Barley vs Oats: Which Is Less Inflammatory?
Barley
Oats
Oats are less inflammatory than barley, but only just: both are anti-inflammatory, one point apart on the inflammation scale. Both are grains you cook into a warm breakfast bowl or simmer in soups and stews, and both carry the same soluble fibre, beta-glucan.
Oats earn the extra point with avenanthramides, polyphenols found in no other food, which ease inflammation and even calm irritated skin. The beta-glucan in both grains turns into a gel in the gut, so their starch arrives as sugar gradually. That same fibre feeds the bacteria in your large intestine, which helps keep the gut wall sealed. The two grains differ on gluten in an important way. Barley carries it inside the grain itself, while oats have none of their own but pick it up in the mill, so a plain bag of oats carries gluten unless it is certified.
If you alternate between the two, favour oats at breakfast. Pick plain rolled oats instead of flavoured sachets, which can be a third sugar by weight, because that much sugar raises inflammation on its own.
Side by side
| Barley | Oats | |
|---|---|---|
| Inflammation Score | Low · 3/10 | Low · 2/10 |
| Category | Grains | Grains |
| Serving size | 1/4 cup dry pearl barley (50 g) | 1/2 cup dry rolled oats (40 g) |
| Key nutrients | Beta-glucan, Tocotrienols (vitamin E), Manganese, Selenium | Beta-glucan, Avenanthramides, Manganese, Magnesium |
| How often | A few times a week, a quarter cup dry in soup or as a side | Most mornings, half a cup dry, plain |
On the AIP diet
Barley
Barley is not allowed on the AIP diet. The elimination phase takes out every grain, and barley carries gluten on top of that. The combination puts it late in the queue for reintroduction, and many people who follow AIP leave gluten grains out for good. For a similar chew in a soup or a salad, cauliflower rice or diced cooked squash stands in well.
Oats
Oats are not allowed on the Autoimmune Protocol. The elimination phase takes out every grain, and oats go with the rest even though they carry no gluten of their own. Two things make them a harder case: almost all oats are milled alongside wheat, so a plain bag arrives with gluten unless certified, and oats carry avenin, a protein close enough to gluten that some coeliacs react to it too.
What each one brings
Barley
- Beta-glucan feeds the bacteria in your large intestine, which helps keep the gut lining sound
- The same fibre lowers cholesterol, an effect measured again and again in feeding trials
- It thickens in the gut and slows the starch down, so blood sugar rises gently
- Unusually for a grain, polishing off the bran still leaves most of the beta-glucan in place
Oats
- Carry avenanthramides, polyphenols found in no other food, which also calm irritated skin
- Beta-glucan turns into a gel, so the starch arrives as sugar gradually
- A bowl a day brings cholesterol down, one of the best established effects of any food
- The fibre reaching the large intestine feeds the bacteria that keep the gut wall sealed
Watch out for
Barley
- Contains gluten, so it is off limits with coeliac disease or a gluten sensitivity
- Malt syrup and malt extract are made from barley, and they arrive as sugar without the fibre
- Pearl barley has had its bran polished off, so it carries less fibre than hulled barley
- Barley is starchy, so the portion matters more here than with a vegetable
Oats
- Flavoured instant sachets can be a third sugar by weight, cancelling most of the point
- Oats are milled alongside wheat, so a plain bag carries gluten unless certified
- Oats have their own protein, avenin, and some coeliacs react to it too
- Still a starchy grain, so the portion decides a lot and it is easy to pour double
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