6 Health Benefits Of Barley Flour

Barley (Hordeum vulgare), also called ‘jo’, ‘jau’ or ‘jyon’ in Hindi, is a food and fodder grain which is believed to have domesticated in the Fertile Crescent area of the West Asia.

The earliest excavations of barley is of epipaleolithic (pre-pottery) age and at the southern end of Sea of Galilee, dated back to about 10000 years ago.

From this region of West and Central Asia, it spread to India, Persia, Syria and other countries of the region. It is interesting to note that Barley beer is one of the first alcoholic beverages to have been developed by people dating back to Neolithic age.

Barley is one of the food crops which is mentioned in ancient India texts of Rig Veda and other scriptures. It is called ‘Yava’ in these ancient texts. Traces of its cultivation have also been found dated to post-Neolithic Bronze Age Civilisation and Harappa Civilisation, dating back to almost 5000 years from present.

# Helps in losing weight

By making you feel fuller and enhancing satiety, it makes you control your cravings for frequent eating. This is possible because of the presence of fiber in barley. Barley contains both soluble and insoluble fiber.

Beta-glucan is a soluble fiber present in it. Once consumed, this compound forms a gel-like substance in gut, which slows down digestion and absorption of nutrients. This gives the feeling of fullness.

Insoluble fiber present in barley does not dissolve in water and adds to bulk to food. This resultant slowing down of digestion makes you feel less hungry, which means that you eat less and tend to lose weight naturally.

# Improves gut health

The insoluble fiber component present in barley flour helps in easing the movement of stool as it adds bulk to stool. This prevents constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease and inflammation. It is a guard against various diseases related to digestive and excretory system.

The soluble fiber compounds are good for friendly gut bacteria which help in producing short-chain fatty acids.

# Prevents gallstones

Gall bladder stones are quite common among population which often requires surgery and removal of gall bladder as a cure. However, by having fiber rich food, such as barley flour, the instance of gall bladder stones can be reduced significantly. Many studies have also proven this beneficial aspect of fiber-rich diet.

# Reduces Heart Risk

How barley flour reduces the LDL cholesterol is mentioned in the point above. The soluble fiber component is also able to reduce the blood pressure levels. With cholesterol down and hypertensive blood pressure also reduced, the risk factors to heart are minimised.

# Controls Diabetes

Magnesium plays a role in secretion of insulin and use of sugar in body. This reduces the sugar level of the body. Further, the insoluble fiber which slows down the process of digestion does not release sugar in blood. Both these factors play important role in controlling sugar levels, especially Type 2 diabetes.

# Reduces Cholesterol Levels

One way to reduce the cholesterol levels in blood is to make liver use more of it to make bile acid. And, in order to do so, liver must have indications from the body that more bile acid is required. This happens when soluble fiber compound called beta-glucans bind themselves to the bile acids and liver requires more cholesterol from blood to secret bile acid. This not only reduces the LDL cholesterol and triglycerides but also increases the HDL (good cholesterol).