Barley Nutrition and Benefits For Your Health

Barley nutritional value varies depending on its types: hulled and pearled barley. Hulled barley undergoes minimal processing and has the bran and germ intact, while the pearled ones do not have both. 

One-half cup (100 grams) of uncooked, hulled barley contains the following nutrients: 

• Calories: 354 grams
• Total Fat: 2.3 grams
• Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
• Sodium: 0 milligrams
• Carbohydrates: 73.5 grams
• Dietary Fiber: 17.3 grams
• Sugar: 0 grams
• Protein: 12.5 grams

Vitamins and Minerals

• Vitamin B1 (Thiamin): 43% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 17% of the RDI
• Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 23% of the RDI
• Vitamin B6: 16% of the RDI
• Vitamin B12: 12% of the DV
• Folate: 5% of the RDI
• Iron: 20% of the RDI
• Magnesium: 33% of the RDI
• Phosphorus: 26% of the RDI
• Potassium: 13% of the RDI
• Zinc: 18% of the RDI
• Copper: 25% of the RDI
• Manganese: 97% of the RDI
• Selenium: 54% of the RDI
• Calcium: 20% of the RDI

Barley is an excellent source of soluble fiber, beta-glucan, which turns into a gel when combined with fluid. This fiber has a satiating effect and may help lower cholesterol and improve blood sugar control. Other health benefits of barley include:

Barley nutrition is a good source of essential nutrients like vitamin B12,  potassium, folate, iron, magnesium, and selenium. Our body needs these nutrients to carry out various bodily functions such as healing, digestion, blood production, breathing, hormone production, and many more.

Vitamin B12, for example, plays a vital role in the production of red blood cells. It works with folate, another B vitamin, to develop enough red blood cells to transport oxygen to our vital organs. Another important nutrient is magnesium which is essential for the production and use of glucose, controlling muscle functioning, regulating blood pressure, and many more. 

One of the key barley benefits is that it is high in fiber. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that our body cannot digest or absorb. Most carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and absorbed by the body, not fiber.

It forms a gel-like substance in the gut and increases the bulk of your stool, making it easy to pass through the body undigested. Additionally, fiber also helps relieve constipation. A study found that barley was effective in treating constipation. The results showed an increase in the frequency and volume of bowel movements after the intake of barley.

As mentioned before, one of the most important barley nutritional facts is that it is high in fiber, specifically soluble fiber known as beta-glucan. Beta-glucan is known to help lower LDL/bad cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.

After this fiber reaches the intestine, it absorbs water and forms a gel-like substance. This substance traps cholesterol-rich bile acids produced by the liver. Once the acid is trapped, it is eliminated from the body via the fecal route, preventing it from being reabsorbed into the bloodstream. 

Additionally, beta-glucan also forces the liver to produce more bile acids, which are made using cholesterol. This increased production leads to a reduction in LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels.

Barley has a low glycemic index, meaning it causes a slower and smaller rise in blood sugar levels once consumed and digested. This is because of its soluble fiber content. Our body cannot break down soluble fiber. Therefore, it takes longer to digest, which slows down the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream and prevents increases in our blood sugar levels.

The soluble fiber also helps control the sugar levels by improving insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity describes how sensitive the body is to the effects of insulin, a type of hormone produced by the pancreas that helps the cells absorb glucose from the bloodstream. A high insulin sensitivity means the cells can use glucose more effectively, thus reducing blood sugar.

The high fiber content in barley plays a role in weight management by controlling calorie intake and appetite. Fiber helps reduce our calorie intake because it keeps us full longer. It reacts with water, which increases the volume of food in our stomach, promoting a feeling of fullness.

Additionally, fiber takes longer to digest than carbohydrates because it forms a gel-like substance that is difficult to break down. This slows down the emptying of your stomach and leads to a decrease in ghrelin production.

Ghrelin, also known as hunger hormones, induces hunger and signals to the brain when it is time to eat. A decrease in ghrelin reduces cravings and the urge to snack between meals, thus reducing calorie intake, which helps us maintain a healthy weight. 

Another one of the many important and well-researched barley grain health benefits is that it helps keep our digestive system healthy. Fiber acts as a prebiotic, a non-digestible carbohydrate that helps good bacteria in our gut microbiome thrive and multiply. These healthy bacteria break down food and allow the body to absorb essential nutrients that keep the digestive system healthy.

These bacteria also help maintain a healthy gut barrier that defends our body against harmful pathogens and inhibits their growth. Proliferation of these pathogens increases the risk of infection, which leads to the development of inflammatory diseases like ulcerative colitis. 

