Recent times have seen lifestyle diseases like diabetes and obesity, with their accompanying complications, reaching almost epidemic levels. Even becoming the leading cause of death in some high-income countries. One main cause for its aggravation is the food we consume.
Time then to take a good hard look our daily diet.
Is this what yours looks like? Salt, sugar and fat.
Of course, you know the foods that are good for you. If you don’t here’s the lowdown on the 7 essential nutrients your body needs.
Many of these nutrients are found in whole grains, which essentially refer to grains that have not been depleted by over-polishing.
But, here’s the thing. There’s more to whole grain than wheat, rice and corn.
The humble millet, for instance, is a whole grain. An excellent source of nutrition, available freely, right under our very noses, yet largely ignored. Millet, though an integral part of our diet for many generations, has been all but forgotten till recently.
Health Benefits Of Millets
“The black millet, the double kernelled, millet pink-sprouted and white.”
This lyrical description from an old Chinese folk song goes on to describe millet, the treasure trove of nutrition, as lucky grains sent down to us. Millet can be traced as far back as the Stone Age and in fact, many types of millet have even been found in Mohen-jo-daro and Harappan archaeological sites. Interestingly it was this group of cereals and not rice that was a staple in Indian, Chinese Neolithic and Korean diets.
There are about 6,000 varieties of millet throughout the world, and since they are not fussy about soil and water, they are a major source of energy and protein for more than a billion people in arid and semi-arid regions. Unlike our over-cultivated wheat-rice-corn which need a whole lot more pampering to survive.
Think Jolada roti, ragi mudde, bajra khichidi, nachni dosa, thinai pongal – sound familiar? These are all food that we’ve heard of and perhaps grown up on. Yet millets, like many traditional foods have been sorely neglected. Pity! Because they are highly nutritious, non-glutinous and non acid forming grains. Properties which make them soothing and easy to digest. In fact it is a food often cooked during fasting in India. Plus they are super versatile so you can go all out and make a huge variety of delicious dishes with them. Scroll down if you want to know about millets health benefits and how to use them in your daily cooking.
