Barley tea is a popular East Asian drink made from fried barley. It is common in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China. Served both hot and cold, has a light amber color and a soft fried taste with a hint of bitterness. In traditional Chinese medicine, barley tea is sometimes used to treat diarrhea, fatigue and inflammation. We translate the material of the Healthline website, where barley tea is considered, including the method of its preparation, potential advantages and disadvantages for health.
What is it and what he is made
Barley is a grain containing gluten. Its dried kernels are used, like many other cereals, are crushed to prepare flour, they are prepared entirely or added to soups and main dishes. It is also used for making tea. Barley tea is most often prepared by soaking roasted barley nuclei in hot water, although pre-cooked tea bags containing ground fried barley are also easily accessible in the countries of East Asia.
In Asia, this is a traditional drink
Photo: unsplash.com.
One-piece barley is rich in vitamin B and minerals, iron, zinc and manganese, but it is unclear how many of these nutrients is injected into barley tea during the soaking process. Traditionally, barley tea do not swee, although you can add milk or cream to it. Similarly, in South Korea, tea is sometimes mixed with roasted corn tea, which adds sweets. In addition, today in Asian countries, you can find sweetened bottled tea from barley.
Barley water, another common drink in Asian countries, is produced by boiling raw barley cores in water, not soaking. Then soft boiled kernels can be removed or left in water before drinking. Barley water is also common in countries such as Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom, where it is usually sweetened.
Benefits for health
Traditional medicine used barley tea to combat diarrhea, fatigue and inflammation. Unfortunately, many of these applications are not confirmed by research. Nevertheless, tea seems completely safe for drinking and even has some health benefits.
Low-calorie
Barley tea practically does not contain calories. Depending on the drinking strength, it may contain a minor amount of calories and carbohydrates, but not so much to influence the daily caloric content of the diet. Thus, it is a healthy and fragrant alternative to water, especially if you are trying to lose weight, provided that you drink it simply, without adding milk, cream or sweeteners.
Rich antioxidant
Barley tea is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants are vegetable compounds that help prevent cell damage by free radicals. Free radicals are harmful molecules that can cause inflammation and contribute to cellular dysfunction if they accumulate in your body. In barley tea, several antioxidants were found, including chlorogenic and vanilic acids, which can help in regulating weight due to an increase in the number of fat burned by your body at rest. These antioxidants also have an anti-inflammatory action. Barley tea is also a source of quercetin, a powerful antioxidant, which can improve heart health, blood pressure and brain health.
May have anti-cancer properties
Being rich antioxidants of solid grain, barley potentially has useful properties for cancer prevention. One study dedicated to the regional cultivation of barley and mortality from cancer in China has shown that the less the cultivation and consumption of barley, the higher the mortality rate in the region. However, this does not necessarily mean that the cause of cancer is the smaller bunch consumption. Ultimately, additional research is needed on people dedicated to potential anti-cancer properties of barley tea.
The barley contains a lot of trace elements.
Photo: unsplash.com.
Minuses
Despite its potential anti-cancer properties, barley tea contains a residual amount of antitrient potentially causing cancer, called acrylamide. One metaanalysis showed that the consumption of acrylamide with food is not associated with the risk of the most common types of cancer. Meanwhile, another study showed a higher risk of rectal cancer and pancreatic glands with high consumption of acrylamide among some subgroups. More acrylamide is highlighted from barley tea bags and slightly roasted barley. Thus, in order to minimize the content of acrylamide in tea, they independently fry barley to dark brown before soaking.
Moreover, if you drink tea regularly, you can limit the amount of added sugar and cream so that the drink does not become a significant source of unnecessary calories, fat and added sugar.
In addition, barley tea does not suit people who observe a gluten or waiverman diet, since barley is a grain containing gluten.
Preparation and where to buy
Barley tea is a common drink in Asian countries, and in some homes it is used instead of water. Given the safety of barley, safely drinking several glasses a day. For its preparation, you can use either fried barley, or pre-cooked tea bags with a ground fried barley, which can be bought in specialized stores and Asian grocery shops, as well as on the Internet.
To fry barley, add raw barley kernels into a dry hot frying pan on medium heat and often stir about 10 minutes or while barley can not be twisted. Let the barley reach a deep dark brown color to minimize the content of acrylamide. Use 3-5 tablespoons (30-50 grams) of a dried fried barley or 1-2 tea bag with barley for 8 cups (2 l) water. To brew tea, soak sachets or fried barley in hot water for 5-10 minutes, then strain the barley kernel if you want.