Barley contains various antioxidants, such as selenium, B vitamins, zinc, magnesium, etc. Antioxidants are compounds that help prevent our cells from damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable atoms produced in the body through normal cell metabolism or from toxic external sources like cigarette smoke, air pollution, and medication. 

These unstable atoms are highly reactive and damage other healthy molecules to stabilize themselves, a phenomenon known as oxidative stress. Prolonged oxidative stress can lead to chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, etc. To prevent this, our body needs antioxidants because they help stabilize harmful free radicals.

One of the lesser-known barley nutrition facts is that it helps maintain healthy bones and teeth. Barley contains several essential vitamins and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and manganese.

Calcium, also known as the “bone builder,” is a crystal-like mineral stored in our bones and teeth. It is the main mineral that keeps our skeletal system strong and healthy and prevents fractures and osteoporosis.

Another mineral that works with calcium to give our bones and teeth their rigidity and strength is phosphorus. Phosphorus helps develop hydroxyapatite, which is crucial for bone formation and repair. Magnesium also keeps our bones healthy by ensuring that our body can absorb the calcium it needs. 

Our immune system plays a very crucial role in maintaining our health. It is a complex network of organs, cells, and proteins that fight off unwanted and harmful invaders. The immune system can distinguish between healthy cells and foreign invaders, blocks these invaders from entering our membranes, and produces antibodies that eliminate the invaders. 

With such an important role, we need to keep our immune system healthy and boost its functioning by consuming foods like barley, which are high in vitamins and minerals that support the immune system. These nutrients prevent us from catching illnesses and injuries and speed up the healing process if we fall sick.

Our skin is the largest organ in our body and plays a pivotal role in keeping us healthy. Firstly, it protects us from external threats such as bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, which can cause infection by acting as a barrier. It also prevents excessive water loss, which can impair cellular function and disrupt our well-being. 

Our skin also affects our immune health. Our skin is composed of immune cells that protect us from pathogens and enhance our immune function. Barley contains nutrients that benefit the skin, such as selenium, which protects us against pathogens and promotes healthy skin.

Another benefit of barley is reduced risk of gallstones. Gallstones are hardened particles consisting of cholesterol, bilirubin, and calcium salts. These particles form in the gallbladder, the organ that produces bile acids, which our body uses to emulsify fat. But when there is too much fat or cholesterol, the bile acids cannot break it down, triggering gallstone formation.

Gallstones dissolve with medication, but sometimes large ones get stuck in the bile duct, causing excruciating pain. For such cases, one might need surgery. To prevent this from happening, we should incorporate fiber into our diet. Barley is high in fiber, which lowers cholesterol levels and reduces bile acid secretion, both of which contribute to a lower risk of gallstone formation.

Barley reduces inflammation thanks to its vitamin and mineral contents. Inflammation is a physiological process that protects us from injury and infection. It is essential for healing. However, problems arise when inflammation becomes chronic. Chronic inflammation often goes unnoticed and occurs when immune cells attack healthy cells instead of pathogens.

One of the causes of chronic inflammation is an unhealthy diet consisting of processed foods, excess sugar, and unhealthy fats. Over time, this inflammation can damage healthy tissues and organs and lead to chronic diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, and cancer. The different vitamins and minerals control our body’s inflammatory response, which reduces inflammation. 

Apart from reducing inflammation, the vitamins and minerals in barley are also essential for our brain health, which controls all cognitive functions. Cognitive functions are all processes that we use every day, like memory, attention, learning, problem-solving, communication, and decision-making. These nutrients are the building blocks of neurotransmitters, a signaling molecule that coordinates our cognitive functions.

As we get older and experience deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, our cognitive function declines. This can lead to dementia, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, making poor choices, taking longer to solve problems, etc. Therefore, we need to ensure that we consume food high in vitamins and minerals, like barley to prevent this decline from happening.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally after cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately, there are no cures for any kind of cancer. There are only medications that prolong life. Cancer occurs when our body undergoes oxidative stress, which damages our DNA. This damage leads to mutations, the hallmark of cancer. 

As such, we need to take care of our health and reduce the risk of cancer by following a healthy diet. Barley is one such food that should be incorporated into a healthy diet. It is full of antioxidants that can that have the ability to fight free radical damage and inflammation, which in turn reduces oxidative stress. 

Apart from fiber, barley is also a good source of carbohydrates, the main source of energy for the body from food. Our digestive system breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which is absorbed in the small intestine. After that, glucose enters our bloodstream and is ready to be used for energy.

Glucose enters our cells and undergoes cellular respiration, a process by which cells convert glucose into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the fundamental energy currency that fuels a multitude of cellular functions like homeostasis, organ function, growth and repair, muscle contraction, and many more.