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What Fiber Product Also Causes Weight Loss?

Adding barley to your daily diet may help speed up your weight loss. Because barely is high in fiber, when combined with liquid in the stomach, it takes on a bulking quality that will help you feel fuller longer. It also contains antioxidants, Vitamin E and selenium, as well as fiber that helps the digestive process.

  1. Nutritional Benefits

    • Barley is low in fat, cholesterol-free and contains the soluble fiber beta-glucan, which acts like a sponge in the colon, soaking up water and other liquids. This produces a fuller feeling in your tummy than if you were to eat another starch such as pasta or bread with your meal. Soluble fiber also has the added benefit of lowering cholesterol levels in some people.

    Types

    • You can purchase a bag of pearl barley (the most common form of barley) at your local grocery store. Or you can opt for hulled barely, an even more fibrous, nutty-flavored barley, which can be found in health-food and specialty stores.

    Considerations

    • Because barley embodies a stronger, more robust flavor than rice or pasta and is a natural thickener, this product tends to make an excellent addition to soups in need of a thicker consistency. Barley is also known for complementing mushroom and lamb dishes.

    Preparation

    • Like rice, barley expands during the cooking process, although it has a much faster cooking time. So whether cooking your barley plain or adding it to soups, take into account that barley's bead-like grains will expand to at least three times their original size within minutes. Because of this, it's important to include extra broth in your soup or stew if you know you will be adding barley, so that that grain does not soak up all the liquid and ruin the soup.

      To prepare four servings of plain barley, combine 1 cup of the uncooked grain with 1¾ cups of boiling water. Stir, reduce the heat and simmer covered for 10 to 12 minutes.

    Barley for Weight Loss

    • By replacing two of your starch servings each day (such as potatoes, white bread or rice) with two servings of barley (one serving of barley is ½ cup, cooked), you will likely lose weight because of the high fiber content and low calorie count of this product. A cup of barley contains approximately 190 calories, 4 grams of fat, 6 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.

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