Research - Barley
Diets containing barley significantly reduce lipids in mildly hypercholesterolemic men and women
ABSTRACT
Background: Barley has high amounts of soluble fiber but is not extensively consumed in the US diet.
Objective: This study investigated whether consumption of barley would reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors comparably with that of other sources of soluble fiber.
Design: Mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects (9 postmenopausal women, 9 premenopausal women, and 7 men) consumed controlled American Heart Association Step 1 diets for 17 wk. After a 2-wk adaptation period, whole-grain foods containing 0, 3, or 6 g -Beta glucan/d from barley were included in the Step 1 diet menus. Diets were consumed for 5 wk each and were fed in a Latin-square design. Fasting blood samples were collected twice weekly.
Results: Total cholesterol was significantly lower when the diet contained 3 or 6 g Beta-glucan/d from barley than when it contained no Beta-glucan; the greatest change occurred in the men and postmenopausal women. HDL and triacylglycerol concentrations did not differ with the 3 amounts of dietary Beta-glucan. Large LDL and small
VLDL fractions and mean LDL particle size significantly decreased whenwhole grains were incorporated into the 3 diets. Large LDL and large and intermediate HDL fractions were significantly higher, mean LDL particle size was significantly greater, and intermediate VLDL fractions were significantly lower in the postmenopausal women than in the other 2 groups.Agroup-by-diet interaction effect was observed on LDL fractions and small LDL particle size.
Conclusion: The addition of barley to a healthy diet maybe effective in lowering total and LDL cholesterol in both men and women.
Source : Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:1185–93.
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The Effects of Barley-Derived Soluble Fiber on Serum Lipids
Abstract
Purpose - We wanted to determine the association between consumption of barley and changes in plasma lipids in healthy and hypercholesterolemic men and women.
Methods- A systematic literature search was conducted from the earliest possible date through January 2008. Trials were included in the analysis if they were randomized controlled trials of barley that reported effi cacy data on at least 1 lipid endpoint. A DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was used in calculating the weighted mean difference (WMD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). Statistical heterogeneity was addressed using the I2 statistic. Visual inspection of funnel plots, Egger’s weighted regression statistics, and the trim and fill method
were used to assess for publication bias.
Results We found 8 trials (n = 391 patients) of 4 to 12 weeks’ duration evaluating the lipid-reducing effects of barley. The use of barley significantly lowered total cholesterol (weighted mean difference [WMD], –13.38 mg/dL; 95% CI,
–18.46 to –8.31 mg/dL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (WMD, –10.02 mg/dL; 95% CI, –14.03 to –6.00 mg/dL) and triglycerides (WMD, –11.83 mg/dL; 95% CI, –20.12 to –3.55 mg/dL) but did not appear to signifi cantly alter highdensity lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (P = .07).
Conclusion Barley-derived β-glucan appears to beneficially affect total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides, but not HDL-cholesterol.
Source : 1University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, Storrs, Connecticut. 2Department of Drug Information at Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut
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