Barley – cooked grains
Whole barley contains far more nutrition than the commonly used “pearl barley”, including more fiber, twice the calcium, three times the iron, and 25% more protein.
To remove the laxative property of barley, roast whole barley until aromatic before cooking. This also makes barley, the most acid-forming grain, more alkalizing.
Sprouted barley is a common Chinese herb, used to treat indigestion from starchy food stagnation or poorly tolerated mother’s milk in infants. Alleviates stagnant liver and useful in candida yeast-induced digestive weakness.
Properties
Taste: Sweet, Astringent
Natural Attributes: Heavy, Dry, Mobile, soft
Tissue impact (Vipak): Pungent, Reducing
Thermal impact (Virya): cooling
Dosha impact: Decreases Pitta and Kapha, Increases Vata
Digestive impact (Agni): relatively hard to digest, heavy
Channels (Srotas): opens the channels and induces movement
Feces: increases bulk, slightly laxative
Urine: diuretic
Strength (Bala): improves strength and immunity
Mind (Manas): Increase Rajas
Effect: Acidifying
Chinese five element impact: Nourishes the Wood element
Chinese medicine syndromes: Liver Phlegm Stagnation
Medicinal properties
- Nourishment (rasa): fatigue, benefits the voice, stability,
- Blood-circulation-liver: skin disorders, complexion, skin problems caused by kapha, pitta or fat tissue imbalance, bleeding diseases, quenching thirst, quells fever, relieve summer heat
- Muscles: hemorrhoids
- Fat: obesity, stiffness of the hip joint and legs, fat scraping,
- Bones-joints-tendon-ligaments:
- Nervous system: nerves
- Reproductive and hormonal systems: increases fertility
- Vital essence: diabetes,
- Mental: augments intelligence
- Kidney-Bladder: dysuria, urine stones, relieving painful and difficult urination, reduces tumors, swellings and watery accumulations such as edema
- Respiratory system: dyspnea, cough, hiccup, diseases of the throat, rhinitis
- Digestive system: heartburn
Harmful: inflammatory bowel disease, diarrhea, weakness of the nervous system, might stop lactation in breastfeeding mothers, creates flatus. Roasted barley can worsen cases of constipation.