Farro: old wheat that still behaves like wheat

Farro is sold as old hulled wheats, and almost all the human research sits under their own names, emmer, einkorn and spelt, tested as bread or pasta rather than as the cooked grain. The strongest evidence is a pair of blinded crossover trials in 40 adults with self-reported non-celiac wheat sensitivity, 20 per trial. On single test days, gut symptoms did not differ significantly between bread made from bread wheat, spelt or emmer, whether it was yeast or sourdough fermented. Yeast and sourdough bread were tested in separate trials, so that comparison is looser. In 16 healthy adults, a single meal of einkorn sourdough bread gave a 2-hour glucose area of 12,216 against 13,849 mg/dL x h for commercial wheat bread, and because the commercial loaf was not sourdough, the grain and the fermentation cannot be told apart. For celiac disease the answer is no. In an open, non-randomized study of 8 patients in remission, 100 g a day of einkorn biscuits for 60 days left four of the five who finished with Marsh III gut damage.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Across 8 USDA samples, 3.5 oz (100 g) of dry pearled farro held 7.3 g fiber, 4.0 mg zinc, 3.2 mg iron and 119 mg magnesium, with zinc ranging from 2.45 to 5.0 mg between samples. — USDA Foundation Foods record Farro, pearled, dry, raw, 8 analyzed samples (n = 8 samples) Evidence E source
  Fiber 7.31 g (5.68 to 9.14), zinc 3.968 mg (2.45 to 5.0), iron 3.195 mg (2.78 to 4.21), magnesium 118.8 mg (99.5 to 134.0), copper 0.47 mg (0.335 to 0.545) per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What cooking and storage change

• In two blinded crossover RCTs of 20 people each with self-reported non-celiac wheat sensitivity, gut symptoms did not differ significantly between bread from bread wheat, spelt or emmer, whether yeast or sourdough fermented. — NCWS individuals, celiac disease and wheat allergy ruled out, 5 slices of yeast fermented (n = 20) or sourdough fermented (n = 20) bread of bread wheat, spelt or emmer on 3 test days (n = 40) Evidence B source
  Yeast bread median change in symptom score 10.4 mm wheat, 4.9 spelt, 11.0 emmer (P = 0.267); sourdough 10.5, 11.3, 4.0 mm (P = 0.144)

What it does to your health

• In a crossover RCT of 16 healthy adults, sourdough bread from einkorn flour gave a glucose AUC of 12,216 versus 13,849 mg/dL x h for commercial wheat bread over 2 hours. — 16 healthy subjects, single 50 g carbohydrate portions of four breads, blood sampled for 2 hours (n = 16) Evidence B source
  Glucose AUC 12,216 +/- 1,210 vs 13,849 +/- 2,193 mg/dL x h (einkorn sourdough vs commercial bread)
• In an RCT of 42 people with IBS on a 4-week low-FODMAP diet, pasta made from emmer and rye flour lowered IBS-SSS symptom scores by 153 points versus 83 with gluten-free pasta. — Forty-two IBS patients followed a 4-week low-FODMAP diet with either traditional gluten-free pasta or functional pasta made from emmer and rye flour (n = 42) Evidence B source
  IBS-SSS change -153 +/- 124 vs -83 +/- 85 (p = 0.044), clinically significant reduction in 83% vs 35% (p = 0.004)

Safety, limits and interactions

• In an open 60-day study, 100 g a day of einkorn biscuits in celiac patients in remission led to Marsh III lesions in four of five completers and antibody conversion in three. — celiac patients in remission on gluten-free diet, 100 g/day Triticum monococcum water biscuits for 60 days, eight enrolled (n = 8) Evidence C source
  4 of 5 completers Marsh III at day 60, 1 dermatitis herpetiformis recurrence, 3 seroconversions, 2 dropouts for symptom recurrence

What people believe that the data does not support

• Under the US gluten-free labeling rule, spelt wheat is named as a gluten-containing grain, and such an ingredient excludes a gluten-free claim. — US food labeling, 21 CFR 101.91 Evidence E source
  Ingredient that is a gluten-containing grain, e.g. spelt wheat, excludes a gluten-free claim

What is still unknown

• In a single-blind crossover trial of 12 celiac patients, one 2.5 g dose of einkorn gluten caused 8 gut events versus 11 for rice, but the authors judged the test too insensitive to call einkorn safe. — 12 CD patients on a GFD for at least 12 months, single fixed dose of 2.5 grams of einkorn, rice or Amygluten in random order (n = 12) Evidence B source
  Adverse gastrointestinal events 8 (einkorn) vs 11 (rice, p = 0.63) vs 31 (Amygluten, p = 0.0016), urinary L/R ratio unchanged for all three

