Raw oats in protien shake...why not barley?

[rookie000]

Just started making my own weightgainer shakes today. Use the ingredients picked up from one of the bouncers posts. Its seems that most of you who make your own weight gainer shakes tend to use oats. Has anyone ever considered grinding up barley in the blender and using that instead of oats? Barley has 35g of complex carbs per 1/4 cup while oats only have only 26g of complex carbs in 1/2 cup. Oats do seem to have a little better amino acid score according to this site I found http://www.nutritiondata.com/nutrient-search.html (oats=81 and barley=73)
I dont know what the numbers mean. All I can assume is that the oats are somewhat better. Would raw,powdered barley be too hard to digest? If not, it is cheap and it would be easier to put 1/2cup of barley in my shakes then nearley 1-1/2 cups of oast to get the same ammount of complex carbs.

[rookie000]

So i ground up some barley and tried it in my shake. Wasnt so horrible. It doesnt grind as well as oats and it is more dense so i really had to make sure i kept swirling my shake around brfore each drink. I used 1/2 cup of barley...about 70 g of complex carbs and 14 g of fiber. Besides the fact that it takes a little longer to grind and then is still isnt as ground as the oats, I think I will stick with the barley until someone posts a reason for me to stop. Hopfully it actually digests well and i am not just waisting my time.

[coffee-guy]

I'm not sure of exactly what kind of "barley" you have (there are a ton of different kinds) but typical oats are normally in the mid 40's to low 50's on the glycemic index. Barley flour or barley for "porridge" seems to show up in the low 60's. Just food for thought...

[rookie000]

I'm not sure of exactly what kind of "barley" you have (there are a ton of different kinds) but typical oats are normally in the mid 40's to low 50's on the glycemic index. Barley flour or barley for "porridge" seems to show up in the low 60's. Just food for thought...

It would be barley for porrage that i am talking about. "pearl" its called. I am not to informed when It comes to the GI...lower is better?

[coffee-guy]

I am not to informed when It comes to the GI...lower is better?

I think it is better for what you are trying to achieve. There's quite a bit of information on here and the rest of the internet about it...

[rookie000]

thanks...i'll do some digging

[Ashop]

for taste i prefer oats.

[rookie000]

I'm not sure of exactly what kind of "barley" you have (there are a ton of different kinds) but typical oats are normally in the mid 40's to low 50's on the glycemic index. Barley flour or barley for "porridge" seems to show up in the low 60's. Just food for thought...

I found a site stating that rolled oats are around 59 on the GI while the barley(pearled) I have was 22. http://www.glycemicindex.com/. Is this correct? I am assuming the lower the GI the better? If I am wrong, can someone clear this up for me?

[BBAddict]

That site you linked explained the science behind the GI. Yes, for lean mass gains, it is best to have low GI carbs for every meal except the post-workout (PWO) meal. There are different theories about that meal. I still prefer high GI (dextrose+maltodextrin) carbs, but there have been studies that suggest that low GI carbs are equally efficient in quickly restoring glycogen and building lean mass.

[coffee-guy]

I found a site stating that rolled oats are around 59 on the GI while the barley(pearled) I have was 22. http://www.glycemicindex.com/. Is this correct? I am assuming the lower the GI the better? If I am wrong, can someone clear this up for me?

It looks like you are good to go...

[rookie000]

thanks guys for the info. I just went out and picked up 10lbs. Grinding it is a bitch but i think its worth it...for me anyway. I am still going to use oats as well. 1/2 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of barley...just to make sure i am getting the benifits from both.