USA: Idaho Barley Commission sponsors food barley speaker at annual Idaho Dietetics Convention

The Idaho Barley Commission announced it will sponsor one of the keynote speakers at this year’s Idaho Dietetic Convention scheduled April 27 and 28 in Idaho Falls.

Dr. Joan Conway, a human nutrition researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Diet and Human Performance Laboratory in Beltsville, MD, will speak on Friday, April 28, on the “Effect of Barley Consumption on Glucose, Insulin and Lipid Metabolism.”

Dr. Conway will report on findings from two human clinical trials conducted at the USDA laboratory that assessed the effect of two levels of barley fiber intake on cholesterol and blood pressure. The results of these clinical studies confirmed previous findings that barley consumption lowered cholesterol and blood pressure in humans. Dr. Conway and fellow researchers have recently initiated a new clinical study examining the role of barley cereal in the regulation of food intake and satiety (fullness).

Based on the data from the USDA clinical trials and other documentation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register on December 23, 2005, allowing the use of a specific health claim of reducing the risk of cardiovascular heart disease for foods containing barley beta-glucan fiber.

“We believe the barley health claim and continuing clinical studies have clearly shown the health benefits of barley,” said Dan Mader, chairman of the Idaho Barley Commission (grower from Genesee) and member of the National Barley Foods Council. “Now we need to focus on educating health professionals and consumers about the advantages of incorporating barley in the human diet.”

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