• According to the International Diabetes Association, the disease is increasing in all regions of the world, with India, China and the USA having the highest numbers of people with the condition.
• Africa has the largest forecasted increase to 143 per cent by 2045, the Middle East and North Africa 96 per cent and South East Asia 74 per cent.
Image: COURTESY
A new study has shown that eating millets can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
It also helps in managing blood glucose levels in people with diabetes, a study published in Frontiers in Nutrition shows.
Dr Anitha Seetha, the study’s lead author and a senior nutrition scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), said the survey was conducted in 11 countries.
She said the findings showed that diabetic people who consumed millet as part of their daily diet had their blood glucose levels drop to 12-15 per cent.
Seetha said the blood glucose bound to haemoglobin levels lowered on average 17 per cent for pre-diabetic individuals, and the levels went from pre-diabetic to normal status.
“These findings affirm that eating millets can lead to a better glycaemic response. Millets, including sorghum, were consumed as staple cereals in many parts of the world until half a century ago. Investments in a few crops, such as rice, wheat and maize, have edged nutritious and climate-smart crops like millets out of the plate,” she said.
According to Kenya Agriculture Livestock and Research Organisation, up until 1930s, pearl millet was the main cereal crop grown. It is estimated that 200,000 hectares (494,210 acres) were grown at the time.
From then on, growing of pearl millet reduced due to the decline in bird-scaring labour.
In the 1940s, the colonial government started research to develop native African food crops starting with sorghum and later with pearl millet. Later on, breeding for higher seed sets started.
Prof Ian Givens, a co-author of the study and director at the University of Reading’s Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health in the UK, said awareness of this ancient grain is just starting to spread globally.
“In the analysis of research into different types of millet compared to other grains such as refined rice, maize and wheat, we found that millets outperformed their comparison crops with lower GI [glycemic index] and lower blood glucose levels in participants,” Givens said.
Glycemic index is an indicator of how much and how soon food increases blood sugar level.
According to the International Diabetes Association, the disease is increasing in all regions of the world, with India, China and the USA having the highest numbers of people with the condition.
Africa has the largest forecasted increase to 143 per cent by 2045, the Middle East and North Africa to 96 per cent and South East Asia to 74 per cent.
The authors urge the diversification of staples with millets to keep diabetes in check, especially in Asia and Africa.
The review concluded that even after boiling, baking and steaming (most common ways of cooking grains) millets had lower GI than rice, wheat and maize.
ICRISAT director-general Dr Jacqueline Hughes said the global health crisis of undernutrition and over-nutrition coexisting is a sign that the food system needs fixing.
“Millets are part of the solution to mitigate the challenges associated with malnutrition, human health, natural resource degradation and climate change. Transdisciplinary research involving multiple stakeholders is required to create resilient, sustainable and nutritious food systems,” she said.