Natural Benefits and Curative Properties of Barley

Image via Wikipedia Barley has many medicinal virtues. Pearled barley, which is the form the grain is largely eaten and consumed as a food by invalids. The malt prepared from barley is used in the preparation of malt extract for the incorporation in the diet of the infant and the invalid.

 The partially germinated and dried grain is the source of malt extract which is more nutritious than the un malted barley. Malt extract consists chiefly of dextrin and malt sugar and contains the ferment diastase enzyme which is developed during the malting process. This ferment diastase possesses the power of converting starch into dextrin and sugar, thus assisting in the digestive of starchy or farinaceous foods.

•Digestive System Disorders :- The pearl barley has always been used by orient traditional physicians for the healing and the rejuvenation of the digestive system. A simple, yet effective folk remedy was to make a barley

Barley contains eight essential amino acids.[35][36] According to a recent study, eating whole grain barley can regulate blood sugar (i.e. reduce blood glucose response to a meal) for up to 10 hours after consumption compared to white or even whole-grain wheat, which has a similar glycemic index. The effect was attributed to colonic fermentation of indigestible carbohydrates. Barley can also be used as a coffee substitute.

Hulled barley (or covered barley) is eaten after removing the inedible, fibrous outer hull. Once removed, it is called dehulled barley (or pot barley or scotch barley).Considered a whole grain, dehulled barley still has its bran and germ making it a nutritious and popular health food. Pearl barley (or pearled barley) is dehulled barley which has been steam processed further to remove the bran.[38] It may be polished, a process known as "pearling". Dehulled or pearl barley may be processed into a variety of barley products, including flour, flakes similar to oatmeal, and grits.

Barley—Low GI, Low GL

Now let’s get back to barley, an exceptionally nutritious and healthy food for humans. On average, pearl barleys have an extremely low GI—25—and a relatively low GL—11—an excellent combination. We say “on average” because for most foods, many factors can affect these values, e.g., age, ripeness, processing method, cooking method, the presence of additives (salt, sugar, spices, butter, etc.), and the presence of other foods in the same meal. Any of these could significantly change the GI and, therefore, the GL of the individual food in question—and, therefore, of the overall meal. For that matter, these values can vary from person to person and even in the same person from day to day. So averages are all we can go on.

There are also differences among the different varieties of a given food, such as the cultivars of barley (cultivars are to barley as varietals are to grapes—they’re members of the same species, but with significant, sometimes dramatic, differences in composition and appearance). One barley cultivar that stands out is called Prowashonupana.  “Prowash,” as it’s called for short, was developed in the 1990s by plant breeders at Montana State University as a hulless cultivar that’s low in starch, high in protein, and very high in fiber—it has two to three times the amount of fiber as most other cereal grains.2

Prowash Is Naturally Rich in Healthful Beta-Glucan

A major portion of the fiber in Prowash is a highly beneficial soluble fiber. It takes the form of viscous polysaccharides called beta-glucans, which are known for their ability to reduce cholesterol levels.*3 In barley, the beta-glucans are found throughout the entire kernel, whereas in most other grains, they’re concentrated in the outer bran layer and can thus easily be lost in processing.

brew and sip throughout the day, while restricting intake of other foods. This folk remedy has helped many people even to this day.

The barely brew is prepared by boiling one-quarter cup of all natural pearled barley in about 2.5 litres of water. When the water has boiled down to about 1.25 litres, it should be strained carefully. This all natural barley brew helps digestive rejuvenation in two ways. It has a demulcent or soothing

 response and relieves the burning digestive actions. It has also a mucilaginous response and introduces a natural oily substance which helps to protect the abraded mucous membrane of the digestive system. Once the digestive system is thus soothed and healed, it can promote better assimilation of foods.

•Fever :- Barley is also useful in fever and all inflammatory conditions on account of its soothing properties.

• Urinary Disorders :- Barley gruel with butter milk and lime juice is an excellent diuretic carbohydrate food. It is highly beneficial in the treatment of urinarv disorders like nephritis and cystitis.