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High hopes for barley that's good for the bowels

Story Added : 01st February 2010
Updated: 1 minute ago

A grain that helps people suffering from poor bowel health has hit the supermarket shelves.

The world's highest fibre wholegrain, known as Barleymax, is now being used in a food product for the first time, mainly in breakfast cereals.

Scientists say it has the potential to reduce the risk of heart disease and fight diseases like bowel cancer.

Dr David Topping, from CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences, says it's got the potential to be adopted world-wide.

"The United States has very low levels of dietary fibre consumption compared to us," he says.

"If all the consumers in the US were to increase their consumption of fibre, it would require 4.5 million tonnes every year of this barley to meet the gap.

"So all the indicators are good."

Story Added by ABC.
Date Added : 01st February 2010

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