Tastes good.
• Is enjoyed by the drinker.
• That enjoyment allows for long term use and enables people to experience the vibrant health benefits that we can all appreciate.

For those that are interested, you can get our wheatgrass juice at DynamicGreens.com