05/04/06 The health benefits of eating barley

Barley beta-glucan fiber can reduce the risk of cardiovascular heart disease. The Food and Drug Administration says that's a valid claim based on USDA clinical trials. Doctor Joan Conway is a USDA human nutrition researcher in Beltsville, Maryland. She says it's not as simple as tossing a handful of barley into your soup, it's a specific amount of barley regularly used in one's diet. CONWAY "In our laboratory we have been able to demonstrate that it also helps to moderate glucose in insulin so we that believe barley is going to be a good food for people with type two diabetes." Dr Conway says that barley, like oats, contains a substance called beta glucan which can lower plasma cholesterol. CONWAY "Barley has more than oats do. There are very specific barley varieties that have a lot more than oats do. So it's possible to get more beta glucans from barley than from oats." There's a huge amount of research being done on the other biologically active components found in barley. CONWAY "Like the phyto-nutrients, flavinoids, finolic acids, the B vitamins and vitamin E and the minerals iron and selenium." More about Dr Conway's research tomorrow. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott