Barley 101: 5 Benefits to Improve Your Health & Physique
Now, I know what you’re thinking… isn’t barley an ingredient used in beer? Yes, it’s actually a grain used in brewing beer (hopefully, you only know that because you’re of age). But let’s get past that point since alcohol isn’t exactly deemed a “health food or beverage.” That said, barley does play some key roles in improving our overall health and physique.
For that reason, we felt it would be important to outline the many ways that supplementing with barley or utilizing a product that includes barley in its formula would be advantageous to you.
To provide you with a quick background, barley is a grain full of useful nutrients such as fiber, niacin, magnesium, selenium, and chromium, among many others. So, how exactly can we use barley to improve our health and physique? Let’s dive into it.
1. Improve Digestion
As mentioned above, one of the nutrients found naturally in barley is fiber – both soluble and insoluble.
These sources come in handy with improving your digestion. Unfortunately, unless you have digestive issues that are severe enough to cause you to pay particular attention, you may not know how your digestive system is working or its health.
When you look at soluble fiber, one of its functions is to feed the good bacteria found in your gut. These good bacteria are able to help boost the immune system, make important vitamins that promote health, and obviously aid in digesting the food we consume.
Insoluble fiber from barley helps keep you regular and lowers your risk of becoming constipated. Because insoluble fiber is unable to dissolve in water, it can add bulk to your stool (which is helpful to prevent loose bowel movements).
Your ability to effectively digest food can allow you to absorb more of the nutrients found in the meals you eat rather than having them being excreted as the digestive system continues to move it through the intestines and eventually out of your system entirely.
2. Lower Cholesterol
Looking at cholesterol, we have good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL). For health benefits, you want to increase your good cholesterol while lowering your bad cholesterol that can cause many health risks.
In barley, you have what’s known as beta-glucans (a soluble fiber). The benefit of beta-glucans is its ability to lower your LDL levels by removing bile acids (which are made in the liver from cholesterol), which then forces your liver to make more and use up extra cholesterol. If bile acids were not removed, you would have an increased amount of cholesterol in your system, which causes LDL levels to rise and leads to some individuals needing to use cholesterol medication prescribed by their doctor.
3. Manage Appetite
Circling back to #1, due to barley containing fiber (in this instance soluble fiber), it can help you feel more satiated and fuller throughout the day and encounter fewer hunger pangs between meals. This can help reduce the number of calories you consume on a daily basis and may keep your weight in check. Barley also helps reduce your appetite thanks to the soluble fiber, which slows down digestion and creates the consistency of a gel in the stomach and allows it to sit there longer than if the soluble fiber was not present.
In addition, consuming a diet high in fiber can help you better manage your weight. Fiber has been found to be useful in weight loss and can actually seek out and help eliminate fat stores – particularly abdominal fat.
Combine the fact that barley can help control your appetite and cravings with the weight loss benefits, you have the ability to lower your risk for many diseases related to being overweight or obese.
4. Lower Blood Sugar Levels
Something that affects more than 100 million Americans is elevated blood sugar levels. Of this number, the majority of them suffer from diabetes or prediabetes. Unfortunately, unless you stay on top of your blood sugar levels, you may have no idea that your levels are high.
What barley is able to do is lower blood sugar naturally without the need for medication. Now, that does not mean those on blood sugar medication can supplement with barley and solve their blood sugar woes.
It is always wise to speak with your healthcare professional about any supplement you want to take. They will be able to provide you with a better idea of whether or not it can help you, as well as if the supplement will interfere or interact with any medications you may be on.
That said, barley can improve your insulin levels thanks to its magnesium content. When insulin is present, your blood sugar levels decrease by allowing your cells to absorb the glucose in the blood. The fiber found in barley also plays a role in helping manage your blood sugar levels since it slows down the absorption of glucose into your system when the fiber binds with water.
5. Lower Risk of Heart Disease
Now for another biggie. According to the CDC, heart disease kills around 655,000 Americans every year. Even more worrisome is that nearly 750,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. Those numbers are nothing to joke about.
The good news is that the benefits of barley mentioned above can help play a role in lowering your risk. By reducing your LDL levels, managing your weight, and overall playing a more offensive role in protecting your health can help minimize your risk.
Barley, when used as a health-improving grain, has been found to help improve heart health, which in turn can reduce your risk of heart disease. The soluble fiber content in barley can also aid in lowering blood pressure, which, as you may know, if undiagnosed, can lead to severe complications and even death. High blood pressure is known as “the silent killer” because around 500,000 people die from it each year without even showing any noticeable symptoms. The combination of high cholesterol and high blood pressure is a horrific duo that can drastically increase your risk of heart disease and premature death.
Help Maintain a Clean Bill of Health with Barley
While barley isn’t exactly something that many of us have laying around the house that we can add to our meals, nor do many people supplement with barley as a standalone product, Evogen combined the power of barley with some other ingredients that not many people consume enough of daily – fruits and vegetables.
Out of necessity, Evogen EvoGreens was formulated. Containing a full six servings of fruits and vegetables per serving, along with 2 billion CFU probiotics, patented VitaGranate, barley, spirulina, and more, this potent elixir is chock-full of health benefits.
Best of all, Evogen EvoGreens is a greens formula you’ll actually enjoy drinking. Unlike most greens powders on the market, Evogen EvoGreens comes in delicious flavors like fruit punch, chocolate, berry, and lemon mint that will leave your mouth-watering until your next serving.
Take control of your health through the use of this premium performance superfood formula!