It is said that if you want to control diabetes well, diet control is fundamental. And multigrains play a vital role in the diabetic diet.
The first core recommendation in the dietary guidelines for Chinese residents is that the food is diverse, mainly cereals. Among the 250~400 grams of cereals and potatoes per day, whole grains and miscellaneous legumes account for 50~150 grams, which is equivalent to 1/3~1/4 of cereals a day.
As early as March 31, 2022, a sub-journal of the internationally renowned medical journal "JAMA" published an article titled "Sources of Dietary Fiber, Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease Intake in Older Americans in the United States".
The results of the study showed that:
For the elderly over 65 years old, eating an extra 5 grams of cereal fiber per day can reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases by 14%.
In addition to common grains such as oats, millet, corn, etc., today I will introduce you to a kind of "sugar control expert" that you may not often hear of, but the nutrients are much better than these grains - barley.
Highland barley: a neglected plateau "Internet celebrity"
Barley is the common name of the Tibetan people for the local naked barley, which is a kind of gramineous crop and a kind of barley, which has been cultivated for more than 3,500 years. As early as in the "Collection of Materia Medica", it was recorded that it was "like barley, born with skin and flesh separated, and planted in the west of Qinlong".
It has the characteristics of "three highs and two lows": high protein, high vitamin, high dietary fiber, low sugar, and low fat.
01 It can stabilize sugar
Highland barley has the title of "sugar control expert", which is mainly due to its rich β-glucan. Studies have found that the average content of β-glucan in highland barley can reach 5.25 percent, and the highest content can reach 8.62 percent! It is more than ten times that of the wheat we usually eat, and a little higher than that of oats, a large β-glucan.
β-glucan is a soluble dietary fiber with strong water absorption and viscosity, which is not easily digested in the human body, which can delay the absorption of sugars in the intestines, thereby slowing down the rise of blood sugar after meals, helping to regulate blood sugar levels and reducing the risk of diabetes.
02 Vascular protection
The potassium content in barley is as high as 644mg/100g, which is 5 times that of wheat flour and 6 times that of rice. It is very helpful in regulating blood pressure and stabilizing the ionic balance in the body.
In addition, β-glucan prevents cardiovascular disease by lowering blood lipids and cholesterol synthesis. In addition to β-glucan, highland barley also contains a specialized cholesterol inhibitor.
03Intestinal protection
There is no less than 1/3 resistant starch in the starch of highland barley, which can not only further reduce the speed of digestion and absorption of highland barley, control the rise of blood sugar, but also greatly benefit the health of the intestinal environment.
When resistant starch enters the large intestine, it can be decomposed and absorbed by probiotics, effectively increasing its reproductive ability and enhancing the immunity of intestinal cells. At the same time, it can also inhibit the development of E. coli, which is beneficial to protect intestinal health.
04 Calcium and iron supplementation
The calcium content of highland barley also reached an astonishing 113mg/100g, which is higher than the average calcium content of milk of 107.0 mg/100ml!
The iron content of highland barley is as high as 40.7mg/100g, which is higher than that of pork liver (23.2 mg/100g) and duck blood (30.5mg/100g), which is a very good source of iron supplementation.
05 Strong immunity
The content of polyphenols in barley is as high as 1200-1500mg/kg, including benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, proanthocyanidins, flavanols and aminophenols.
Polyphenolic compounds have a strong ability to scavenge free radicals and can act as antioxidants.
Moreover, highland barley contains a variety of trace elements, which can enhance the body's immunity and improve the activity of phagocytic cells in the human body after eating it.
Don't miss out on the variety of ways to eat barley
The eating method of highland barley is very changeable, it cannot be directly cooked and eaten as a staple food, it can also be made into highland barley flour to make all kinds of pasta, and it can also be brewed into highland barley wine~
Barley rice, barley porridge
Barley rice is used as a coarse grain, which can be boiled with rice to make multigrain rice. After many adjustments, the golden ratio of barley rice is a combination of two parts of barley and one part of rice, which has excellent taste and taste, and has a very obvious effect on constipation during pregnancy.
Of course, the proportion of adding barley rice can be adjusted according to personal taste and physique, "three high people", those who want to control sugar or manage their body, the recommended ratio is highland barley: rice = 1:1; people who like to eat a little finer, or the elderly, and the digestive system is relatively weak, it is recommended that the ratio is highland barley: rice = 1:3~1:4, or use highland barley as a kind of miscellaneous grains, and cook rice with rice and other miscellaneous grains.
Fresh taro and barley milk
Ingredients: taro, barley, milk
Method:
(1) Soak the barley rice overnight, cook the taro, and mash it into taro paste.
(2) Boil the soaked barley for 40 minutes to bloom.
(3) Put taro paste at the bottom of the cup, then add milk and cooked barley rice.
The boiled barley rice is soft and glutinous, the taste is similar to "pearl", and it is also low in sugar and fat, which is much healthier than the bubble tea in the milk tea shop.
Before eating, the barley must go through the two steps of washing and soaking, and only when the soaking time is sufficient can the boiled barley be more tasteful, otherwise the barley will be dry and difficult to swallow. Therefore, it is recommended to soak the barley for at least 3 hours before cooking.
Pay attention to these things
How to choose
There are white, black, purple and other types of highland barley, similar to other plants, usually the darker the color of highland barley, the higher the content of anthocyanins and flavonoids, and dark barley can be given priority when purchasing.
Some people are not suitable
Although barley is good, it is not suitable for everyone. As a coarse grain, it is also relatively difficult to digest. Therefore, people with weak gastrointestinal function are not suitable to eat barley as a staple food, so as not to increase the digestive burden and cause discomfort such as bloating and abdominal pain.