Barley

Listing ID #4930971

Botanical name: Hordeum vulgare

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. Barley is a wonderfully resourceful cereal grain with a rich nutlike flavor. Barley is a hearty plant, able to withstand many different growing conditions. Barley is good source of iron, selenium and niacin & protein.

Benefits and uses:

Sprouted barley is naturally high in maltose, a sugar that serves as the basis for both malt syrup sweeteners. When fermented, barley is used as an ingredient in and other alcoholic beverages.

It decreases the risk of colon cancer and hemorrhoids; barley's dietary fibre also provides food for the "friendly" bacteria in the large intestine. When these helpful bacteria ferment barley's insoluble fiber, they produce a short-chain fatty acid called butyric acid, which serves as the primary fuel for the cells of the large intestine and helps maintain a healthy colon. These helpful bacteria also create two other short-chain fatty acids, propionic and acetic acid, which are used as fuel by the cells of the liver and muscles.

The propionic acid produced from barley's insoluble fiber may also be partly responsible for the cholesterol-lowering properties of fiber. In animal studies, propionic acid has been shown to inhibit HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme involved in the production of cholesterol by the liver. By lowering the activity of this enzyme, propionic acid helps lower blood cholesterol levels.

In addition, barley's dietary fiber is high in beta glucan, which helps to lower cholesterol by binding to bile acids and removing them from the body via the feces.

Barley is also a good source of niacin, a vitamin B that provides numerous protective actions against cardiovascular risk factors. Niacin can help reduce total cholesterol and lipoprotein levels.

Niacin may also help prevent free radicals from oxidizing LDL, which only becomes potentially harmful to blood vessel walls after oxidation.

Niacin can help reduce platelet aggregation, the clumping together of platelets that can result in the formation of blood clots.

Barley and other whole grains are a rich source of magnesium, a mineral that acts as a co-factor for more than 300 enzymes, including enzymes involved in the body's use of glucose and insulin secretion.

Barley, in various forms, is used in folk remedies for cancers and various other ailments; it is also easily digestible for invalids and convalescents; and barley straw is used for making hats, packaging, and pulp.