help:cholesterol

Barley ß-glucan

Cereal ß-glucans are best known for their capacity to lower key risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the world’s leading cause of death. Both epidemiological and clinical research over the past 50 years has shown that consumption of soluble fiber, and especially cereal (1-3)(1-4) ß-glucans is linked with reducing LDL cholesterol. The evidence for barley led to an authorized U.S. FDA Health Claim for barley ß-glucan in reducing risks of cardiovascular disease.

How does it work?

In the stomach and small intestine, non-digestible, soluble dietary fibers form an increasingly viscous matrix when hydrated, which accounts for a number of their beneficial metabolic results. The non-digestible matrices pass largely untouched through the small intestine, trapping excess lipids, cholesterol, mucins and glucose along the way. Once past the nutrient surfaces of the small intestine, these materials typically become part of the waste stream forming in the colon and then are excreted from the body.

Several modes of action have been observed in many human and animal studies.

• First, it is generally understood that lipids and cholesterol are trapped or restrained by triple helix ß-glucan matrices and are not absorbed.

• Second, it is thought that bile acids formed by the liver are also bound and excreted, allowing less recirculation and signaling the liver to make new bile acid by removing LDL cholesterol from the blood.

• Third, it is evident that ß-glucans can reduce blood sugar and thus reduce insulin release, a process that over time may also reduce cholesterol accumulation.

What the Scientific Studies Show

Most clinical studies have shown that barley ß-glucans, in the form of high-fibre flours, ß-glucan concentrates and high-purity isolates are able to reduce total and LDL cholesterol in subjects over age 35 with clinical hypercholesterolemia. Reductions typically range from above 5% on the low end, to over 20% on the high end, with subjects who are older, heavier and have higher cholesterol being most likely to show a strong favorable response.

Younger subjects (under 35), pre-menopausal women, those with BMI of less than 25 and those with lower starting cholesterol (below 200) are likely to show a less significant response to barley ß-glucan.