Barley...your thoughts

[kremizin]

my mother has ESRD and now a candidate for dialysis.  together with her meds, she's also taking barley product which is in capsule form.  there are so many articles, reviews, etc. regarding barley and i want to know if anybody here had tried this.  honestly, i dont want my mother to take this but there were stories that ESRD patients benefited from taking this product.

any idea?

[okarol]

It's always risky to add or take away any medication without checking with the nephrologist. People with kidney disease have to be careful about their potassium consumption because their kidneys may not be able to efficiently process high amounts of potassium, which could cause more problems.

[MooseMom]

I've never heard of using barley as any sort of treatment for esrd.

[kremizin]

tho personally, i dont want my mom to take that barley...i dont have enough proof to show them that it won't help or it might aggravate my mom's condition. plus the fact that she heard stories of patients with ESRD who benefited from this barley and somewhat has a placebo effect on her.

[paris]

Please ask the nephrologist.  I personally would take nothing without checking with the specialist first.   You never know how it will effect your body and kidneys.

[Stoday]

Barley, in the form of beer, has been used as a pick-me-up for many years. Puts you down if you drink too much of it though. 

Dark conditioned beer, such as Guinness, contains lots of Vitamin B6. Roasted barley is the source of antioxidents in the beer.

[Rerun]

Barley, in the form of beer, has been used as a pick-me-up for many years. Puts you down if you drink too much of it though. 

Dark conditioned beer, such as Guinness, contains lots of Vitamin B6. Roasted barley is the source of antioxidents in the beer.

         

[Zach]

Barley contains large amounts of both phosphorus and potassium.
About 60 mg each per oz.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

[MooseMom]

When I had just moved to England, I was in a shop and saw a bottle of barley water.  I couldn't imagine too many things more disgusting, and I still can't. 

Yeah, beer is very high in phosphorus, and I always wondered why; I guess it is the barley.  Barley is not only disgusting, it is dangerous!

[kremizin]

it's in capsule form. bareley grass is gaining popularity here in the Philippines. i guess it's ok to take barley if your problem is not your kidneys. i personally heard story of a breast cancer patient who benefited from taking barley.

[Stoday]

Barley contains large amounts of both phosphorus and potassium.
About 60 mg each per oz.

So what? You have to malt the barley then brew it before it becomes fit for human consumption. Just like Moosemom says, raw barly, even as barly water, is disgusting.

I clicked on your link and selected "regular beer" (I know Budweiser is like maids' water  ) then chose 1 fl oz from the list of 100g, 1 can and 1 fl oz. Got the answer of 4mg/fl oz Phosphorous and 8mg/fl oz Potassium.

I can live with that. Cheers! 

[Stoday]

I just thought.

I'm not going to drink one oz and throw the rest of the can of beer away am I? I'd drink the lot.

Oh well, that's no worse than orange juice...

[MooseMom]

LOL@Stoday!

[Zach]

Take another look:  Barley, pearled, raw

 

[Stoday]

Barley, pearled, raw

In soup and stews — Yummy! 

[Bruno]

I mean it's not that hard, if you can't drink beer because of the barley, there is always wine (from grapes) or better still gin (from the wonderful juniper berry) or even whisky (from corn).
I've also heard that a schooner of Guiness was often recommended for nursing mothers (in Ireland, of course) and anyway, what is wrong with a little gin in the daily orange juice anyway?