Barley For Human Health

BARLEY GRASS
Hordeum vulgare

Barley grass is one of the green grasses - the only vegetation on the earth that can supply sole nutritional support from birth to old age. Barley has served as a food staple in most cultures. The use of barley for food and medicinal purposes dates to antiquity. Agronomists place this ancient cereal grass as being cultivated as early as 7000 BC. Roman gladiators ate barley for strength and stamina. In the West, it was first known for the barley grain it produces.

Astounding amounts of vitamins and minerals are found in green barley leaves. The leaves have an ability to absorb nutrients from the soil. When barley leaves are 4-6 inches high, they contain many vitamins, minerals, and proteins necessary for the human diet, plus chlorophyll. These are easily assimilated throughout the digestive tract, giving our bodies instant access to vital nutrients. Barley grass is high in potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, beta carotene, vitamins B 1, B2, B6, B12, vitamin C, folic acid, and pantothenic acid. It also contains all the essential amino acids, chlorophyll, favonoids, and other minerals, plus enzymes. Indeed, green barley juice contains 11 times the calcium in cow's milk, nearly 5 times the iron in spinach, 7 times the vitamin C in oranges, and 80 mg of vitamin B12 per hundred grams.

This food heals stomach, duodenal, and colon disorders as well as pancreatitis, and is an effective anti-inflammatory.

Chlorophyll bursting barley grass is a green cereal grass that is an excellent nutritional source for both humans and animals. Young barley leaves contain all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and detoxifying compounds, proteins and enzymes that keep the human body healthy.

The cereal grass promotional literature of the 1950s claimed that cereal grasses contain every nutrient known to be required by humans, except vitamin D, which is made in the skin. Independent laboratory analyses show that a wide variety of nutrients are contained in dehydrated cereal grasses. Some of these nutrients are quite concentrated; others are present only in small amounts. These nutrients are combined by nature to provide a uniquely potent food.

Dehydrated barley grass powders, tablets and capsules are not multi-vitamin pills - they are a concentrated combination of nutrients. Aswe have seen, the nutrients found in these foods work together to benefit the body as a whole. It is interesting, and rather amazing, to see how the variety of nutrients in barley grass work together to support the functions of each other. A closer look at this phenomenon makes a good case for relying on natural foods, rather than artificial vitamin pills, as sources of vitamins and minerals. For example, vitamin C aids in the absorption of calcium and iron. Iron is required to convert beta-carotene to vitamin A. Calcium and pyridoxine help absorb vitamin B12, which, in turn, is essential for the activation of folic acid. All of these nutrients are found together in barley grass, along with others, which support complimentary functions. Green foods have been an essential part of the human diet for thousands, perhaps millions, of years. Today, we are able to identify many of the specific nutrients found in green foods, and the reasons why we can't do without them. Even with all of this information, we may only be beginning to understand why green foods are so good for us.

It's best to sip it slowly on an empty stomach, either 20 minutes before a meal or 2 hours after, so that the nutrients can be assimilated easily without the presence of other foods. Take either cold or room temperature liquid, as hot liquid will break down the live enzymes.

No. The powdered juice is taken from the leaves of barley grass not mature grain; it is the gluten content in barley grain which causes allergies. None of the ingredients in GoGreen contain gluten.

Barley grass should be kept away from moisture and sunlight, in its own jar with the lid fastened securely. Do not store barley grass in the refrigerator where condensation could cause nutrients to oxidize and break down.

Barley grass is said to have 30 times more vitamin B1 and 11 times the amount of calcium than there is in cow's milk, 6.5 times as much carotene and nearly 5 times the iron content of spinach, close to seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the vitamin B1 in whole wheat flour, and 80 micrograms of vitamin B12 per 100 grams of dried barley plant juice. Barley grass is very high in organic sodium, which dissolves calcium deposited on the joints and also replenishes organic sodium in the lining of the stomach. This aids digestion by improving the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. People with arthritis have used celery juice for years because of the organic sodium it contains (28mg per 100grms), but compare this to the amount of organic sodium in barley grass (775mg per 100 grams)!

