Barley - Natural Benefits and Healing Properties

Barley flour used as a face pack removes blemishes from the skin. Beer prepared from barley makes an effective setting lotion for the hair.

Natural Benefits of Barley

A concentrated source of nearly three dozen vitamins and minerals, barley grass is particularly rich in vitamins A, C, B1, B2, folic acid, and B12; calcium; iron; potassium; and chlorophyll. Unlike most plants, barley grass provides all nine essential amino acids (those which your body can't produce).

When the weather's cold, a big pot of soup simmering on the stove warms the heart as well as the hearth. Adding some whole grain barley to the pot will improve your health along with the flavor of whatever soup or stew you're cooking.

barley is a good source of both soluble and insoluble fibre. At a time when consumers are being encouraged to increase fibre and grain intake, barley foods or barley components added to other foods are a useful way to meet nutritional goals.

Barley contains high levels of dietary fiber and selenium (a type of antioxidants). Recent studies showed that a diet high in beta-glucan from barley helps lower blood LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol). Barley may also help stabilize blood glucose levels, which may benefit people with diabetes.

Unrefined starch is good for your health and your digestion. Barley and rye contain gluten, which must be avoided by those with coeliac disease. Unrefined flours and wholegrains should be eaten fairly shortly after purchase.

Eating barley-containing foods improved several cardiovascular risk factors. For example, in a study of male participants, researchers found increasing whole grain foods in a healthy diet could reduce high blood pressure.

The barley straw must be well-aerated. Therefore bales of straw should only be used in streams with strong currents. Otherwise the straw is usually packed loosely in netting, best configured as long tubes that permit good water flow through the straw and that can be arranged to cover an extended area.

A diet higher in soluble fiber also had the greatest effect on reducing total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels--the bad cholesterol. Levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)--the good cholesterol--either increased or did not change, resulting in an improved total LDL/HDL ratio.

A cup of barley flour or meal provides nearly as many nutrients as hulled barley and will improve the nutritional value of baked goods when used as a substitute for all or part of the wheat flour. Barley nutrients also include beta-glucan content, a form of soluble fiber.