Barley Benefits

Ever wonder the healing and cleansing properties of barley

One of the common problem affecting us is having to remove stones from our body. Over times, whether we like it or not, stones get accumulated within some organs in our body. Many years back, I remember trying out a formula to help remove stones from our gall bladder. I was told that we all have stones within us. It is a matter of few or many. The more water we drink, the better it is for us. Recently, I have come across 2 friends who unfortunately, have to remove stones from their kidney. So when I received the following internet mail, I thought of sharing the goodness of barley and drinking barley water. Apparently, this came from someone in Australia.

For the Chinese, drinking barley water is a common habit. Here goes the content of the internet story

“High in fibre, barley is also a kidney cleanser. Better yet, regular intake of it helps prevent heart disease. BARLEY water was always a regular drink when we were still living at home. Whenever we had to go for a medical exam that included a urine test , my mum would have us drink barley water a day before it to make sure we got a positive result!

My mother was a wise woman. I later found out from an Australian naturopath that barley known to be a kidney cleanser, and he happily downed glasses of it at a meal we had in the coffee shop here.

Barley is good for your intestinal health too. Try to eat the barley grains you find in your drink or sweet broth and fu chook (bean curd skin) and gingko nuts.

It’s high in fibre which feeds the friendly bacteria in the colon and helps speed up the transit of fecal matter in int. In this way it helps prevent haemorrhoids and colon cancer.

The propionic acid and beta glucan from barley’s insoluble fibre also help lower cholesterol and prevent the formation of gallstones.

Eating barley regularly is a preventive step against heart disease as, besides the fibre content, it is also high in niacin, a B vitamin good for lowering cholesterol.

Diabetics should eat more barley as the fibre will prevent blood sugar levels from rising too high. It also provides relief from constipation or diarrhea for those suffering from Irritational Bowel Syndrome.

Barley is rich in selenium which prevents cancer and relieves symptoms of asthma and arthritis. It is a good source of manganese, copper and phosphorous.

Malt sugar comes from sprouted barley which, when fermented, is an ingredient in beer and other alcoholic beverages.

Barley, whose Latin name is Hordeum vulgare, has been cultivated for more than 10,000 years.
Since ancient times, barley has been used for healing purposes and has been known to the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Athletes in Greece and Rome in those days were known to eat barley bread to give them strength.

Besides the usual things we do with barley, I enjoy having it in a western soup. The large pearl barley is used and I love the sticky bite of it.

Here’s a recipe for barley soup:

Barley soup with roasted garlic
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 5 cloves whole garlic, roasted
- 2 litres chicken stock, steeped from 1 chicken breasts simmered in 3 litres water
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil
- 2 large onions, diced
- 150g turkey ham, cut up
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsps sea salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Method
1. Wash barley and soak it in a bowl of water for 3 hours. Drain.
2. Heat oil in pan and fry onions. Add carrots and celery, then the barley and fry for 3 minutes
3. Add Chicken stock, pepper and roasted garlic and simmer over low heat for at least an hour, or until barley is soft.
4. Add salt to taste and serve the soup garnished with chopped parsley.


Well, I have not tried this recipe. But I do drink a lot of barley water and can tell that it has many good properties. Like many people used to ask me whether the things that I consumed is effective, I would say that the fact that I am still around and healthy is good enough evidence.

Posted by
Ivan