- Nature's Own Superfood

by Bruce D Curtis, MA

In this artical Bruce Curtis researches Green Barley Grass and finds its prolific supply of nutrients explains why it is revered as one of Natures Superfoods.

In the unending quest for the ultimate superfood the human tendency to want to improve nature has often resulted in overlooking certain remarkable whole foods that already contain a complete living matrix that is both integral and complete. The leaves of young green barley plants is just such a food and contains precisely that overflowing blend of necessary nutrients so critical to human health. After ten years of research on over 300 different foods, Dr. Hagiwara realized this fact and stated, “My research has shown that the leaves of the embryonic barley plant contain the most prolific balanced supply of nutrients that exist on earth in a single source.” He had empirically validated one of nature’s most sublime “Superfoods.”

An examination of the nutrients of green barley grass shows the presence of 20 amino acids, including the 8 essential ones that the human organism cannot produce. It must be noted at the outset that young barley grass raised and harvested apart from the production of barley grain, is naturally gluten-free. These protein building blocks are so abundant that barley grass turns out to be 40% protein that is 90% assimilable, due to their being already in the form of amino acids instead of complex protein chains. Is it any wonder that the 2006 winner of the Mr. Universe contest, Steph Sinton, proclaimed that barley grass is better than any protein powder he had ever used?

In the vitamin and mineral categories we find Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, E, K as well as Biotin, Choline, Folic acid, Niacin, and Pantothenic acid. And the quantity of Beta carotene is more than twice the amount found in carrots. This is good news for those familiar with the role Beta carotene plays in restoring the function of the P53 gene in its anti-cancer capacity .

All major minerals are present from Boron to Zinc – and 50 trace minerals as well! We find a remarkable amount of magnesium in barley grass – no surprise, since magnesium is a part of chlorophyll, and barley is chocked full of good natural chlorophyll, not artificially-produced chlorophyllin. What a great gentle way to cleanse the bowel and prevent degenerative diseases, some of which begin to occur with the presence of the heme molecule from the blood in red meat increasing cytotoxicity in the colon cells. Beyond that recent research has highlighted the value of chlorophyll in fighting cancer as well as vascular diseases. Beta-carotene has been demonstrated to increase the expression of the P- gene in cancer cells.

Chlorophyll is also well-known for its tremendous blood building capacity, due in part to the remarkable similarity between the chemical structure of hemoglobin and chlorophyll. Simple replacement of the magnesium atom with iron transforms the chlorophyll into hemoglobin, a function that has been observed in the human body.

Dr. Sherry Rogers has recently highlighted the beneficial properties of the chlorophyll in barley grass including its anti-inflammatory effect fur to a novel antioxidant, considered to be as potent as α-tocopherol, its ability to stem damage due to aflatoxins, acetaldehyde from Candida, and to promote the degradation of pesticides. Given the widespread use of toxic chemicals like malathion, it is very promising that a solution of barley grass leaves neutralized 100% of the malathion in a lab sample.

For those who realize the importance of enzymes in their diet, and supplement their diet with artificial formulations, natural barley grass presents a superior alternative with 16 major identified enzymes, including SOD – Superoxide Dismutase – widely recognized as one of the most important enzymes for human digestion. In this way a person can get high amounts of protein building blocks along with the enzymes to digest them, and to work on other metabolic functions.

With all of the products on the market containing barley grass, the health conscious consumer is faced with a challenge in making an informed decision. Important considerations include the origin, which determines the purity and mineral content, the method of growth (one should absolutely insist on 100% certified organic), the method of preparation, and the fillers or additives that may be present. The optimal barley grass would be one that is grown organically, harvested before stalk formation to eliminate the risk of gluten being present, minimally processed to avoid heat and destruction of the sensitive enzymes and amino acids, and packaged without fillers. Typical fillers are rice powder and maltodextrin. Neither of these makes a meaningful contribution to the food. To add a complex carbohydrate like maltodextrin to the pure food matrix found in organic green barley grass is to inhibit the beneficial actions of the barley grass.

The 100% organic barley grass from NuFerm, Queensland is just such a product. It is grown in the Canterbury plains of New Zealand near Christchurch, known as the garden city of New Zealand. The plains are legendary for being one of the finest places in the world to grow cereal grasses due to the high mineral content of the volcanic soil, the unique wind patterns, and the pure rainfall. The grass is dried quickly without heaters, micro-milled, and put into the containers without the mixture of any additives or fillers. The New Zealand barley grass from NuFerm is consistently reported to be the finest that consumers have ever tried. Clearly, the New Zealand variety optimizes delivery of all of the benefits we seek in a superfood: nutrient supplementation and tissue building, detoxification, immune strengthening, and even enhancing our own natural cancer-fighting abilities.

Organically grown young barley grass is a testimony to the wisdom of Hippocrates who once said: “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” On that, how can we improve?

Reproduced with kind permission – Nuferm, April 2008.