A Nutritious and Tasty Delight called Finger Millet or Ragi
Millets are grown around the world as cereal crops. These are widely grown in tropical countries of Asia and Africa such as India and Nigeria. All millets are from “Poaceae” family of plants. Finger millet can be developed on an extensive variety of soil, from a soil with high fertility to poor variety as well.
Ragi, also called as finger millet is red in colour. Hence it is also known as red millet. Its scientific name is Eleusine coracana.
Ragi contains minerals and vitamins, protein and is a good source fiber too.
Table 1 shows the amount of major nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, fat and fiber in 100 g grams of ragi flour.
Table 1
100 g of ragi flour has around 336 kcals of energy. Hence a great source of energy and also is a cheaper alternative to other cereals.
Ragi has high amount of calcium. Calcium is one of the most important ingredients of our body and our daily need is around 350 to 500 mg. There are traces of iron present in it.
Health Advantages
Rich source of Calcium and Phosphorous
Calcium is the most abundant mineral found in your body. It is present in your bone and teeth, muscles and blood as well. It performs many functions in your body.
a. Bones and Teeth: Calcium is the basis of bones and teeth. Calcium and phosphorous in growing children are responsible for the development of bones, while in adults they are required to maintain bone health. Sufficient calcium and phosphorous intakes help in preventing the risk of fracturing bones and also osteoporosis which is a degenerative disease of bones.
b. Good for Muscles: Calcium is required for proper contraction and relaxation of muscles.
c. Blood Clotting: For blood to clot after an injury or surgery etc. calcium is essential.
d. Normal Heart Beat: Calcium is also required for the normal functioning of heart and heart beats. Heart is also a muscle, thus as discussed above, for its contraction and relaxation as well, calcium is needed. Deficiency may result in arrhythmias or abnormal beating of heart that may have an adverse effect on heart health.
e. Releasing hormones: Calcium helps in releasing various hormones in the body performing an array of functions.
f. Nerve Signals: Calcium has a role to play in sending and receiving nerve signals.
Good for lactating mothers
Being rich in calcium, finger millet can act as a helpful food source for lactating mothers. The daily requirement of calcium increases during lactation. For milk production, mother’s calcium is used up. If she is not provided with enough dietary sources of calcium, this calcium is leached out of her bones for milk production. This will have an adverse effect on her skeletal mass and demineralization of bones may occur that may lead to weakening of bones at a later stage if any steps are not taken to preserve them.
To avoid this from happening, foods having calcium should be consumed. Hence ragi can be a good choice to be included in the diets of the lactating mothers to help them maintain the equilibrium of calcium in their bodies.
Gluten free
Finger millet is entirely gluten free. Hence it is a very good and healthy option for people who are gluten intolerant. Since it can be used as a replacement of wheat in your diet. Flat or regular breads, savory pan cakes, dosas etc. can be made out of its flour. Also it can be eaten as a breakfast cereal in form of porridge.
Fiber Content
Finger millet is a good source of dietary fiber. Fiber may help in controlling body weight. This in itself is a boon as being overweight and obesity is related to so many lifestyle disorders such as heart diseases, diabetes, gout, high blood pressure, joint pain, increased inflammation etc.
Also, a study suggest that finger millets are a great source of carbohydrates for diabetics. The same study also states that their high fiber content may improve digestibility and help with peristaltic movement in the gut.
Dietary fiber along with enough water intake has also shown to help relieve constipation.
Antioxidants
Recent researches have also suggested presence of various antioxidants is finger millet. Antioxidants are helpful in carrying important function of elimination of dangerous free radicals that damage various cells, DNA in your body and are also responsible for premature aging, heart disease due to blockages in heart blood vessels etc. Antioxidants are also believed to be they are anti-inflammatory in nature.
Thus include finger millet in your diet to obtain all its benefits!
Please Note
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References
o https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002412.htm
o https://scidoc.org/articlepdfs/IJFS/IJFS-2326-3350-03-602.pdf
o https://www.agriculturejournals.cz/publicFiles/208446.pdf
