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. The true beauty of barley is found in the leaves; the young green shoots of power that form before the grain. The young leaves have a tremendous ability to absorb nutrients from the soil. When barley leaves are 12-14 inches high, they contain all the vitamins, minerals, and proteins necessary for the human diet, plus chlorophyll. These necessities are easily assimilated throughout the digestive tract, giving our bodies instant access to vital nutrients.
Amino Acids and Proteins
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins; 20 of them are present in the body proteins in significant quality. Proteins are the major constituent of every cell and body fluid (except urine and bile) and are thus necessary for the continual cell building, regeneration, and energy production that we need for life. An added benefit of the green barley leaf proteins is that they are polypeptides; smaller proteins that can be directly absorbed by the blood, where they promote cell metabolism (the chemical changes that we need to live) and neutralize substances that are bad for our health. Eighteen amino acids are found in barley grass, including the eight essential ones - that is, the amino acids that we must get from out diets; the body cannot produce them itself.
Enzymes, Vitamins, and Minerals
Green barley leaves contain a multitude of the body's spark plugs, enzymes. Enzymes supply the spark that starts the essential chemical reactions our bodies need to live. Without this spark, and these chemical reactions, we would be helpless: a bag of bones, unable to walk, talk, blink, or breathe.
Astounding amounts of vitamins and minerals are found in green barley leaves. These include potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, beta carotene, B1, B2, B6, C, folic acid, and pantothenic acid. Indeed, green barley juice contains 11 times the calcium in cows' milk, nearly 5 times the iron in spinach, 7 times the vitamin C in oranges, and 80 mg of vitamin B12 per hundred grams. Green barley leaves also contain significant amounts of chlorophyll.
Alkalinity and More
Green barley leaves are extremely alkaline, so digesting them can help keep the body's alkaline and acidity ratio balanced. Our cells cannot adequately function if the pH range (which measures acidity and alkaline) is not in a narrow range. Most processed foods are acidic, and when we consume too many of them the acidity/alkaline balance is upset. This may result in possible fatigue.
Recently research has unveiled a wealth of other possible benefits of green barley leaves. Extracted compounds have found to have hypercholesteromic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-ulcer properties. A new antioxidant, 2"-0-GIV, has been isolated and reported to have antioxidant activity equal to or superior to vitamin E.
Barley grass can bring much-needed relief from the debilitating symptoms of ulcerative colitis.
Numerous studies have shown that Barley Grass can help treat ulcerative colitis - inflammation of the bowel that causes severe pain in the colon and abdominal area in addition to frequent bouts of diarrhoea, which can eventually leave sufferers seriously malnourished. The condition is linked to low levels of friendly bacteria in the gut and an accumulation of toxins in the bowel. Barley Grass helps reverse this by stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria, which in turn helps reduce inflammation and improves symptoms.
Recent research carried out by Japanese scientists from the Department of Internal Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, has revealed that Barely Grass also contains a particular type of protein (rich in the amino acid glutamine) and a special type of fibre (rich in hemicellulose). Both of which are able to help ulcerative colitis by repairing and stimulating the growth of cells lining the inside of the bowel wall. Glutamine in particular is credited with possessing an ability to nourish and improve the metabolism of these cells.
Barley grass also helps combat ulcerative colitis by lowering the amount of inflammatory chemicals in the bowel, including one called epithelial NF-k, and by regulating the water content of the stools. Not only are these actions beneficial in terms of helping to improve the symptoms of colitis but they may also play an important role in reducing the frequency and duration of any relapses.
In a study performed at the Nutrient Food and Feed Division, in Tokyo, scientists selected 18 patients with ulcerative colitis. Over the course of four weeks, half of the participants received standard anti-inflammatory medication (including steroids) and the other half were treated with up to 30g of hordeum extract each day. At the end of the study, all of the patients in the Barley grass group reported significant improvements in their symptoms - including fewer episodes of diarrhoea and less pain - compared to the group receiving conventional medication.
In addition, further tests revealed that Barley grass had succeeded in increasing the amount of friendly bacteria in the patients' bowels too. According to Dr Kanauchi, who led the study: "Oral treatment with hordeum may have the potency to reduce clinical activity of ulcerative colitis. We believe that these results support the use of hordeum administration as a new adjunct therapy for this condition".
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