From: bill@kean.ucs.mun.ca (Bill Garland)
Newsgroups: sci.med.nutrition
Subject: Re: Barley Extracts
Date: 14 Dec 92 17:17:57 GMT
Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada

> In article <BywqC7.458@ssr.com>, sdb@ssr.com (Scott Ballantyne) writes:
>> In article <1992Dec3.132311.1@kean.ucs.mun.ca> bill@kean.ucs.mun.ca
>> writes a lot of nonsense about barley green, which I won't repeat
>> here. 

Well, I don't know what constitutes "a lot" of nonsense. Certainly
"Ah. This stuff is BARLEYGREEN, miracle food of the gods." could be
said to be nonsense, given the "miracle food of the gods" clause. 
The product has been identified, and a tongue-in-cheek, satirical
clause makes this into meta-nonsense, though. Anyone who believes
in miracles, gods, or other mystical concepts had better beware
anything and everything that comes their way.

"It contains
a pH balanced mix of vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and other stuff.
All natural. You can get it without the kelp, if you wish. I think all
that does is add some salt, but I dunno for sure."

Just the facts. There may be some additional iodine in the kelp,
to be sure. I can't see where this is nonsense. They say kelp is
added "to make it a better product", which could mean many things.

I won't go on refuting the nonsensical claim of nonsense. I expect most 
people can make their own decisions regarding this or any other product.
I would also expect you, i.e. Scott Ballantine, to be one of those
who would support the FDA bill to (further) restrict peoples rights 
in these (and other) matters, but I could be mistaken.

>>..  Barley green is made by squeezing the juice from young barley
>> leaves and letting the water evaporate. 

True. The juice is removed from young, fresh, organically grown barley
grass - when it is richest in nutrients - vitamins, minerals, live enzymes,
superoxide dismutase, chlorophyll, proteins, strong alkaline pH and other
nutrients. It is blended with powdered brown rice - a rich source of 
vitamin B1, B2, nictonic acid, and linoleic acid. The water is removed
from the juice of the barley at room temperature, so none of the 
nutrition is destroyed.

>>...   Barley green is not a good
>> source of vitamins, it has minimal amounts of amino acids and
>> chlorophyll has no role in the human body. 

Well, _now_ who is spouting nonsense. According to three sources who
have analyzed BG, in the same amount as compared to, say, enough
spinach to give you 8,000 i.u. of carotene, .12 mg B1, .30 mg B2,
and other ingredients, you get 52,000 I.U. carotene, 1.29 mg B1,
2.75 mg B2, 329 mg C (vs 100 for spinach), 48.0 micro Biotin,
640 micro Folic Acid, 2.48 mg Pantothenic acid, and MUCH more. 

You should update your resume and send it to the FDA.

>>... It's a waste of money. 

If you will read carefully, you will notice that I never denied this.
I take it because it makes me feel good, healthy, _green_ even, and
I have seen the results on others. They also swear by it. If this
is all a result of auto-suggestion, placebo effect, then so be it.
It is worth money to me, and thousands of others. If you think it's
a waste of money, don't buy it. _I_ think it is expensive, but that
is another matter. I also discussed this and many other points about
the product, not to confuse or mislead or start a flamage, but to discuss.

>>... It
>> probably won't hurt you, 

AND who knows, it could probably help you out a helluva lot, especially
if you have been leading a bad health-style for the past few decades...

>> but I would hesitate to say that for certain,

Yes, I know, you would hesitate to say anything for certain.
Most of us hesitate to say anything for certain.

>> given the track record for food purity of a lot of these guys.

Now what's this? Rather a generalized non-sequitor, isn't it? 
What guys? What track record?

====
and 
===
In article <1992Dec8.143202.1@vms.ocom.okstate.edu>, 
	chorley@vms.ocom.okstate.edu writes, responding also to the 
	Scott Ballantine above >> nonsense.

> I am not one given to food fads, or whacko ideas and would agree that
> barleygreen is a waste of money **until rigorously proven otherwise**, 

Me neither, pardner. As I said. And how rigorous do we have to get?
You try it. You like it. You use it. You want it cheaper, you deal it.
   You want to make money, you market it. Customers try it...
You don't like it, you give it back and get your money back. Guaranteed.
You get sick, you sue. But you wont. You are probably already sick in
some way, who knows... with this you might even get better. Hey, even
snake oil works some of the time.

> plus it tastes like pond scum, 

You got that right...

> buuuut, although chlorophyll has no role in the human
> body, it is a source of chelated magnesium (yes I *do know* what 
>  chelate means)
> and magnesium is a co-factor in every enzyme pathway which uses Kinases.
> So chlorophyll generally will do no harm, but it might do some good.

Yes, and it is reputed to be a natural deoderizer, detoxifier, and healer,
but I would hesitate to say all that for certain.  8^).

> Anecdotally, I have a friend who had a brown recluse spider bite on her
> buttock, and put BG on it... her physicians were amused to see an absence of
> necrosis. (just a story, nothing to get ideological about 8-))

As a further anecdote, which proves nothing but does allude to the
reputation BarleyGreen has achieved in ten years, my sister, who died
in May from non-Hodkins lymphoma, had had BarleyGreen recommended to
her by one of her doctors. Then she heard I was selling it, so bought
some from me - too late for anything, good or bad, as she died before
opening the bottle.

> 
> David Chorley

Anyway, I am not trying to present this as anything other than what
it is. I was providing information I have to a poster who asked. I
did make the conscious decision to research it through very traditional
medicine, and I am up front with my own skepticism about it.

Consider this one other factoid that just popped up into my barleygreen
damaged brain, one I have never publically mentioned before because I
didn't want to mislead : withing two weeks of starting a permanent,
two-tsp / day bg habit, I was able to quit cigarettes cold turkey
with no withdrawal symptoms. Now, I had been psyching myself up for
this for years, and it may have nothing to do with it... 

I repeat - if that was placebo, bring on the placebos.

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From: gw@hpscit.sc.hp.com (Gordon Wilson)
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 22:05:17 GMT
Subject: Re: Calcium/Magnesium
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Clara, CA