Making sense of millets

Millets are a group of small-grained cereal food crops which are highly tolerant to drought and extreme weather conditions. They are grown with low chemical inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides. Most of the millet crops are native to India and are popularly known as nutri-cereals, as they provide most of the nutrients required for the normal functioning of the human body.

Major millet crops include jowar or sorghum, bajra or pearl millet, ragi or finger millet, samai or little millet, kodomillet, barnyard millet, proso millet and brown top millet. Millets are good for you, the planet, and the farmers. India celebrated 2018 as the ‘The Year of Millets’ and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) declared 2023 as ‘The International Year of Millets’.

Health benefits

• Millets are rich sources of nutrients like carbohydrates, protein, fibre, good quality fat and have high amounts of minerals.
• They also have antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and neuroprotective activities which are beneficial against cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc.
• They have antimicrobial and DNA damage protection activities.
• Millets are an excellent source of slow digestive starch and fibres.
• Fermentation of millets promotes the growth of bacteria that make them an effective probiotic food
• They have lower glycaemic properties.
• Millets are gluten-free and non-allergenic.
•  Millet consumption decreases triglycerides and C-reactive protein, thereby preventing cardiovascular disease.
•  All millets are rich in dietary fibre which has water absorbing and bulking properties.
• It increases the transit time of food in the gut which helps in reducing the risk of inflammatory bowel disease and acts as a detoxifying agent in the body.

Contraindications:

It is important to note that millets are contraindicated for conditions such as organ failure, diarrhoea, malabsorption, cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, GI complications, chronic kidney disease, irritable bowel disease, decompensated liver disease, gastroparesis, potassium and phosphorus restricted diets.

Anti-nutritional factors:

Food processing methods such as soaking, germination, malting, fermentation, roasting, grinding and autoclaving are commonly used to eliminate the anti-nutritional factors found in millets, thereby improving the nutritional quality of the millets.

Millets vs wheat and rice

• Millets are rich in calcium. Finger millet and amaranth seeds have the highest content.
• Millets are rich sources of phosphorus, magnesium and zinc. 
• Amaranth and pearl millets contain higher iron content.
• Millets are good sources of niacin and folic acid.
• Millets are a rich source of dietary fibre as compared to rice.

Undernutrition and millets:

Undernutrition, such as stunting and being underweight, is a major public health concern, which requires multi-sectoral attention. Diet plays a key role in growth and should optimally supply all required nutrients to support growth. While millets are traditional foods and climate-smart nutrition crops, they have not been mainstreamed yet like rice, wheat and maize. Diversifying staples with millet can potentially provide more macro and micronutrients, compared to the mainstream crops.

Millets and child growth:

Given the high nutrient content of millets, understanding their role in child growth would be instrumental in achieving sustainable nutritional security. With being rich sources of many vital nutrients, they have promising potential to combat nutritional deficiencies in third-world countries.