“Why this is performed?” one may ask – this is done to honour Mother Shakambhari Devi (who is mentioned in the 11th chapter of the Durga Paath and who is none other than an expansion of Mother Durga). Mother Shakambhari Devi is the mother of nourishments.

Do note that www.dipika.org.za has an article titled “Shakambhari Devi (the Mother of Nourishments)”. The following link is the direct web-link to this article on DIPIKA, click (HERE).

Barley (Sanskrit – YAVA) is mentioned in the Atharva Veda (AV 11.6.15), one of the five main plants on this Earth.

Additionally, Atharva Veda, Book 8, Hymn 7, Verse 20 states:

“Asvattha (Ficus religiosa), Darbha/Kusha (Desmostachya bipinnata), Soma (a number of plants are identified as Soma plant, one among them is fly-agaric mushroom, ‘Amanita muscaria’), Barley (barley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass ‘Hordeum vulgare’) and Rice (rice is the seed of the monocot plant ‘Oryza sativa’) are healing balms, the sons of Heaven who never die.”

As such, one can read from the above information, the reason behind many devotees of the Mother offering Devi barley is due to its sacred and esteemed place in Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism).

Barley Grass Brings Many Benefits to the Diet

Many health-conscious individuals are including green food concentrates such as Barley grass and other cereal grasses in their diets. The appeal being that Barley grass is richer in individual vitamins and enzymes than many other known super-foods.

The real benefit and power of Barley grass is the combination of all these nutrients and enzymes in one food.

Barley grass is sprouted from barley seeds and is best consumed by juicing the grass sprouts (at 3 to 7 days old) to produce a powerful fresh green juice elixir.

It is also available in powder form (spray-dried barley grass) and is very easily digested by the body.

Barley grass offers more protein than a sirloin steak, five times the amount of iron as broccoli, seven times more vitamin C than orange juice and 11 times more calcium than milk.

Consuming Barley grass has also shown to balance the pH of the body. The average Western diet is fairly acidic, especially when large quantities of processed foods are eaten. Raised acidity in the body is linked to many diseases and general ill-health.

Barley grass is very alkalizing and useful for helping the cells in the body function optimally.

(Kindly note the more alkaline your body is the less likelihood of any life-threatening diseases affecting you. Diseases cannot survive in a predominately alkaline-based body.)

Research done on patients with ulcerative colitis showed that those given Barley grass showed significant improvements in their symptoms – including fewer episodes of diarrhoea and less pain – compared to the group receiving conventional medication (standard anti-inflammatory medication including steroids).

Ulcerative colitis is linked to low levels of friendly bacteria in the gut and an accumulation of toxins in the bowel.

Barley grass helps reverse this by stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria, which in turn helps reduce inflammation and improves symptoms.

Barley grass helps combat ulcerative colitis by lowering the amount of inflammatory chemicals in the bowel, including one called epithelial NF-k, and by balancing the water content of the bowel content.

Studies also show that barley grass increases the amount of friendly bacteria in the patients’ bowels.

Other studies done in Japan have shown that barley grass tea significantly improves the flow of blood as well as lowers the amount of LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol.

Barley grass has also shown promising results in preliminary studies done on its ability to inhibit certain cancer cell growths, mainly breast and prostate cancer.

There are testimonies of cancer patients who have been healed by consuming Barley grass and changing their lifestyles, but further studies are needed.

🟨 GUIDE: How to Include Barley Grass in Your Diet

Enjoy barley grass in healthy smoothies or by juicing it.

It’s simple to grow all year round, by sprouting it on a sunny kitchen windowsill.

Cut the grass with kitchen scissors to juice with carrots, apples, beetroot, parsley and celery.

Its super-food status makes it well worth having in constant supply.

🟩 RECIPE: Super-Food Energising Barley Grass Drink

Try this super-food energising drink from the recipe below.

Drink it straight away to benefit from the enzymes and nutrients – it makes enough for two.

Use a juicer with a centrifugal twisting action. Ordinary juicers don’t twist the juice out thoroughly enough.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of fresh barley grass
• 2 medium-sized beetroots
• 2 medium-sized carrots
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 cup of parsley
• 1 large peeled apple or two smaller ones

Method

Juice the 2 cups of fresh barley grass together with the beetroots, carrots, celery sticks, parsley and peeled apple.

Drink it straight away to benefit from the enzymes and nutrients.

Yield

Makes enough for two.