Barley grass, at the time it is harvested to make juice, is about 45 percent protein. It has almost twice as much protein as an equivalent amount of wheat germ and about five times the minerals which accompany animal protein, in addition the protein in barley grass doesn't come burdened with fat. Enzymes (barley grass is believed to contain up to 1,000 of them) are the necessary regulators of the body, without them our cells could not function and we would perish. Barley grass has one of the highest natural levels of enzyme SOD (superoxide dismutase), which is a powerful antioxidant that protects the cells against toxic free radicals, thought to be a primary culprit in aging. Barley grass also contains one of the most amazing nutrients, "chlorophyll" (liquid oxygenated sunshine), a natural detoxifier that rids the intestines of stored toxins.

Sure, you don't have to drink green grass juices to get chlorophyll; it is present in all dark green, leafy vegetables. But the question is " how many servings of spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens, or turnip and beet tops, do you eat everyday?" Some people eat none...ever! And for those who do eat them regularly, there is, after all, a limit to the amount of spinach, kale and the likes someone can eat. Getting chlorophyll by taking barley grass is as easy as mixing 1-2 tsp, two times a day, in water or you favourite juice. For those who want to spend even less time getting their essential nutrients, simply take barley grass capsules or tablets with a glass of water.

The importance of green foods in our diet is now being validated scientifically. Dehydrated cereal grasses compare favourably with other greens in respect to both nutrients and cost. It is an excellent and convenient source of green food nutrients. Green food nutrients support healthy blood and circulation. Iron, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin B12, pyridoxine and protein are all vital for the formation and maintenance of adequate levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells. Chlorophyll may also be beneficial in these processes. In addition, chlorophyll, vitamin K, and calcium are all involved in blood clot formation and breakdown. Users of barley grass have also found it useful as an aid in weight loss and good for the heart, healing of ulcers, correcting blood sugar problems and, most of all, as a general tonic.

Of all the grasses, barley grass has probably been researched the most, due to the efforts of Dr. Yoshihide Hagiwara who researched over 150 different plants over a period of 13 years. He found that barley grass is the best source of the nutrients that the body needs for growth, repair and well-being. Barley grass contains a substance called P4D1; it not only has a strong anti-inflammatory action, but has also been shown to actually repair the DNA in the body's cells. P4D1 aids in the prevention of carcinogenesis, aging, and cell death. Research studies indicate that barley grass juice is much stronger than steroid drugs but has fewer, if any, side effects. Many doctors and health practitioners have reported that barley grass juice helps in the treatment of a variety of illnesses, including arthritis, migraine headaches, asthma, fatigue and gastro-intestinal disorders, and can help in clarifying the skin. Barley grass is also credited with helping in more serious illnesses such as blood clots, diabetes, and cancer. According to research published in the scientific journal, Diabetes and Metabolism (2002, Vol. 28, 107-114), regular supplementation with barley grass reduced the levels of cholesterol and oxygen free radicals in the blood of type 2 diabetics. Researchers have said that this amazing plant can be used as a preventative, if not therapeutic, approach to remaining disease-free.

When you walk into a health food store or pharmacy you might feel over-whelmed by the variety of supplements available to you. The vitamins, minerals and amino acids are available individually, or in creative combinations with other supplements.

There are supplements to build muscles, reduce stress, grow thicker hair, detoxify, raise energy levels and so on. One of the most popular supplements these days is the multivitamin/ mineral combination. All you have to do is to pop a pill or two daily and no need to worry, right? Wrong! Plants that grow in nature and are used as human food contain hundreds of compounds. These compounds interact with each other and with our digestive tract and blood stream. These combinations of nutrients and other factors found in natural foods bear little resemblance to those found in a chemical, man made supplement, such as pills, for example. In nature, there is no such thing as 2000 mg. of calcium, or vitamin C, isolated into a single pill. Low-dose supplements may fill some nutrient gaps, and mega-dose supplements may have therapeutic value, but neither can come close to replacing our need for natural food nutrition. For over fifty years, the beneficial effects of adding cereal grasses to the feed rations of test animals could not be duplicated by adding any, or all, of the known isolated chemical components of those foods. The results of many studies, which demonstrate the value of green vegetables in the prevention of human diseases, cannot be explained in terms of the individual nutrients they are known to contain.