Millets are superfoods. They outshine wheat and rice in many aspects
Jowar vegetable upma, bajra khichdi, ragi ladoo, bajre ka choorma — these are just a few items that will be available for all the ministers in the parliament house canteens. So, what does your daily diet look like? Apart from the most popular wheat and rice, are there other cereals that you consume?
The reduced presence of these in our daily diet is leading to lifestyle diseases like diabetes and obesity, with their accompanying complications. So, what are the essential nutrients that we need and where can we get them? The answer is whole grains. Grains like sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), and buckwheat (kuttu), which are prepared on special occasions, are excellent sources of nutrition.
Let us understand the significance of this group of grains, these superfoods, called ‘millets’. Millets are one of the oldest foods known to humankind. Their charred grains have been found at the Harappan sites and they are also mentioned in the Vedas (one of the oldest archaeological and literary sources of our subcontinent, respectively). An ancient grain, millets have been used both for our consumption and as animal feed.
Scientifically speaking, millets are a group of small-seeded cereal grains that belong to the family of grasses (Poaceae family). Depending upon their size, they are broadly divided into two categories: major millets (sorghum, pearl millet, and finger millet) and minor millets (little millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, and kodo millet). Botanists have counted two pseudo millets too namely, buckwheat and amaranth.
Millets are superfoods. They outshine wheat and rice in many aspects. They are high in both macro-nutrients, like proteins and fats, and micro-nutrients, like iron and calcium. They guard us against many vitamin and mineral deficiencies. They are rich in fibre, are gluten-free, and have a low glycaemic index (GI) which means low impact on your blood sugar.
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