Arthritis Treated with Alternative Medicine

Darrell Miller :


Barley is a cereal grain that is derived from the annual grass known as Hordeum vulgare. This nutrient serves as a major animal feed crop, but also is used for malting and in health food. Barley is also used in the making of beer and whisky. In a 2005 ranking of cereal crops in the world, barley was ranked number four in both quantity produced and area of cultivation. It is still used as a major food in the middle east. Barley is a member of the grass family, descending from and inter-fertile with wild barley. For this reason, the two forms are often treated as one species. The main difference between the two forms is the brittle spike on the seeds of the wild barley, which help with dispersal.

Barley tends to be more tolerant of soil salinity than wheat, which potentially explains the increase of barley cultivation in Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium BC and forward. Although barley is not as cold tolerant as the winter wheat, fall rye, or winter triticale, it can be planted as a winter crop in warmer areas of the world like Australia. It is important to note that barley not only as a short growing season, but it is also relatively drought tolerant, making it an easier plant to grow.

Barley was valued by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks for its immense health benefits. Because of this, it was cultivated. Hippocrates even wrote of the benefits of gruel that is made from barley. New World settlers planted barley in order to sustain both health and vitality. Barley juice contains antiviral properties that help to strengthen the immune system. This herb can help cleanse the body on a cellular level. It can also normalize metabolism and neutralize heavy metals in the body, such as mercury. Barley can benefit the body by lowering cholesterol levels, aiding digestion, and relieving constipation. This herb also strengthens the entire body as a whole.

One study done in Japan separated a new antioxidant that has been found in barley leaves called 2-0-GI. This antioxidant was found to be effective in the preservation of food. 2-0-GI was also found to have anti-inflammatory and antiallergenic activity. Another Japanese study found beneficial results in barley’s ability to inhibit the AIDS virus.

Both the juice and powder made from the young leaves and grass of barley are helpful in producing adaptogen, alterative, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, blood purifier, demulcent, emollient, immunostimulant, nutritive, and stomachic properties. The primary nutrients in this herb include calcium, chlorophyll, iron, live enzymes, magnesium, potassium, protein, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and vitamins B1, B2, and C with bioflavonoids. Primarily, barley is beneficial in helping to treat anemia, arthritis, and impurities in the blood, boils, cancer, and metal poisoning. However, this nutrient also offers great benefits with acne, AIDS/HIV, allergies, hay fever, bronchitis, candidiasis, eczema, herpes, infection, kidney problems, leprosy, liver disorders, lung disorders, psoriasis, skin conditions, syphilis, tuberculosis, and ulcers. For more information on the many benefits that barley has to offer, please contact a representative from your local health food store.

Darrell Miller

Barley Grass belongs to a family of grasses called cereal grasses. During the first part of the 20th century, the juice of barley grass was discovered to be rich in vitamins and minerals. The light-green leaves of barley plants are usually called barley grass because they are long and narrow like grass. Barley grass has been cultivated as early as 7000 BC, making this food one of the earliest cultivated foods known to man kind. Barley grass is used as a food source in some parts of Asia and it is available for food supplementation as both a juice and a powder that can be added to foods or taken as tablets or capsules.

Barley grass (5 grams) has more protein and fiber than a serving (114 grams) of raw spinach. Barley grass juice contains antioxidants, enzymes, and other phytochemicals that in vitro neutralize free radicals and other unfriendly chemicals, including pesticides and food preservatives. This grass also contains large amounts of beta carotene, folic acid, calcium, and several B vitamins making it a good source of nutrients. Barley juice also contains nutrients such as vitamins C and E, which are much more potent together than when taken separately. Barley grass is high in iron, all essential amino acids, flavonoids, and a number of minerals. Barley grass may sometimes be rich in vitamin K, which interferes with the action of anticoagulants such as Coumadin (the brand name for warfarin, a drug used to treat and prevent blood clots).

Barley Grass is also naturally rich in copper, potassium, manganese, zinc, and may be beneficial for, various conditions including arthritis, asthma, skin problems, obesity, anemia, constipation, impotence, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and kidney problems. It is often combined with alfalfa, spirulina, or other grain shoots, such as oat grass and wheat grass to make products that are advertised as “total nutrition” or “green” foods. Young barley grass contains concentrated nutrients more so than adult barley grass as well as, live enzymes, protein, vitamins and minerals.

Barley grass is also has very high chlorophyll levels. Chlorophyll has been studied for its potential in stimulating tissue growth and in stimulating red blood cells in connection with oxygen supply. Chlorophyll also removes carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, and has been found to reduce fecal, urinary, and body odor. Chlorophyll and other essential nutrients act synergistically in barley grass to detoxify the body from destructive toxins such as heavy metals and pollutants that we digest every day. Chlorophyll is anti-bacterial and can be used inside and outside the body as a healer. Chlorophyll reportedly inhibits the growth of cancer cells under laboratory conditions, but its value in human health has not been well studied.

Barley Grass contains perhaps the most balanced nutrient profile of all green plants. Many of the vitamins, minerals and enzymes present in Barley grass act as powerful antioxidants protecting our body from free radical damage, enhancing our immune system and improving cardiovascular health by reducing oxidative stress on cholesterol and the body as a whole.

Although barley grass clearly contains vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the body, the health benefits of these substances have not been subject to in-depth clinical studies. The nutrient concentration in barley grass products varies with the conditions under which the plant is grown. Like other natural supplements, commercial barley grass is not standardized; therefore, different crops contain varying amounts of nutrients.

Although not substantiated, sources have claimed that barley grass is good for the following conditions: skin diseases, hepatitis, asthma, anemia, diabetes, arthritis, and obesity to name a few. There are no known side effects attributed to the consumption of barley grass. Finally, after years of research on over 200 types of plants, including fruits, vegetables, grasses, and herbs, scientists have found that young barley grass is one of the most nutritionally balanced foods in nature. Have you had your barley grass today?