The bottom line

Across 8 USDA samples of dry pearled farro, 100 g held 7.3 g of fiber, 4.0 mg of zinc, 3.2 mg of iron and 119 mg of magnesium. Zinc ranged from 2.45 to 5.0 mg between samples, and whole unpearled farro was not sampled at all. We have no survey portion for farro, so there is no per-serving figure here. One trial points somewhere interesting and is too small to lean on. In 42 people with irritable bowel syndrome on a 4-week low-FODMAP diet, pasta made from emmer and rye flour lowered the IBS-SSS symptom score by 153 points against 83 with gluten-free pasta. The study was registered after the fact and mixed emmer with rye, so emmer on its own was never tested. Who should be careful: anyone with celiac disease, and anyone told to avoid wheat, because all three farro grains are wheats. The US gluten-free labeling rule names spelt wheat, one of the three farro wheats, as a gluten-containing grain that rules out a gluten-free label, and emmer and einkorn are wheats as well. A single 2.5 g dose of einkorn in 12 celiac patients caused 8 gut events against 11 for rice. That looks reassuring and is not, because the gut permeability test used also failed to react to a known toxic wheat protein, and the authors say no conclusion on safety can be drawn from it. The 60-day einkorn study described at the top is the longer test, and it pointed to harm. We found no trial of cooked farro grain in people, and no data on how much of its zinc and iron the body absorbs.

Sources

1. far-r8-01 · USDA FoodData Central Foundation Foods, dataset
   Farro, pearled, dry, raw (FDC 2710828, Foundation, 8 samples): fiber 7.31 g (5.68-9.14); zinc 3.968 mg (2.45-5.0); iron 3.195 mg (2.78-4.21); magnesium 118.8 mg (99.5-134.0); copper 0.4703 mg (0.335-0.545) per 100 g
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, FDC 2710828, release 2026-04-30 · checked 2026-09-28
2. far-r8-04 · RCT, crossover
   GI symptoms did not differ significantly between breads of different grains [YF bread wheat median ΔVAS 10.4 mm (IQR 0.0-17.8 mm), spelt 4.9 mm (-7.6 to 9.4 mm), emmer 11.0 mm (0.0-21.3 mm), P = 0.267; SF bread wheat 10.5 mm (-3.1 to 31.5 mm), spelt 11.3 mm (0.0-15.3 mm), emmer 4.0 mm (-2.9 to 9.3 mm), P = 0.144].
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-09-28
3. far-r8-02 · RCT, crossover, acute
   Glucose AUCs were significantly lower after the consumption of sourdough breads made with organic (12,754±1433mg/dL×h) and einkorn flour (12,216±1210mg/dL×h), with respect to the commercial bread (13,849±2193mg/dL×h).
   Food Res Int, 2017 · checked 2026-09-28
4. far-r8-03 · RCT, parallel, 4 weeks
   Forty-two IBS patients followed a 4-week low-FODMAP diet with either traditional gluten-free pasta or functional pasta (FP) made from emmer and rye flour. ... Patients consuming FP showed a significant reduction in IBS-SSS scores compared to the control group (- 153 ± 124 vs. - 83 ± 85, p = 0.044).
   Eur J Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-09-28
5. far-r8-05 · clinical trial, open label
   Protocol involved 60-day administration of 100 g/day Tm water biscuits to CD patients in remission on gluten-free diet. ... All patients had Marsh II lesion at T0, four had Marsh III and one had recurrence of dermatitis herpetiformis at T60. CD-related antibodies converted from negative to positive at T60 in three patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that Tm is toxic for CD patients as judged on histological and serological criteria
   Eur J Nutr, 2015 · checked 2026-09-28
6. far-r8-07 · regulation, FDA
   An ingredient that is a gluten-containing grain (e.g., spelt wheat)
   FDA, Questions and Answers on the Gluten-Free Food Labeling Final Rule (21 CFR 101.91) · checked 2026-09-28
7. far-r8-06 · RCT, crossover, single dose
   Adverse gastrointestinal events were 8 for Tm, Vs 11 for rice (p = 0.6321) and Vs 31 for Amygluten p = 0.0016) ... No definite conclusion can be drawn on the safety of Tm, based on no change in urinary L/R because even Amygluten, a toxic wheat protein, did not cause a significant change in urinary L/R
   BMC Gastroenterol, 2013 · checked 2026-09-28