Is Barley A Super Food?
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Analyzing the myriad of benefits associated with humans consuming barley, it can lead to the conclusion that it is one of the world’s Super Foods.
The informative site webmd.com reports, “Barley is used for lowering blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, and for promoting weight loss. It is also used for digestive complaints including diarrhea, stomach pain, and inflammatory bowel conditions.
In foods, barley is used as a source of vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, and fatty oils.”
Deciding which food supplements are beneficial for you can be a lengthy and arduous process. Sometimes it’s best to just take them one at a time.
In researching Barley, it continues to come across as a very impressive food with minimal side effects.
The well-researched site whfoods.com adds, “Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among the elderly in the United States. Success of drug treatment is only partial (ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers are typically used; no evidence has found statins safe or effective for heart failure), and its prognosis remains poor. Follow up of 2445 discharged hospital patients with heart failure revealed that 37.3% died during the first year, and 78.5% died within 5 years.
Since consumption of whole grain products and dietary fiber has been shown to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and heart attack, Harvard researchers decided to look at the effects of cereal consumption on heart failure risk and followed 21,376 participants in the Physicians Health Study over a period of 19.6 years.
After adjusting for confounding factors (age, smoking, alcohol consumption, vegetable consumption, use of vitamins, exercise, and history of heart disease), they found that men who simply enjoyed a daily morning bowl of whole grain (but not refined) cereal had a 29% lower risk of heart failure.”
In addition they site a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests barley’s fiber has multiple beneficial effects on cholesterol. In this study of 25 individuals with high cholesterol (postmenopausal women, premenopausal women, and men), adding barley to the American Heart Association Step 1 diet resulted in a significant lowering in total cholesterol in all subjects, plus their amount of large LDL and large and intermediate HDL fractions (which are considered less atherogenic) increased, and the smaller LDL and VLDL cholesterol (the most dangerous fractions) greatly decreased.
At this point, we would like to share an article with you that we found interesting that speaks to the benefits of including Barley in your diet on a regular basis.
Barley: An Ancient Super Food Rediscovered
by: Darrell Miller
Most people would be surprised to find out that the number-one cause of premature aging and disease in the Western world is the over-consumption of food.
This is true not only because too much food can make us fat, but also because everything we eat must be processed by our bodies, which requires an expenditure of energy. Because the body has to be continually processing calories, we suffer much wear and tear. Within each cell of the human body, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, healthful fats, and other important nutrients are the important parts that create energy and repair the wear and tear that our body is continually fighting.
The modern diet is extremely abundant calories, but yet extremely light on these healing, renewing substances. A diet that is calorie-dense yet nutrient-poor has a serious effect on the state of our health, causing us to be overfed and malnourished.
Barley in the most energy-efficient food available in nature, having major implications for those who are concerned with maximizing longevity, avoiding disease, increasing athletic performance, and fighting obesity. Barley is much more than a supplement found at your local health food store, it is a complete food which has been converted into a super food through an all-natural process, making it so powerful and functional that it can be used to nourish those who are struck by famine. Actually, the United Nations uses it as a relief food for those in famine-stricken countries because of its ability to support human life better than any other single food.
In ancient Rome, sprouted barley gruel was used as a food for gladiators and also as a staple for the roman army. Sprouting is known as a way to transform grains or beans into a more nutrient-dense food that is easier to digest. The unique activating procedure, where the grain isn’t sprouted but pre-sprouted instead, uses a low-temperature process that was first used as a replacement for mother’s milk, as a formula for infants who were unable to nurse. The process that is used to activate barley preserves enzyme activity, vitamins, and minerals, bringing it just to the point where it’s ready to sprout then putting it into a state of suspended animation, where it is then transformed into a powder that mixes easily into any drink or recipe.
Barley transforms into a gel in the GI tract, slowing its passage through the body, which in turn allows maximum nutrient absorption. It also stabilizes glucose levels and is great for use by diabetics. Its composition is unique among others, being extremely energy dense, providing four hundred percent more energy than barley that hasn’t been pre-sprouted. Barley is often used to improve athletic endurance, help maintain healthy cholesterol levels, control hunger, boost the immune system, and detoxify the blood. It has a very low glycemic index, allowing it be used in low-carbohydrate diets. This super food is rich in soluble fiber and beta-glucans, which explains its healthy effects on cholesterol, blood sugar balance, and the immune system. The pre-sprouting process that is used also to increase the grain’s content of beta-glucan a substance known to boost the immune system.
Thanks Darrell.
Some have found that trying to research all of the vitamins, minerals, healthy foods and beneficial supplements can be over-whelming and make you just want to give up. Perhaps take them one at a time.
Today we focused and Barley and it seems to be time well spent.
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Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.
https://www.25doctors.com/liquid-poop
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_6960.shtml
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=127
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerstenkorrels_Hordeum_vulgare.jpg#/media/File:Gerstenkorrels_Hordeum_vulgare.jpg
