What’s the Fuss About Job’s Tears?

Did you know that there’s a Chinese herb that looks a lot like barley, but isn’t barley? It’s true, the herb is the seeds from a grassy plant, called Job’s Tears, or Yi Yi Ren in Chinese. This plant is grown throughout Asia and actually goes by other names, too, such as coix, adlay millet, Chinese pearl barley (though it’s not actually barley) and coix lacryma-jobi.

In Chinese herbal medicine, Job’s tears (Yi Yi Ren) have a lot of uses, but the primary action is to treat something called dampness. One of the important functions of your body is water metabolism. Without enough water or body fluids you become dry; your skin and hair may become dry and brittle, you may feel thirsty all the time, and you may wake up in the morning with a dry sore throat or headache. However, with too much water or fluids, your body becomes damp. You may retain water, be prone to yeast or bladder infections and you may feel slightly waterlogged, soggy or heavy much of the time.

The number one action of Job’s tears is to drain dampness from your body by promoting urination. It can be used in formulas to treat water retention (also called edema) urinary problems, that boggy feeling and something called leg Qi, which is a condition of red, inflamed and swollen lower legs, ankles and feet.

This herb also gently helps your digestion, which is frequently the source of dampness. It can be used to stop diarrhea, which is a kind of dampness, and it can help strengthen water metabolism problems caused by poor digestion. In addition. Yi Yi Ren can help improve mobility issues and alleviate joint pain associated with dampness, which is a kind of joint pain or arthritis that’s aggravated by wet or damp weather.

While Job’s tears are often compared to barley, there are some key differences. Yi Yi Ren contains less fiber than barley, but it has more protein and iron. However, the biggest difference is that while barley contains gluten, Job’s tears do not. This means that people with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance can enjoy this barley-like grain without being exposed to gluten.

In herbal medicine, Job’s tears may be cooked whole with other herbs in a tea-like decoction or ground up to be used as a powder in pills, capsules or a tea. Like several Chinese herbs, this herb is a food so it can also be used in soups, salads, stews or as a grain side dish. You can find Job’s tears in some grocery stores, especially those that have a good natural food selection, Asian grocery stores and online. If you can’t find Job’s tears, look for coix seeds; they’re the same thing. It’s important to know that the seeds of this plant come in purplish/brownish outer shells when they’re harvested. If they’ve been hulled, the seeds will appear white and look similar to barley. You’ll want to purchase the hulled seeds.

To cook Job’s tears (Yi Yi Ren):

• Rinse one cup of the seeds in cold water similar to how you would rinse rice before cooking.
• Put it in a pot and cover it with water, leaving an inch or two of excess water.
• Bring the water/seeds to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer for 45 to 55 minutes. The Job’s tears should be a little chewy, but tender.
• Season and eat them on their own or add them to your favorite recipe.

Whether you call these seeds coix, Job’s tears or Yi Yi Ren, they’re not only a great, gluten-free substitute for barley or pasta, but they also have the important action of processing dampness in your body and supporting your digestion and water metabolism. If you’d like to know more about using Chinese herbs to boost your health, please give me a call.

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