Best Health Benefits of Barley

Best Health Benefits of Barley

Hello Friends, Today i am going to tell you Best Health Benefits of Barley. This is the best way Best Health Benefits of Barley. So you can check Best Health Benefits of Barley Below Here. Although barley may not be as popular as other whole grains like oats, wheat, or even grain-of-the-moment quinoa, barley has some impressive health benefits. A very high fiber content, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, heart health and diabetes protection are just some of the barley nutrition benefits that make it one of the best whole grain choices.

Barley is actually one of the oldest consumed grains in the world. It was a staple grain for peasants during medieval times for centuries and today is still included in the diet of many European, African, and Middle Eastern nations that have been eating barley for thousands of years.

Barley provides a range of important vitamins and minerals:  fiber, selenium, B vitamins, copper, chromium, phosphorus, magnesium, niacin, and more. And when compared to many other grains, even other ancient whole-grains, barley is lower in fat and calories, but higher in dietary fiber and certain trace minerals. For example a one-cup serving of cooked barley has less calories, but more fiber, than an equal serving of quinoa, brown rice, amaranth, sorghum, millet or wild rice.

1. Barley High Source of Fiber
One of barley’s most noteworthy health benefits is its high fiber content. Each one-cup serving of barley provides approximately 6 grams of fiber. Most of the fiber found in barley is the insoluble type which aids in healthy digestion, glucose metabolism, and heart health. (5)

Consuming foods that are high in fiber also makes you feel fuller, since fiber expands within the digestive tract and takes up a high volume of space. This means you feel more satisfied after a meal, are better able to control blood sugar levels, and have less cravings.

2. Barley Can Help Improve Digestion
Fiber also helps to fight constipation and diarrhea by forming bulk within the digestive tract, therefore regulating bowel movements. A 2003 study observed the effects of adding more barley to the diet of adult women and found that after 4 weeks, barley intake had beneficial effects on lipid metabolism and bowel function. (6)

Barley’s fiber is also important for maintaining a healthy balance of bacteria within the digestive tract. Another important and well-researched benefit of barley nutrition? Barley’s high supply of fiber may even be beneficial in preventing certain types of cancers within the digestive system, including colon cancer.

3. Barley Helps with Weight Loss
Fiber provides volume to a healthy diet without any additional calories since the body cannot digest fiber. This makes the fiber found in barley beneficial for weight loss. A study in 2008 found that when adults added high amounts of barley’s beta gluten fiber to their diets for 6 weeks, their weight significantly decreased, as did their levels of hunger. (7)

And many other studies have found that compared to more refined grain products, like white bread for example, consuming whole grains like barley significantly reduces hunger levels and positively impacts metabolic responses to carbohydrates by absorbing starches at a slower pace.

4. Barley Prevents Gallstones: Barley effectively helps women avoid developing gallstones. Since barley is rich in insoluble fiber, it actually helps you to reduce bile acid secretion, thereby increasing insulin sensitivity and lowering the levels of triglycerides. Reportedly, in an article of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, women have a 17% lower risk of having gallstones as compared to others not consuming a fibrous diet.

5. Barley Prevents Osteoporosis: The phosphorus and copper content in barley grass guarantees overall good health of bones. The phosphorous content in barley effectively cures bone and tooth ailments. If you have osteoporosis, barley can be your natural remedy. Barley grass juice is known to have 11x greater calcium content than milk. Calcium, as we know, is one of the key components in protecting bone health.  The manganese content in barley works in association with B-complex vitamins, thereby keeping the overall health intact. We need manganese for normal bone production, as well as in cases of iron deficiency anemia.

6. Barley Supports Immune System: The vitamin C content in barley is almost twice than that of oranges. This vitamin particularly strengthens your immune system and reduces the chances of cold and flu. Iron improves the blood volume and prevents anemia and fatigue. It aids in proper kidney functioning and the development of body cells. Furthermore, barley contains copper, which forms hemoglobin and red blood cells.

7. Preserves Skin Elasticity: Barley is a good source of Selenium, which helps you to preserve skin elasticity, thereby protecting it against free radical damage and loosening. Moreover, it also improves our heart, pancreas, and immune system functioning. A deficiency of selenium can lead to cancers of the skin, colon, prostate, liver, stomach, and breast.
Controls Blood Cholesterol Levels: Barley’s insoluble fiber yields propionic acid that helps keep the blood cholesterol levels low. Barley, being an excellent source of both soluble and insoluble fibers, is also specifically recommended by doctors for its naturally low-fat content and zero cholesterol properties.

8. Helps Control Blood Sugar Levels
Barley nutrition can benefit blood sugar level management, making it a smart grain choice for those with diabetes or any form of metabolic syndrome because it helps to slow the rate at which sugar is released into the blood stream. (9)

Barley contains 8 essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein, as well as high amounts of soluble fiber which control insulin release in response to barley’s sugar in the form of carbohydrates.

Inside the cell walls of barley is a type of soluble fiber called beta-glucan. Beta-glucan is a viscous fiber, meaning our body cannot digest it and it moves through our digestive tract without being absorbed. As it does this it binds with water and other molecules within the digestive tract, slowing down the absorption of glucose (sugar) from food intake.

One animal study conducted in 2010 found that after rats were given high levels of barley for a 7 week period, the addition of barley helped reduce their weight, decreased hepatic lipid (fat) accumulation, and improved insulin sensitivity compared to the rats not consuming barley.

Because of its special fiber compounds, barley nutrition has even been found to help control blood sugar levels better than other whole grains, like oats for example.

9. Keeps Colon and Intestine Healthy: Barley, being an excellent source of fiber, keeps your body toxin-free. Barley grass, which is rich in dietary fiber, acts as a fuel source to the friendly bacteria of our large intestine. These bacteria help in fermenting the fiber content of the barley, thereby forming butyric acid, which is the primary fuel for intestinal cells. Barley is greatly effective in maintaining a healthy colon. By keeping the intestine in proper health, barley helps you to decrease the movement time of feces and keeps your stomach clean. It greatly reduces the chances of colon cancer and hemorrhoids as well.

10. Barley Helps Lower High Cholesterol
A diet rich in fiber has been correlated with a lower incidence of heart disease, partially due to its ability to help lower high cholesterol levels. Barley’s high source of insoluble fiber is mostly responsible for giving it is heart health benefits because it inhibits the amount of bad cholesterol that can be absorbed by the intestines.

In a 2004 study, 28 men with high cholesterol levels were put on a diet containing high amounts of barley, with roughly 20% of overall calories coming from whole grain barley. After 5 weeks, total cholesterol, HDL “good” cholesterol, and triacylglycerols levels all showed significant improvements. Researchers concluded that by increasing soluble fiber through consumption of barley, as part of an overall healthy diet, people can reduce several important cardiovascular risk factors.

Barley’s fiber helps to form a type of acid known as propionic acid which helps inhibit enzymes that are involved in the production of cholesterol by the liver. The fiber found in barley also provides beta glucan, a substance that is needed to bind bile in the digestive tract to cholesterol and therefore to help pull it through the colon and out of the body in stool.