Articles Researching Barley and Beta-Glucan

Abstract
Imprisonment often improves metabolic control in prisoners with type 2 diabetes;
however, the reasons for this remain unclear. Here, we investigated the metabolic control
of male prisoners with type 2 diabetes in Japan. Retrospective analysis of 4385 medical
charts of male prisoners in Fukushima Prison from 1998 to 2004 revealed 109 prisoners
(all Asian) with type 2 diabetes (mean S.D.: 51 10 years). All were followed up
during their imprisonment (14 10 months). During imprisonment, mean fasting plasma
glucose and hemoglobin Alc (HbA1c) levels dramatically decreased from 184 74 to
113 38 mg/dl (p < 0.001) and 8.4 2.1 to 5.9 1.2% (p < 0.001), respectively. In
addition, 5 of 18 prisoners (28%) treated with insulin and 17 of 34 (50%) treated with
oral hypoglycemic agents were able to discontinue their treatment and maintain good
metabolic control. Most prisoners in Japanese prisons work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week,
consuming a high dietary fiber diet including boiled rice with barley, Mugimeshi.
These findings suggest that a well-regulated lifestyle and long-term intake of high dietary
fiber may have beneficial effects on metabolic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

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