Dr. Tanwi Sharma
Today we are living in the busiest era, everyone wants easy and healthy food to eat. On the pretext of easy food, people started taking more packed and ready to eat foods which resulted in various health issues even among young generations and kids. According to Ayurveda the avoidance of refined foods and inclusion of millets in the diet is the secret of healthy life. Millets as superfood emblematizes forgotten Indian traditions and culture. Millets as food have been an inevitable part of ancient Indian legacy. It finds its mention in yajurveda itself. After green revolution in the country more thrust was on staple crops. Various new techniques were used to raise the yield of wheat and paddy. As a result people lost interest in millets and it became marginal crops to be grown on marginal land besides being a resilient and nutritious cereal crops. India’s average millet yield is 1,239 kg/ha as reported by Economic Survey 2023 which is about one fourth of the paddy or wheat yield. But as they say: History repeats itself. In the present modern world, people are very much conscious about their health. They are preferring more healthy and sustainable food options. Moreover, the rapid increase in lifestyle diseases has shifted the interest of foodies towards traditional foods and grains with high nutritional values.
Millets are a group of small seeded grasses that are cultivated globally as animal or human food grains. Millets belong to poaceae family i.e. grass family. They are also known as coarse cereals, cereals of poor, miracle grains. Besides being resilient crops millets also have high nutritional properties. Actually millets are the nutrient powerhouse. Millets are gluten free cereal grains. Their nutritional value is also very high and their consumption has various health benefits. They are rich in different minerals like calcium, Phosphorus, zinc, iron and magnesium. Millets also have high content of vit, B6, folic acid and dietary fibres. Millets consumption helps in various metabolic diseases, hypertension and diabetes. They slows down ageing process. Millets are also known to reduce the the risk of heart diseases and gastro-intestinal disorders. They improve cholesterol level, blood pressure level, blood lipid level and growth of bones. The major health benefits of millets are due to the presence of important phytochemicals like polyphenols, tocopherols and phytosterols. So, the chances of developing chronic diseases can be lowered by the inclusion of wide variety of fruits, vegetables and millets in the daily diet. Although millets are a superfood but some people still consider it as poor man’s food.
Based on their grain size, millets can be classified into two groups viz. Major and Minor. Sorghum (jowar), Fingermillet (ragi) and Pearl millet (bajra) come under the category of major millets whereas Proso millet (cheenak), Kodo millet (kodorava), Little millet (kutki), Barnyard millet (shyamak) and Foxtail millet (kangni) are included in minor millets. Both major and minor millets are nutrient rich and have plethora of health benefits for their consumers.
Fingermillet is known to contain aminoacids viz. lecithin and methionine which help in lowering blood cholesterol level. Ragi is also a very rich source of natural iron therefore helps to cure anemia. Inclusion of ragi in our daily diet also improves the conditions like anxiety, depression and insomnia. Fingermillets are also rich source of calcium and fibres. Therefore fingermillets are good for our bone health. Presence of aminoacid- tryptophan in fingermillet grains make them suitable choice as weight loss food. They are also helpful in diabetes. Finger millet is known to dominate Indian cuisines earlier but lost its popularity with time due to increase in consumption of wheat and rice. It has been reported that regular consumption of sorghum lowers or prevent the risk of lifestyle diseases and disorders. Being gluten free grains, sorghum intake is helpful in celiac disease. They are rich in dietary fibres therefore helpful for people suffering from obesity. It has lower glycemic index therefore helpful for patients with diabetes mellitus. Sorghum grains are rich in polyphenols and tanins which accounts for their anticancer properties. Pearl millet is the most commonly used millet. It is rich in magnesium therefore helpful for asthmatic patients. Regular consumption also reduces the occurrence of gallstones.
