Whether you’re trying to improve your heart health or burn that stubborn belly fat, Barley seeds are full of the nutrients you need. Read on to learn more about what they can do for you.
Barley is one of the world’s oldest cultivated grains, with origins tracing to the region that encompasses modern-day Iran, Iraq, and Syria. During the Neolithic period, barley played a critical role in the agricultural revolution, allowing humans to transition from hunter-gatherer societies into settled farming communities.
Over time, barley cultivation spread across Asia, Northern Africa, and Europe. It adapted well to these climates and became an important feature in the diets and economies of numerous civilizations, including the Romans, Greeks, and Vikings. Barley was used to make porridges and breads and was an essential ingredient in traditional Scottish whisky during the Middle Ages.
Today, with the advancement of modern agricultural practices and the advent of extensive breeding and genetic modification to dramatically enhance yield and hardiness, barley has become a prolific crop across the globe. While modern crop modification has allowed barley to resist disease and yield larger crops, thus feeding more people, there is evidence that it does so at the expense of the grain’s inherent nutritional value. As a result, there has been a renewed interest in the untouched, ancient, and heirloom varieties for their wider range of genetic diversity and potentially higher nutrient density.
Barley seeds, particularly the heirloom varieties, contain bioactive compounds that exhibit scientifically proven mechanisms of action. This article will discuss those mechanisms as well as four important health benefits that incorporating a barley supplement can mean for you.
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Barely Missing Your Weight Goals? 4 Big Benefits of Barley Seeds is an original (HerHealthWatch) article.
Benefits of barley seeds:
Maintain a healthy weight
Barley is a rich source of dietary fiber. Fiber is essential for weight control because it provides us with a feeling of fullness. When we feel full, we eat less. In addition to helping us to feel full sooner whilst eating, fiber takes longer to digest, thereby creating longer stretches where we feel full and eat less.
Additionally, barley has a low glycemic index (GI), which means it releases glucose into our bloodstream slowly. This stabilizes blood sugar and helps us avoid the spikes and crashes that high GI foods can cause as well as the hunger triggers that can result.
Benefits of barley seeds:
Reduce inflammation
Barley contains phenolic compounds and flavonoids. These antioxidants, along with others, combine to fight oxidative stress, a significant trigger for inflammation in our bodies. Barley also contains phytonutrients such as lignans. These compounds are proven to inhibit certain inflammatory enzymes.
Additionally, barley has Omega-3 fatty acids. These beneficial fats are widely understood to help reduce inflammation throughout the body. Finally, it’s important to note that the fiber content in barley helps to reduce inflammation by regulating the immune system and reducing the body’s inflammatory markers.
Benefits of barley seeds:
Reduce risk of heart disease
Barley contains soluble fiber, specifically, beta-glucan. In the digestive tract, beta-glucan forms a gel-like substance that serves as a barrier that reduces the absorption of cholesterol, which, in turn, lowers overall levels throughout the bloodstream. This is important because high cholesterol is a risk factor for developing heart disease. The phenolic compounds in barley are also linked to a decreased risk of heart disease.
In addition to reducing inflammation, these antioxidants help to neutralize free radicals and can prevent cellular damage known to contribute to the development of heart disease. High blood pressure and high blood sugar are known to increase the risk of heart disease – Barley’s potassium content helps lower blood pressure, and its low glycemic index reduces the damage that high blood sugar causes in blood vessels.
Benefits of barley seeds:
Strengthen bones
Barley can increase bone density. The nutritional makeup of barley includes several important nutrients that support bone health, including calcium, Vitamin K, magnesium, and phosphorus. Calcium is a critical mineral for bone strength. Magnesium and phosphorus work alongside calcium as important minerals necessary to build and strengthen bone tissue. Vitamin K is important for bone health and density as it helps to regulate bone metabolism and promotes the body’s production of necessary proteins for bone development. Barley serves as a substantial plant-based source that can help boost our daily levels of all these nutrients.
Barely Missing Your Weight Goals? 4 Big Benefits of Barley Seeds is the (HerHealthWatch) report.
Benefits of barley seeds:
Incorporating them into your diet
While ancient societies had to plant, harvest, and prepare barley to incorporate it into their diets, we are fortunate enough today to be able to enjoy its benefits in a convenient supplement. Heirloom Barley by Boomers Forever Young is a premier example of a particularly fine barley supplement.
The company was co-founded by Bob Gilpatrick who was inspired to start the company as a way to help people his age with various health problems. In pursuit of that goal, Gilpatrick also has a wellness podcast and a YouTube channel devoted to educating the public about nutrition and its vital role in human health.
“We’re more than just a nutrition company,” he explains. “We’re teaching people what the state of the art is in the world of nutrition.”
What separates Heirloom Barley from other barley products is that its seeds are, “sprouted in synchronization to enhance phytonutrients and then stabilized at peak usability and digestibility.” Additionally, Heirloom Barley, as its name suggests, uses seeds that, “date back to the time before industrialized agriculture and have been preserved by agriculturists for centuries.”
Benefits of barley seeds:
Taking control of our health
One of the most interesting aspects of having scientific information at our fingertips is that sometimes, modern technology drags us all the way back to our ancient roots. Barley seeds are ancient, but their ability to strengthen our bones and protect our hearts, lower our blood pressure, and help us manage our weight makes them an effective ally in the fight against our current problems.
For further reading:
Effects of whole grains on coronary heart disease risk, by Kristina A Harris
Emerging science on whole grain intake and inflammation, by Shengmin Sang, et.al
Important Note: The information contained in this article (Barely Missing Your Weight Goals? 4 Big Benefits of Barley Seeds) is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as health or medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or health condition. Before embarking on any diet, fitness regimen, or program of nutritional supplementation, it is advisable to consult your health care professional to determine its safety and probable efficacy in terms of your individual state of health.
Regarding Nutritional Supplements or Other Non-Prescription Health Products: If any nutritional supplements or other non-prescription health products are mentioned in the foregoing article, any claims or statements made about them have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and such nutritional supplements or other health products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
