Nutritional and Health Benefits of Millets

Millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses that are widely cultivated around the world for fodder and human food as cereal crops or grains. Millets are typically small-grained, annual, warm-weather cereals belonging to the family of grass. They are highly tolerant of drought and other severe weather conditions, and are close to other popular cereals in nutrient content. Millets are important crops in the semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa (especially in Nepal, India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger), with 97 percent of millet production in developing countries. The crop is favored due to its productivity and short growing season under dry, high-temperature conditions.

Types (Species) of Millets

The various species of millets, but the following are the most common:

• Pearl millet
• Finger Millet
• Proso or Common millet
• Foxtail millet
• Teff
• White Fonio, Black Fonio and Guinea Millet
• Barnyard Millet
• Little Millet
• Kodo Millet
• Job’s Tears

Pearl Millet

The most commonly grown of all millets is the Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum, P. typhoides, P. tyhpideum, P. americanum). Bulrush millet, babala, bajra, cumbu, dukhn, gero, sajje, sanio or souna are also identified. In Western Africa, especially in the Sahel, in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, and in Asia, in India and Pakistan, and along the Arabian peninsula’s southern coast, pearl millet is a traditional crop.

In the southeast coastal plain of the United States, where it has been used as a summer forage, Pearl millet was recently introduced as a grain crop. In dry areas that are unsuitable for maize, sorghum or finger millet, pearl millet can be grown on poor, sandy soils. With large roots, leaves and heads, it is a summer cereal grass. It is more effective than sorghum or corn in its use of moisture. On condensed (spiked) panicles, the grain grows 10 to 150 cm in length. Under drought and heat stress, Pearl millet has the highest yield capacity of all millets.

Finger Millet

Another essential staple food in eastern Africa and in Asia is finger millet (Eleusine coracana), known as ragi in India (India, Nepal). It has a slightly higher water requirement than most other millets and is found in colder, elevated regions up to 2000 metres above sea level. At the top of the stem, the plant bears multiple spikes or ‘fingers’. The grain is small (1-2 mm in diameter).

Proso or Common millet

Proso or common millet (Panicum miliaceum) is produced in temperate climates. In the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the United States, Argentina and Australia, it is widely cultivated. The plant has panicles that are open, branching, drooping and is tolerant of a wide temperature range.

Foxtail Millet

Setaria italica (foxtail millet) is also suited to mild climates. Long, cylindrical or lobed, bristly, condensed panicles are made. In the world, China ranks first in foxtail millet production. It is cultivated there for food as well as for food. In India, Indonesia, the Korean peninsula, and some parts of southern Europe, the crop is also grown. Outside of the eastern highlands, it is not grown in Africa to any extent. Foxtail millet was an important temporary pasture species prior to the availability of sorghum-sudangrass forage hybrids.

Teff

Teff (Eragrostis tef) is a very small-seeded grass grown for grain in the highlands of Ethiopia, where its production exceeds that of most other cereals. It tolerates heavy soils that have low drainage features. Several of its relatives in the world’s arid zones are highly prized forage grasses.

White Fonio, Black Fonio and Guinea Millet

Small cereals from dry areas in sub-Sahelian Western Africa are White fonio (Digitaria exilis), Black fonio (Digitaria iburua), and Guinea millet (Brachiaria deflexa). White fonio is cultivated, except in Liberia, throughout much of this region. In southern Mali, northeastern Nigeria, the far south of Niger, western Burkina Faso, eastern Senegal and northern Guinea, it is a very important crop. In the Jos-Bauchi Plateau of Nigeria and the northern parts of Togo and Benin, Black Fonio is present in isolated pockets. The production of Guinean millet is limited to Guinea and Sierra Leone’s Fouta-Djallon plateau.

Barnyard Millet

Barnyard millet (Echinochloa crusgalli, E. colona) is important in the tropics and subtropics of India.

Little Millet

Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) is widely grown in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, eastern Indonesia and western Myanmar.

Kodo Millet

In West Africa and India, Kodo Millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum) is harvested as a wild cereal where it grows abundantly along paths, ditches and low spots. The species was domesticated approximately 3000 years ago in India.

Job’s Tears

Even among the small millets, Job’s Tears (Coix lachryma-jobi) is a minor cereal, with production largely confined to Southeast Asia.

Historical Background (Origin) of Millets

Initially, different species called millet were domesticated in various parts of the world, most notably East Asia, South Asia, West Africa, and East Africa. The domesticated varieties, however, have frequently spread far beyond their original area.

Based on data such as the relative abundance of charred grains found in archaeological sites, specialized archaeologists called palaeoethnobotanists hypothesize that millet cultivation was more prevalent in prehistory than rice, in particular in northern China and Korea. Millets in Indian, Chinese Neolithic and Korean Mumun societies also formed essential parts of the prehistoric diet.

