Barley

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Weight and blood sugar³

  In overweight adults, eating barley cereal daily for 6 weeks led to more weight loss and better blood sugar than corn cereal.

• Open question

  Gut health and digestion⁵

  In people, eating germinated barley for a month made stools heavier and wetter, with more butyrate made by gut bacteria.

• No harm found

  Blood sugar and inflammation⁶

  In 13 healthy adults, barley muffins eaten with a glucose drink did not change blood sugar, inflammation or phytochemical absorption.

• No harm found

  Gut barrier in adults⁷

  In healthy adults, eating cake with barley beta-glucan for a month did not change how leaky their gut was.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar and appetite⁸

  In people, barley bread led to lower blood sugar and less appetite than white bread.

Animal and lab studies only

• Open question

  How much the body absorbs¹⁶

  In lab studies, cooking and digesting whole-grain hulless barley released phenolic acids, which were highly bioaccessible.

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria and digestion¹⁷

  In lab studies, fermented barley boosted butyric acid, especially in high β-glucan types.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar after meals¹⁹

  In lab studies, barley products gave lower blood sugar and insulin responses and higher fullness than white wheat bread.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Allergy risk in cereal-allergic people⁹

  Scientists do not yet know whether barley starch could trigger allergic reactions in people allergic to cereals.

• Concern

  Gluten in gluten-reduced beer¹⁰

  Gluten-reduced barley beers may still hold gluten pieces that could trouble people with coeliac disease.

• Open question

  Antioxidants in bread¹¹

  Pita made with whole grain or pearled barley flour had more antioxidants than standard pita, and most also had more vitamin E.

• Open question

  Folate in food¹²

  Barley flour left over from pearling has more folate, and pasta and biscuits made with it had more folate than shop versions.

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria and cell protection¹³

  Barley melanoidins may feed good gut bacteria and help protect cells, but scientists do not yet know enough about them.

• Benefit

  Heart and blood sugar health¹⁴

  Highland barley holds more β-glucan than other barleys, which may help with heart disease and blood sugar.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Toxins in grain drinks¹⁵

  Barley soup and beer can carry mould toxins, and raw barley had the most.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Gluten reaction in celiac disease²

  Barley hordeins are gluten proteins that trigger reactions in people with celiac disease, so scientists are breeding barley with less hordein.

How it’s made and used

• Heart health claims on food⁴

  Barley and oats contain beta glucan, but few foods sold in Australia or worldwide actually say so on the pack.

• How the body absorbs nutrients¹⁸

  In lab studies, barley fiber released more phenolic compounds during digestion than before it.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.