THE BENEFITS OF BARLEY GRASS

Barley grass is one of the green grasses - the only vegetation on the earth that can supply sole nutritional support from birth to old age. The true beauty of barley is found in the leaves; the young green shoots of power that form before the grain. The young leaves have a tremendous ability to absorb nutrients from the soil. When barley leaves are 12-14 inches high, they contain all the vitamins, minerals, and proteins necessary for the human diet, plus chlorophyll. These necessities are easily assimilated throughout the digestive tract, giving our bodies instant access to vital nutrients.

Amino Acids and Proteins

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins; 20 of them are present in the body proteins in significant quality. Proteins are the major constituent of every cell and body fluid (except urine and bile) and are thus necessary for the continual cell building, regeneration, and energy production that we need for life. An added benefit of the green barley leaf proteins is that they are polypeptides; smaller proteins that can be directly absorbed by the blood, where they promote cell metabolism (the chemical changes that we need to live) and neutralize substances that are bad for our health. Eighteen amino acids are found in barley grass, including the eight essential ones - that is, the amino acids that we must get from out diets; the body cannot produce them itself.

Green barley leaves contain a multitude of the body's spark plugs, enzymes. Enzymes supply the spark that starts the essential chemical reactions our bodies need to live. Without this spark, and these chemical reactions, we would be helpless: a bag of bones, unable to walk, talk, blink, or breathe.

Astounding amounts of vitamins and minerals are found in green barley leaves. These include potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, beta carotene, B1, B2, B6, C, folic acid, and pantothenic acid. Indeed, green barley juice contains 11 times the calcium in cows' milk, nearly 5 times the iron in spinach, 7 times the vitamin C in oranges, and 80 mg of vitamin B12 per hundred grams. Green barley leaves also contain significant amounts of chlorophyll.

Green barley leaves are extremely alkaline, so digesting them can help keep the body's alkaline and acidity ratio balanced. Our cells cannot adequately function if the pH range (which measures acidity and alkaline) is not in a narrow range. Most processed foods are acidic, and when we consume too many of them the acidity/alkaline balance is upset. This may result in possible fatigue.

Recently research has unveiled a wealth of other possible benefits of green barley leaves. Extracted compounds have found to have hypercholesteromic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-ulcer properties. A new antioxidant, 2"-0-GIV, has been isolated and reported to have antioxidant activity equal to or superior to vitamin E. Finally, studies have shown that when green barley juice is added to injured cells, the cells' DNA repairs itself rapidly. This may contribute to preventing the changes that often lead to cancer, rapid aging, and cell death. Barleygreen captures these nutrients to bring you the wholesome goodness of the green barley leaves.

It is tempting to look at these facts as individual pieces. "Yes, well Barleygreen contains beta carotene," you might say, or "Barleygreen contains more than spinach." This is true, of course, but the real power of Barleygreen is found in the combination of all these nutrients. Barleygreen is a whole food concentrate; that is, it is as close to its natural state as possible and thus supplies the nutrients in a natural proportion. This is what attracted Dr. Yoshihide Hagiwara, the creator of Barleygreen, to barley; a vision of totality, not individual pieces: "Barleygreen should not be recognized by discussing the amount of its vitamins and minerals. The era of focusing on a single vitamin or mineral is gone...much more attention is being focused on biological phenomenon."

Before deciding on using the barley plant, Dr. Hagiwara looked at all green plants in Japan, and then narrowed his search down to 150 leafy green varieties. He found many plants with satisfactory nutrition, but none that covered as wide a spectrum of nutrients as green barley. A Herculean task? Yes, but in a way this was the easy part.

Getting the nutrients from the plant to people was another matter. Dr. Hagiwara struggled at first. "I was told by people who used my product that it was not effective." He accepted this challenge and kept working, eventually discovering that, "I was subjecting the barley to too much heat...killing the active ingredients." To avoid this, Dr. Hagiwara created a secret and patented drying process, guaranteeing that all active nutrients remained active.

Dr. Hagiwara's quest to make the best possible product has resulted in a manufacturing process that uses the most expensive and sophisticated processing plant in the green juice industry. However, this is not enough. The search to make Barleygreen even better continues, which is why 10 percent of the wholesale price is dedicated to green barley research.

Today, barley for Barleygreen is grown in Oxnard, California. Before choosing this site, extensive research was performed: Dr. Hagiwara says, "We tested soil from ten different states and grew samples of several types of barley grass to compare nutrient levels before selecting the one that would give us superior results. We gave careful consideration to climate, environmental conditions, and water supplies.... The barley grass that we are growing in Oxnard consistently shows higher nutrient levels than that grown in Japan."

The result of all of this - over 20 years of research; the ideal location to cultivate barley; the green barley leaves, rich in nutrients; and the sophisticated manufacturing process - is Barleygreen, the best green juice product there is.