5 Miracle Millets for Diabetes to Add to Your Diet

Miracle Millets for Diabetes – Normally, our food comprises cereals, pulses, vegetables, and fruits. But we have given more preference to rice and wheat and they have developed our staple food in India. We have entirely neglected a cereal that is a decent alternative to consider i.e., millet.

Millets are small-seeded cereals fitting to the Poaceae family which are not just nutritious but also environmentally friendly.

5 Miracle Millets for Diabetes to Add to Your Diet

Here in this blog, if you want to know more about miracle millets for Diabetes then we will make you understand simply read this article carefully.

What are Millets and Their Types of Millets for Diabetes?

Millets are small-graned cereal crops that are enormously nutritious and are full-grown in less fertile and marginal lands with very little input.

Maximum millets are native to India and currently, it is called Nutri-Cereals. Based on its grain size and area under production it is measured into 2 types, i.e., Major and Minor Millets for Diabetes.

Now, under Major millets, we have Sorghum(Jowar) and Pearl Millet (Bajra), and under Minor Millets, we also got Finger Millet (Ragi), Foxtail Millet (Italian Millet), Little Millet (Kutki), Barnyard Millet, Proso Millet, Kodo Millet, and Browntop Millet.

We had an opportunity to attend the” NUTRICON 2020” – International Conference on ”Role of Millets in tackling Diabetes” led by the Indian Institute of Millets Research which pointed out that 46.3 crore adults have Type-2 Diabetes Worldwide (2019). As per the value report (2019) of the International Diabetes Federation:

• 1 in 11 adults (20-79 years) has diabetes – 463 million people
• 1 in 2 grownups with diabetes is undiagnosed – 232 million
• Over 3 in 4 people with diabetes live in low and middle-income countries.
• 10% of global health expenditure is spent on diabetes – USD 760 billion.
• 1 in 13 grownups (20-79) has impaired glucose tolerance – 374 million people
• 1 in 5 individuals with diabetes is above 65 years old – 136 million people
• 1,110,100 children and youths below 20 years have type 1 diabetes.
• 1 in 6 live births (20 million) is exaggerated by hyperglycemia in pregnancy) – 84% of this is due to gestational diabetes.

Now, from the above-estimated report, it can be concluded that Diabetes is a Global Emergency.

There are 2 types of diabetes, specifically, Type -1 and Type -2. The individuals with Type -1 diabetes, the body of the patient does not produce any insulin and with Type-2, the body makes little insulin or is less sensitive to its effects.

Millets and Blood Sugar: Millets for Diabetes

Numerous of us must have heard from our forefathers that, they had no diabetes during their time. But now it is growing at a disturbing rate in India and abroad.

Now you could properly point out what is going wrong now. It is all about the diet we eat, and the lifestyles we are following with no exercise. Our diet plays a significant role in managing diabetes in our bodies.

It must be coming to mind, why we should consider millets? Are millets good for diabetes? Let me explain to you one by one:

• Millets have a little glycemic index (GI) which means it increases the blood sugar slowly in the body instead of rising rapidly as in the case of rice.
• Due to the attendance of high dietary fiber, it takes more time for digestion.
• It retains me gratified for a longer time and doesn’t feel a hunger pang between meals.
• Millets are composed of complex carbohydrates which digest gradually in the body.

What is the Research on Millet for Diabetes?

As we all know that without research, we cannot confirm the value and its position. Researchers have taken an effort in carrying out the research and come out with findings.

1. Now, according the study, conducted by M V Hospital for Diabetes on 105 patients with type-2 diabetes, found that patients overwhelming foxtail millet dosa had low sugar levels as compared to the patient taking dosa made with rice.
2. According to the Article, Millets have several properties which make them better suited for diabetes. Likewise, an experiment led in mice showed that a millet-based diet reduces the blood glucose level and rise insulin sensitivities.

We think more research work is to be done with millets for diabetes so that it develops a way forward for every stakeholder.

What are the finest Millets for Diabetes?

From the above discussion, now we can say that millet rich in dietary fiber support controlling the rise of sugar in the blood. Dietary fiber supports the slow release of sugar after the consumption of food and thus advances insulin sensitivity.

Apart from fiber, a study presented that some minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, and protein support working sugar levels in the body.

It has been stated that millet has a low glycemic index and value ranging from 54 to 68 in Foxtail Millet, Pearl Millet, and Finger Millet. But we think the carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio will make us easy to understand and choose the correct kind of millet for controlling diabetes.

Now, according to the learning by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, Foxtail Millet, Little Millet, and Barnyard Millet have a C/F ratio of 8.99, 8.22, and 4.82 individually. 

Obesity is another lifestyle disease that rises the risk of diabetes. Research has found that obese people have an iron shortage and this makes it favorable for increasing diabetes.

Therefore, millet like Pearl Millet will help in improving iron status and also in the weight loss journey. Therefore, seeing the above fact and figure it’s time to select the finest millets for diabetes. They are as follows:

• Foxtail Millet
• Finger Millet
• Barnyard Millet
• Little Millet
• Pearl Millet

More Diabetes Guides:

• Nine Signs Your Pet Could Have Diabetes
• Best Sugar Free Biscuits For Diabetes
• Best 5 Yoga Asanas You Should Know To Manage Your Diabetes
• 6 Lifestyle Changes to Help Control Type 2 Diabetes

Conclusion:

We have shared everything about miracle millets for Diabetes in this article for you if the info that we shared above helped you in any way then do share it with others.