Kodo millet is rich source of natural antioxidants therefore have anticancer properties. Besides, the kodo millet is also helpful in high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart diseases. Kodo millet is gluten free therefore a boon diet for gluten intolerants. Inclusion of kodo millet in regular diet has also been reported to be beneficial for post menopausal women. The dehulled varieties of barnyard millets are found to be beneficial for type-2 diabetes patients. Little millet is a rich source of vitamin B3 which lowers blood cholesterol level. Little millet grains are also rich in minerals like calcium, iron, zinc and potassium. Foxtail millet is rich in dietry fibres besides providing essential micronutrients to the body. It is helpful in conditions like obesity and diabetes. Proso millet has been reported to be helpful in conditions like cardiovascular disorders and diabetes mellitus. The nutritional potential of millets in terms of carbohydrates and proteins is not less than our common cereals like rice, wheat and barley. But additionally they are gluten free as well as rich in dietary fibers and other important phytochemicals.
Millet based recipes are now rapidly gaining popularity among Indians. Food industry is also taking advantage of the continuously increasing millet trend among healthy food segments.. Therefore, cookies, muffins, cakes and crakers made of millets are being extensively appreciated in the food industry. Millets are also being used to make pizzas, noodles and other related food items. Millet based cakes and cookies are very nutritious and healthy for children. Besides being highly nutritious, the taste of millets is not at par with other cereals. Therefore we have to look for different tasty and healthy millet based recipes and cuisines. Food entrepreneurs are already working towards it. Millets like bajra, ragi and sorghum can be used to make full of fibre and easy to digest chapatis. Millets can easily become the part of our daily routine. Millet based breads are found to be healthier than the regular breads. Millet based ladoos with dry fruits are also very nutritious. All the recipes made from millets are healthy and nutritious. Proso millet, little millet, foxtail millet and barnyard millet can be used as rice substitutes in various indian dishes. Vegetable pulao can also be made using different millets. Such type of healthy, nutritious and tasty millet based recipes are needed to be promoted for the wide publicity of this superfood. Multiple traditional recipes and cuisines made from millets are being served in government meetings these days. As a result, the image of millets as part of food is slowly and continuously being shifted from poor man’s staple to a cool and trendy superfood.
Besides being a superfood, millets are eco-friendly crops too as they require lesser inputs as compared to our staple crops.
They are resilient against many biotic and abiotic stresses. Millet crops are drought tolerant i.e. can be cultivated using significantly less amount of water. They are naturally resistant to many pests and pathogens. Therefore the cultivation of millets is more organic and require fewer chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Lesser input of chemicals will prevent soil pollution as a result land degradation can be avoided.
In the union budget 2023 speech, Union finance minister, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman referred the millets as Shree Anna i.e. mother of all grains. The budget also presented the future national initiatives towards the domestic as well as worldwide promotion and branding of millets as superfood. National mission on millets has been announced in 2018 whereas UN has announced 2023 as International year of the millet. India has very well harnessed the opportunity of its G20 presidency this year to herald the nutritional, economical and environmental benefits of millets worldwide. Towards this end, about 19 mega-events has been organized in collaborations with different sectors such as government agencies, NGOs, startups, climate change activists and various other stakeholders of the field. This way the Indian millet market can be expanded worldwide. Among Asian countries, India contributes about 80% towards millet production whereas this contribution is 20% globally. But Indian millet farmers are not getting smart income therefore losing interest in the crop. Gestational cycle of the crop is also longer. Besides, millets are considered as marginal crops to be cultivated on marginal lands. Therefore strategies needed to be planned to make the millet farming, income smart in india. Farmers should be convinced and attracted towards millets farming.Introduction of millet crops in our cropping system will surely be an important step towards sustainability.
In the present era, climate change, land degradation and food crisis are some of the major global challenges against sustainability of life on earth. The whole world is putting efforts to find alternatives against these challenges. Here the millet crops with their potential sustainable properties of nutritional, economical and ecological benefits can be harnessed as a sustainable and suitable superfood of new era.They can play an important role towards the ecological as well as economical security of the world. Millets are gluten free, cheaper to cultivate and well adapted to Indian climate and soil conditions. Therefore, agencies have to work towards the removal of bottlenecks like lack of awareness and familiarity with the millets, inferior image and less affordability to expand the demand and supply industry of millets in the country. Millets will eventually emerge as Global super food therefore the article is an endeavor towards the wide publicity of millets as superfood.
