Protein And Fibre-Rich Barley: Here's Why It Makes For A Perfect Breakfast Option

In today's busy schedules, many people miss their morning breakfasts or eat unhealthy breakfast cereals and other packaged foods. These foods are not nutritious and might lead to weight gain. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should be extremely nutritious and delicious. A healthy breakfast in the morning can give a kick start to your day. Early morning breakfasts will help you keep you energetic all day long, control your hunger pangs and thereby prevent you from overeating in the next meal. Some healthy breakfast options can be eggs, oats, fruit or vegetable salad, sandwich or a healthy fruit smoothie. Apart from these, even whole grain barley can be a perfect option for your breakfasts. Let us tell you why.

Also read: 6 Protein-Rich Foods You Should Eat After A Workout

Barley can be added to your stews, soups and salads
Photo Credit: iStock

Here's why you should have barley for breakfast:

The whole grain barley has a wonderful nutty flavor and a chewy, hearty texture. Extremely nutritious and high in fiber grain offers a wide range of health benefits. Some of the health benefits of barley include improved digestion, weight loss, protects against gallstones, prevents asthma and heart disease, boosts metabolism,  helps manage diabetes, controls cholesterol levels, lowers high blood pressure, boosts immunity and is beneficial during pregnancy.

Barley is rich in essential vitamins and minerals as well like molybdenum, manganese and selenium. It also contains good amounts of copper, vitamin B1, chromium, phosphorus, magnesium and niacin.

An excellent source of dietary fibre, it keeps the digestive tract healthy and helps keep digestive disorders like constipation at bay. The fibre content in barley controls the appetite by making the person full for longer and thereby aiding in weight loss. It has been linked to lower blood sugar levels, controls your appetite and even reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Also read: Rich In Protein And Fiber Here's Why You Should Add Nuts To Your Diet

Delhi based nutritionist Nmami Agarwal said, "Barley now a days is easily available in every grocery store. The benefits it has to offer is no more secret to the health industry. Barley is generally suggested in breakfast due to its easily digestible property making the gut clean and healthy. Whole grain barley has wide range of nutrients like vitamins, minerals and additional health benefiting plant compounds. Moreover, sprouting barley can add to its nutritional values and absorption of those nutrients. Also, it is packed with impressive health benefits such as improved blood sugar levels, reduces the risk of diabetes, curbs down appetite, trim down the risk of cardiovascular conditions while effectively treating chronic inflammation."

Barley can be added to your stews, soups and salads. Extremely light you can have cook barley with some vegetables as well like carrots, capsicum, potato and even some cubes of cottage cheese. 

Also read: Have A Look At Top Protein-Rich Foods For Athletes

(Nmami Agarwal is nutritionist at Nmami Life)

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