Remember those good old days, when your mom used to coax you into drinking Barley Khanji? Barley is one of the most nutritious cereal grains, used in preparing a variety of baked products, soups and salads. Barley is rich in carbohydrates and important vitamins, minerals. It is often regarded as a super grain and is extremely popular with health freaks. In this article, get to know more about the health benefits of Barley ie, barley water benefits, preparation, nutrition facts and daily dosage in detail:

What Is Barley?

Barley is a cereal grain that belongs to the grass family. Whole barley grains have a husk as the outer cover. They resemble rice grains in appearance with a white colour grain inside but is more glutinous and chewier. It is considered to be one of the world’s healthiest foods and is also extremely versatile to use. Barley is also called “Jau” in Hindi, “Jav” in Gujarati, “Satu” in Marathi, “Barliarisi” in Tamil and “BarliBiyyam” in Telugu. There are many Barley water benefits for health (Jau benefits) which include aiding in constipation, curing infections and even preventing Cancers.

Types Of Barley:

Barley grains are available in many varieties in the market, with the common form being whole grains:

• Flakes: Flaked Barley is like rolled oats, which are made by flattening them. They are used in baked goods or in Muesli.
• Flour: Barley flour is made by pounding the grains into a fine powder. This is used along with other flours in Baked products.
• Grits: Barley grits are cracked grains which are made by toasting them first and then cracked. They resemble cracked corn in appearance.
• Hulled: Hulled barley is made by removing just the outer husk, keeping the entire bran intact. This is rich in dietary fibre and nutritious compared to the other varieties of Barley.
• Pearl Barley: These are white coloured, uniform shaped grains which resemble tiny pearls. They are made by removing the bran layer and are widely used in soups and salads.
• Unhulled Barley: These barley grains have the outer husk intact and a flavouring for making sprouts.

Barley Nutrition Facts:

Barley is high on important vitamins and minerals. Check out the nutritional breakup of 100 gms Serving size: