Are Millets Good for Diabetes? See Best Millets for diabetes.
🍒 Under Major millets, we have Sorghum(Jowar) and Pearl Millet (Bajra), and under Minor Millets, we have Finger Millet (Ragi), Foxtail Millet (Italian Millet), Little Millet (Kutki), Barnyard Millet, Proso Millet, Kodo Millet, and Browntop Millet.
Generally, our food contains cereals, pulses, vegetables, and fruits. But in places like India, they have given more preference to rice and wheat and they have become their staple food there.
Millets are small-seeded cereals belonging to the Poaceae family which are not just nutritious but also environmentally friendly.
So whenever I am asked just like you did, which is the best grains for diabetes, I will definitely say ”Millets for Diabetes”.
MILLETS AND BLOOD SUGAR:
Many of us might be heard from our forefathers that, they had no diabetes during their time. But now it is increasing at an alarming rate in India and abroad. Now you could rightly point out what is going wrong now. It is all about the diet we consume, the lifestyles we are following with no exercises. Our diet plays an important role in managing diabetes in our body.
It must be coming to mind, why we should consider millets? Are millets good for diabetes? Let me clarify you one by one:
Millets have a low glycemic index (GI) that means it raises the blood sugar slowly in the body instead of rising quickly as in case of rice.
Due to the presence of high dietary fibre, it takes more time for digestion.
It keeps satiated for a longer time and don’t feel hunger pang between the meals.
Millets are composed of complex carbohydrates which digest slowly in the body.
Without research, we can not confirm the value and its importance. Researchers have taken the effort in carrying out the research and came out with findings.
According to the study, conducted by M V Hospital for Diabetes on 105 patients with type-2 diabetes, found out that patients consuming foxtail millet dosa had low sugar level as compared to the patient taken dosa made with rice.
According to the Article, Millets have many properties which make them better suited for diabetes. Similarly, an experiment conducted in mice showed that a millet based diet reduces the blood glucose level and increase insulin sensitivities.
I think more research work is to be done with millets for diabetes so that it becomes a way forward for every stakeholder.
From the above discussion, now we can say that Millets rich in dietary fibre help in controlling the rise of sugar in the blood. Dietary fibre helps in the slow release of sugar after consumption of food and thus improve insulin sensitivity.
Apart from fibre, a study showed that some minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and protein help in managing sugar level in the body.
It has been reported that Millets has a low glycemic index and its value ranging from 54 to 68 in Foxtail Millet, Pearl Millet and Finger Millet. But, I think the carbohydrate to fibre ratio will make us easy to understand and choose the right kind of millet for controlling diabetes. According to the study by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, Foxtail Millet, Little Millet and Barnyard Millet have C/F ratio of 8.99, 8.22 and 4.82 respectively.
READ ALSO: Nigerian foods for diabetics.
Obesity is another lifestyle disease that increases the risk of diabetes. Research has found out that obese people have iron deficiency and this makes it favourable for rising diabetes.
So, a millet like Pearl Millet will help in improving iron status and also in the weight loss journey.
So, considering the above fact and figure its time to select the best millets for diabetes. They are as follow:
1) Foxtail Millet
2)Finger Millet
3)Barnyard Millet
4)Little Millet
According to the Article, Millets have many properties which make them better suited for diabetes. Similarly, an experiment conducted in mice showed that a millet based diet reduces the blood glucose level and increase insulin sensitivities.
WHERE TO BUY THE MILLETS:
It is always advisable to buy millets from your local market and if you are unable to get it, then you can buy them from an online store. I will provide you with the link below to buy the best millets.
1) Barnyard Millet
2) Foxtail Millet
3) Little Millet
4)Organic Ragi Flour
5) Organic Pearl Millet
Source: Food For Diabetes
www.nimedhealth.com.ng
