Can you use barley grass juice powder as a means for weight loss? And how does just a little bit of this powder, like 6 grams, make such a difference?
Well, the results aren’t all in yet, but there is an encouraging animal study that points out that this concept isn’t as far-fetched as it might initially sound. Keep reading.
Recently an animal study examined the ability of barley grass juice to assist in weight loss. There were 5 groups of rats. One fed regular chow (control group); one fed a high-fat diet (obese group); one fed high-fat diet plus atorvastatin (a statin drug); one fed high-fat diet plus 200 mg/kg of barley grass juice powder per day; one fed high-fat diet plus 400 mg /kg of barley grass juice powder per day. The treatments lasted for 60 days.
Then the rats were tested for body weight, cholesterol levels, liver enzymes, carotid histology, liver histology, liver antioxidant enzyme levels, and other liver abnormalities due to obesity.
Here are the results of what happened with the barley grass juice powder:
(1) Completely prevented abnormal weight gain for rats on the high fat diet.
(2) Cholesterol levels were also normalized, even better than with the statin control.
(3) Liver enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP) remained normal even while on high fat diet.
(4) Carotid artery histology was near normal despite high fat diet.
(5) Liver histology was very similar to healthy control rats.
(6) Antioxidant enzymes in the liver (catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and reduced glutathione (GSH)) were normalized.
(7) Lipid peroxidation in the liver was at low, normal levels.
(8) PPAR-gamma protein (elevated by high fat diets and obesity) and caspase 3 (a marker of cell death elevated by high fat diet) were both normal in spite of the high fat diet.
These results indicate that barley grass juice powder interacts at a deep level with metabolism threatened by a high fat diet. Indeed there is potential for this simple whole-food product to be a great weapon in helping reverse obesity and the underlying metabolic disorders that come with it. If you want to read a more in-depth article, go here. If you want a top-of-the-line organic barley grass juice powder, check BarleyMax from Hallelujah Diet.
Of course, rats are not people. While these results indicate what could be possible, and the kinds of interactions seem in rats, there is no guarantee that such results happen in people. Doses that the rats took might not translate into reasonable doses of barley grass juice powder in people. But given that there are similarities between rat metabolism and people, it is worth exploring these kind of tests further in people.
