BLOOD SUGAR AND BOWEL FRIENDLY BARLEY
When I was little, Mum used to beef up her gravy-rich meat and root veg stews with pearl barley. I remember this well, as I would then proceed to methodically pick out the little globes of barley one by one. Mum must have been a saint for not tipping it on my head! There was something about the texture that just didn’t sit well with me. Soft and slimy but with a slight bite to it, I found it really difficult to swallow. Fast forward thirty- plus years and I now love the stuff.
If you haven’t realised now from this blog and other posts, an Ayurvedic diet is very focused on whole grains rather than products made with over-processed wheat. I’ll write more on this another time, but mass-produced wheat products such as pre-packaged shop bought bread, pasta, many white flours etc. are often the culprit behind lots of chronic conditions apart from the obvious gluten intolerance symptoms, obesity and type 2 diabetes. That doesn’t mean that we have to stay away completely, but it does mean that a concerted effort has to be made to mix up the carb department, adding in more whole grains to our weekly diet. That being said, pearl barley does contain gluten, so if you are intolerant then stay away!
What’s good about pearl barley then? Well, from an Ayurvedic perspective it is Kapha and Pitta pacifying, predominantly because of its gooey, easy, slimy qualities. If you’re trying to lose weight, pearl barley is an excellent swap in as it increases the release of bile from the gall bladder and liver, thus helping to metabolise fat. On top of this, it keeps you feeling full for a long time, thus reducing the desire to snack. This is because barley is super high in beta-glucan fibre, which also helps to lower cholesterol.
If you have gut inflammation, IBS (often Pitta problems) or constipation, then barley is a great one for soothing your inflamed innards and ensuring that your bowels are cleared! Say hello to a satisfying and properly executed poo a few hours after eating pearl barley! The beta-glucan fibre in barley helps repair the intestinal lining of the gut, nourishing the tissues (dhatus) on a deep level and repairing us from the inside out. This can also have a positive effect on our mood and mental health.
If you have diabetes, barley is also a good friend as it releases glucose slowly in to the bloodstream, reducing blood sugar level spiking and all of the horrible related issues.
Barley has a sweet, slightly bland taste, so I like cooking it with a pungent vegetable such as garlic, onions or leeks to add flavour. Here, I sauteed leeks in rapeseed oil and rock salt for a few minutes before adding the pearls of barley. I made sure they were all nicely coated in oil before adding the water, a little vegetable stock and simmering for about an hour in a cast iron stew pot. You could add something like pine nuts or pumpkin seeds for a little more crunch. Some people even make a breakfast-style porridge from pearl barley, serving it with honey or jam. It is super duper cheap and versatile, so well worth a little more investigating if you haven’t cooked with pearly barley in a while!