Domestication in East Asia

In early Neolithic China, Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) were important crops. At Cishan (north), where proso millet husk phytoliths and biomolecular components were found around 10,300-8,700 years ago in storage pits along with remains of pit-houses, pottery, and stone tools related to millet cultivation, some of the earliest evidence of millet cultivation in China was found. Foxtail millet findings at Cishan dates back to about 8,700 years ago. In a 4,000-year-old earthenware bowl containing well-preserved noodles found at the Lajia archaeological site in northern China, the oldest evidence of noodles in China was obtained from these two varieties of millet.

Proof of millet cultivation in the Korean Peninsula dating to the Middle Jeulmun pottery period (around 3500-2000 BCE) has been found by Palaeoethnobotanists. In the extreme, multicrop agriculture of the Mumun pottery period (about 1500-300 BCE) in Korea, Millet continued to be an important factor. Millets and their wild relatives, such as barnyard grass and panic grass, were also cultivated some time after 4000 BCE during the Jōmon period in Japan.

Chinese myths attribute the domestication of millet to Shennong, the legendary Emperor of China, and Hou Ji, whose name is Lord Millet.

Domestication in the Indian Subcontinent

Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) is believed to have been domesticated in the subcontinent of India about 5000 before present and Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum) around 3700 before present, also in the subcontinent of India. In some of the Yajurveda texts, different millets have been listed, identifying foxtail millet (priya-gu), barnyard millet (anu) and black finger millet (śyāmāka), suggesting that millet cultivation in India took place about 1200 BCE.

Domestication in West Africa

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) was definitely domesticated by 3500 before present in Africa, although it is thought that 8000 before present is likely. Early evidence includes findings in West Africa at Birimi, with the earliest being in Mauritania at Dhar Tichitt.

In the Sahel region of West Africa, where its wild ancestors are based, Pearl Millet was domesticated. The evidence for pearl millet cultivation in Mali dates back to 2500 BCE, and 2300 BCE for pearl millet in the Indian subcontinent.

Domestication in East Africa

Originally native to the highlands of East Africa, finger millet was domesticated prior to the third millennium BCE. By 1800 BCE, its cultivation had spread to South India.

Spreading

As the earliest dry crop in East Asia, the cultivation of common millet has been attributed to its resistance to drought, and this has been suggested to have enabled its spread. In 5000 BCE, Asian millet varieties made their way from China to the Black Sea region of Europe.

Millet had been growing wild in Greece as early as 3000 BCE, and from the Late Bronze Age in Macedonia and northern Greece, bulk storage containers for millet were found. Hesiod describes that “the beards grow round the millet, which men sow in summer.” And millet is mentioned by Theophrastus in his “Enquiry into Plants” along with wheat in the third century BCE.

Nutritional Value (Composition) of Millets

A 100-gram (3 ¹⁄₂-ounce) reference serving of raw millet (Panicum miliaceum or proso millet) provides 1,580 kilojoules (378 kilocalories) of food energy and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, several B vitamins and numerous dietary minerals, especially manganese at 76% DV (USDA nutrient table). Raw millet is 9% water, 73% carbohydrates, 4% fat and 11% protein.

Health Benefits of Millets

Millets are a perfect alternative to substitute for your daily food. They come in various types and sizes, and each grain has its own health advantages. These whole grain millets are available at all times, and even throughout the year, on the markets as they are grown regardless of the weather. In your daily food routine, embracing millets can be helpful in the following ways:

Rich in Nutrition

Non-glutinous acid free millets are a good source of nutrients such as copper, magnesium, phosphorus and manganese. Which are perfect for sustaining a healthy life. The risk of heart attacks and other such life-threatening diseases would also be eradicated by a healthy diet full of nutritional properties.

Low Calories Content

When striving to lose weight, millets are a viable alternative for a healthy weight loss, since their calorie count is very poor. Even for people who are calorie-conscious who strive to feed in a way that will help them retain their energy levels during the day without ever feeling famished.

Boost Immunity

Weaker immunity can and will be lethal. The poorer the immune system, the more likely an individual suffers health problems over and over again. This is due to a severe protein deficiency in the system. Adding millet to an individual’s diet on a regular basis will help the body to get back all the protein that the system was low on.

Satiates Hunger

Many carbohydrates, such as rice and wheat, are quickly broken down once eaten, leaving a person hungry within a few hours of eating. This makes people resort to unhealthy eateries to satiate their hunger. Millets have tougher structures and do not break down quickly in the digestive system, keeping the individual far enough away from risky eating habits.

Cut Down Sugar-levels

Thanks to its low glycemic index, millet is the perfect food to be eaten to avoid diabetes from ever arising in non-diabetic people. In particular, it helps to keep type 2 diabetes under control.

Prevents Heart Problems

Millets contain vital fats, just the right amount of natural fat for our body. This helps prevent excess fat from depositing over muscles that prevent high cholesterol, heart strokes, and other heart-related diseases. Millets are the immediate best alternatives to replace their unhealthful peers, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease by a good measure.