Millets Health Benefits - Boost Your Health

Millets food is our basic food, if we travel from north-south and east-west of India, we will lots of millet base food. Government mechanisms eliminates the healthy millet food due to political interest soon after independence. India moved technology base agricultural production rather than land reforms.   

Nutritional parameter, millets are far ahead than of rice and wheat In terms of their mineral content, compared to rice and wheat. Each one of the millets has more fibre than rice and wheat. Finger millet has thirty times more Calcium than rice while every other millet has at least twice the amount of Calcium compared to rice. In their Iron content, fox-tail and little millet are so rich that rice is nowhere in the race. While most of us seek a micro-nutrient such as Beta Carotene in pharmaceutical pills and capsules, millets offer it in abundant quantities. The much privileged rice, ironically, has zero quantity of this precious micro-nutrient. In this fashion, nutrient to nutrient, every single millet is extraordinarily superior to rice and wheat and therefore is the solution for the malnutrition that affects a vast majority of the Indian population.

Boost Your Heart Health: Millets are the best possible grains to add to your diet if you want to protect your heart, which is something that everyone can relate to. Millet is a rich source of magnesium element, which is an important mineral for reducing higher blood pressure (BP) and the risk of heart attacks of strokes, particularly in the case of atherosclerosis. Millet is also a great source of potassium, which further keeps blood pressure low by acting as a vasodilator. Reducing your blood pressure and optimizing your circulatory system is one of the best ways to protect your cardiovascular health. The plant lignins found in much millet, it can be converted to animal lignins by the micro-flora in our digestive system, and those animal lignins have been shown to protect against certain chronic diseases, like cancer and heart disease.

Regulate Cholesterol Levels: Cholesterol levels go hand-in-hand with heart health, so the high fibber levels in millet make for an ideal cholesterol-lowering approach. Dietary fibber actually eliminates dangerous “bad cholesterol” (LDL) from the system, while promoting the effects of “good cholesterol (HDL).

Lowers the risk of diabetes: Millets consumption helps to lower blood glucose level and improve insulin response. Besides, the magnesium present in millets is a co-factor in various enzymes involved in the secretion of insulin and metabolism of glucose in the body. Whole grains improve insulin sensitivity by lowering glycemic index of the diet by increasing content of fibre, magnesium and vitamin-E. Glycemic Index is a scale that ranks carbohydrates by how much they raise the blood glucose levels compared to a reference food. Glycemic Index is based on the quality and not the quantity of carbohydrates. Millets have a low Glycemic index compared to most other cereals. Since millets have a low Glycemic index they increase satiety by decreasing hunger because it slows the rate of digestion. Type of starch (amylose/amylopectin) also influences the Glycemic index. Millet's have a high amylose content which is why they are slow absorbing and sustainable release sugar to our blood and enable to work for long duration.

Increase Digestive Health: As most fibber-rich foods boast, millet can help move your gastrointestinal system along and eliminate problems like constipation, excess gas, bloating, and cramping. By regulating your digestive process, you also improve your nutrient retention and reduce your chance of more serious gastrointestinal conditions like gastric ulcers or colon cancer. Regular digestion and elimination of waste also helps to optimise your kidney, liver, and immune system health, as those organ systems are closely related to the body’s metabolic activities.

Lower the Cancer Risk: Diets high in fibre and antioxidants have been shown to have beneficial effect on serum lipid profile besides blood sugar. Some forms of cancer are also prevented by high fibre diets. Millets being high in fibre, antioxidants and complex carbohydrates are potential candidates for having beneficial effects against diseases like CVD, cancer and ageing in general. Few in vitro and animal studies support this view but well controlled studies in human are needed. Recent research has revealed fibber to be one of the best and easiest ways to prevent the onset of breast cancer in women. In fact, women can reduce their chances of breast cancer by more than 50% by eating more than 30 grams of fibber every day. Given that breast cancer is one of the most common and deadliest forms of cancer, this is advice that every woman should hear

Detoxify the Body: Many of the antioxidants found in millet, in addition to their beneficial impact on neutralizing free radicals, which can cause cancer, they can also clean up other toxins from your body, such as those in your kidney and liver. Quercetin, curcumin, ellagic acid, and various other beneficial catechins can help to rid your system of any foreign agents and toxins by promoting proper excretion and neutralizing enzymatic activity in those organs.

Health of Respiratory System: Research has come to light showing that millet can significantly improve the quality of life for people suffering from childhood asthma, and can also prevent it from developing in the first place. Although some of the evidence is controversial, it is shown that significantly less wheezing and asthma attacks (by more than 15%) was seen in children who had large intakes of grains like millet. However, as wheat is a common allergen that is associated with asthma and wheezing, millet does not have the same components and does not have this negative effect.

Intensification of millets production, processing, consumption and conservation programmes should be taken in a big scale to promote national community health and also conserve our mother earth.