A healthy diet is an important cornerstone of good health, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.
Along with exercise and stress management, healthy eating reduces your risk of lifestyle diseases and helps manage health conditions.
Millet is rich in nutrients and plant compounds. Therefore, it may offer multiple health benefits. Millet is rich in phenolic compounds, especially ferulic acid and catechins. These molecules act as antioxidants to protect your body from harmful oxidative stress. Here you can find millets benefits.
Studies in mice link ferulic acid to rapid wound healing, skin protection, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Meanwhile, catechins bind to heavy metals in your bloodstream to prevent metal poisoning.
While all millet varieties contain antioxidants, those with a darker color — such as a finger, proso, and foxtail millet — have more than their white or yellow counterparts (13Trusted Source).
Millets benefits is help to control blood sugar levels
Millet is rich in fiber and non-starchy polysaccharides, two types of undigestible carbs that help control blood sugar levels (10Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
This cereal also has a low glycemic index (GI), meaning that it’s unlikely to spike your blood sugar levels (8Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).
Thus, millets are considered an ideal grain for people with diabetes.
For instance, a study in 105 people with type 2 diabetes determined that replacing a rice-based breakfast with a millet-based one lowered blood sugar levels after the meal (21Trusted Source).
A 12-week study in 64 people with prediabetes gave similar results. After eating 1/3 cup (50 grams) of foxtail millet per day, they experienced a slight reduction in fasting and post-meal blood sugar levels, as well as a decrease in insulin resistance (22Trusted Source).
Insulin resistance is a marker for type 2 diabetes. It occurs when your body stops responding to the hormone insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar (23Trusted Source).
What’s more, in a 6-week study in rats with diabetes, a diet containing 20% finger millet led to lower fasting blood sugar levels and a drop in triglyceride and cholesterol levels.Therefore millets benefits regardless of the age factor. (24Trusted Source).
Millets benefits is help lower cholesterol
Millet contains soluble fiber, which produces a viscous substance in your gut. In turn, this traps fats and helps reduce cholesterol levels (10Trusted Source).
One study in 24 rats found that those fed foxtail and proso millet had significantly reduced triglyceride levels, compared with the control group (25Trusted Source).
Additionally, millet protein may help lower cholesterol.
A study in mice with type 2 diabetes fed them a high fat diet with millet protein concentrate. This led to a decrease in triglyceride levels and significant increase in adiponectin and HDL (good) cholesterol levels, compared with the control group (26Trusted Source).
Adiponectin is a hormone with an anti-inflammatory effect that supports heart health and stimulates fatty acid oxidation. Its levels are usually lower in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes (27Trusted Source, 28Trusted Source).
Fits a gluten-free diet
Millet is a gluten-free grain, making it a viable choice for people with celiac disease or those following a gluten-free diet (8Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source).
Gluten is a protein that occurs naturally in grains like wheat, barley, and rye. People with celiac disease or gluten intolerance must avoid it because it triggers harmful digestive symptoms, such as diarrhea and nutrient malabsorption (29Trusted Source).
When shopping for millet, you should still look for a label that certifies it as gluten-free to ensure it hasn’t been contaminated with any gluten-containing ingredients.
SUMMARY
Millet is a gluten-free grain that’s rich in antioxidants, soluble fiber, and protein. In particular, it may lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels.These are the various millets benefits.
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