Barley for Food and Health: Science, Technology, and Products

8 Health Benefits of Barley Foods
INTRODUCTION
The relationship between diet and coronary heart disease has been documented
extensively (Grundy and Denke 1990). As early as 1913 it was reported that
feeding cholesterol to rabbits caused atherosclerosis, although this finding was not
applied to human health until the 1950s. Earlier studies on diet and heart disease
were focused on the effects of various types of fatty acids on serum cholesterol
(Keys et al. 1957; Hegsted et al. 1965). In a landmark study covering seven
countries, Keys (1970) correlated dietary intakes of saturated fats with serum
cholesterol levels. In these early studies, carbohydrates in the diet were considered
to be neutral in their effect on blood lipids except for causing an increase in
blood triglycerides, which may be related genetically (Sane and Nikkila 1988) or
specific for consumption of sugars (Macdonald 1965; Grundy and Denke 1990).
McIntosh et al. (1995) reviewed the influence of barley foods on cholesterol
metabolism and implications for future barley food product development.
Hugh Trowell stated that “prolonged consumption of fibre-depleted starch is
conducive to the development of diabetes mellitus in susceptible genotypes”
(Trowell 1973). Trowell referred particularly to populations that consume polished
white rice as a staple carbohydrate. Ajgaonker had earlier cited ancient
Ayurvedic physicians in India, who treated diabetes by substituting barley for
rice in the diet (Ajgaonker 1972). In recent years there has been considerable
research involving variations in blood glucose response to carbohydrates from
different sources. The glycemic index (GI) is a categorization of foods based on
mean blood glucose responses of a given amount of a food under closely standardized
conditions (Wolever 1990) and glycemic load refers to quantity of the food
(Salmeron et al. 1997). David Jenkins showed that rises in postprandial blood
glucose and insulin levels were reduced after meals containing viscous soluble
fibers (Jenkins et al. 1998). Long accepted in Europe, Canada, and Australia, the
GI has only recently been recognized as significant in the U.S. food industry. The
AACC International recently addressed the pros and cons of the GI (Brand-Miller
Barley for Food and Health: Science, Technology, and Products,
By Rosemary K. Newman and C. Walter Newman
Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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