A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition reveals that eating barley kernel bread for 3 days improved study participants' metabolisms and decreased blood sugar and insulin levels. The team carried out a study with 20 healthy, middle-aged participants, some of whom ate barley kernel bread at breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 days. The other participants ate a control white wheat bread during the 3 days. Between 11-14 hours after their dinner each day, the team assessed the participants for risk indicators of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Results showed that the participants who ate the barley kernel bread had improved metabolism for up to 14 hours and they also experienced decreased blood sugar and insulin levels, as well as improved appetite control and increases in insulin sensitivity. "It is surprising yet promising that choosing the right blend of dietary fibers can - in a short period of time - generate such remarkable health benefits," says Prof. Anne Nilsson, Associate Professor at the Food for Health Science Centre and one of the researchers behind the study.

In a previous related study conducted with a team from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden researchers also found that dietary fibres from barley kernel generate an increase of the gut bacteria Prevotella copri, which have a direct regulatory effect on blood sugar levels and help decrease the proportion of a type of gut bacteria that is considered unhealthy.

The effects from barley kernel are influenced by the composition of the individual’s gut microbiota, meaning people with low concentrations of the Prevotella copri bacteria experienced less effect from their intake of barley products. Eating more barley could, however, help stimulate growth of the bacteria. Alongside their study, the researchers offer advice on maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. Firstly, they say to choose bread that has as much whole grain as possible and to avoid white flour. Barley 'increased gut hormones that regulate metabolism and appetite'. She hypothesizes that "the beneficial effects on metabolism originate from stimulation of specific gut bacteria."

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