Bajra Bliss-Eating whole grains is healthy for you. You don’t even need to eat them that much, just replace one of your meals with whole-grain food. One of these whole grains is pearl millet (mill-light), more commonly known as bajra in India, from where it originates. Bajra is the edible seeds of pearl millet plants.
It can be yellow, white, brown, gray, and bluish-purple in color. Today we will discuss 11 reasons why you need to start eating pearl millet or Bajra.
11 Benefits of Pear Millet or Bajra
1. Good for diabetes If you’re diabetic, you will need to follow a specific diet that helps regulate your blood sugar levels. One of the options you can include is a serving of pearl millet. Millets come with complex carbs, which your body will digest at a slower pace. This allows you to maintain a healthy glucose level for a longer period. Research has shown whole grains like pearl millet have specific compounds, which are key in preventing chronic diseases such as diabetes.
Not only this, pearl millets also have a low glycemic index (GI), compared with processed food like bread and rice. GI helps determine the effect of any food on your body’s blood sugar level. Typically, foods with GI values of 55 or lower are considered to be in the lower range. They’re great for your health if you’re diabetic.
Pearl millets fall in this low GI category. This means adding them to your diet helps regulate your blood sugar levels. They also have proteins, which keep you full longer.
2. Weight loss Trying to get in shape? Well most of us are on a mission to do. In that case, you should try adding pearl millet to your diet. Pearl millets have a very low-calorie density and are a great addition to any weight-loss diet. Calorie density is calculated based on the number of calories in relation to their weight. So if a food gives 400 calories per 100 grams, it has a calorie density of 4. The calorie density of pearl millet is as low as 1.2. Adding them to your diet will make you feel full at the cost of fewer calories than other foods. This in turn helps you lose weight.
3. Heart health Want a healthier heart? You need to find a way to sneak pearl millet into your diet. These healthy whole grains have characteristics that help promote your heart’s health. It’s packed with fiber, which helps lower your blood cholesterol levels. Do you often get aches, pains, and infections in your body? Chances are you have inflammation.
And guess what can help with that? Pearl millet! You even reduce your chances of getting chronic inflammation, which usually causes heart disease. Pearl millet is also rich in magnesium, which helps your nerves function. If you want a beating heart, eat more pearl millet porridge. It maintains your heartbeat. If you eat 100 grams of pearl millet, you get 131 milligrams of magnesium, which meets 37% of your body’s daily requirement.
4. Celiac disease and gluten intolerance If you have an autoimmune disorder, and are intolerant to gluten, then you likely have celiac disease. As such, you will not be able to eat foods like wheat and barley, since they contain gluten.
That’s where pearl millets step in. They are a great addition to your diet if you have celiac disease thanks to their gluten-free composition. Almost everyone can eat them with zero reaction.
5. Acidity and stomach ulcers If you suffer from frequent acidity and stomach ulcers, you need to add pearl millet to your diet. Millets are one of those rare foods that reduce your stomach’s acidity levels. As a result of the reduced acidity, the chances of you developing a stomach ulcer are also greatly reduced. Any discomfort you might feel from acidity will disappear as well. This seems like a winner.
6. Stronger bones Want stronger bones? Have pearl millet! Pearl millet is rich in phosphorus, a very important mineral for the growth and development of your bones. In case you have arthritis, pearl millet comes with antioxidants that help reduce the inflammation of your bones.
In one cup of cooked millet, you get 14% of the phosphorus your body needs on a daily basis.
7. Relieving constipation Having trouble going to the bathroom? Pearl millet will definitely get things moving! If constipation is an everyday problem for you, eat more fiber. This includes more Pearl Millet! They are packed with fiber, especially the type that relieves constipation.
The fiber found in pearl millet not only regulates your body’s bowel movements, it also helps bring down the amount of bile acids your body produces. This decreases your chances of gallstone formation. When you add pearl millets to your diet, you also reduce the risk of other bowel-related issues such as bloating, gastric reflux, irregular bowel syndrome, and belly cramps. A fiber-rich diet is necessary for a trouble-free gut.
8. Rich in antioxidants You must have heard a lot about antioxidants. Like they beat free radicals. But what does this mean exactly? How does it help your body? And where do pearl millets come in? Well, see your body undergoes the process of metabolism. This produces free radicals, which cause oxidative stress and damage your cells.
This causes premature aging and deadly diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. However, eating antioxidant-rich foods such as pearl millet can help decrease the damage caused by these free radicals. Millets have many antioxidant compounds, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, which play a key role in maintaining your health.
9. Reduced cravings Another benefit of the insoluble fiber present in pearl millet is a reduction in food cravings. The fiber present in pearl millet fills you up. This prevents you from craving unhealthy foods like chips, fries, and ice creams.
Pearl millet fiber also aids in burning all the extra fat your body has accumulated, resulting in a drop in the extra weight you’ve been carrying around. Because of the fiber in millet, it takes a longer time to pass through the small intestine compared to other foods. This means you’ll feel full longer, and won’t want to snack up. As a result, your calorie intake also gets regulated. So if you’re someone who finds it super hard to stop snacking, try pearl millet.
10. Colon cancers Want to reduce your chances of colon cancer? Eat pearl millet. Studies have shown millet has the capacity to treat colon cancer. They have a special enzyme, which can slow down or even kill the growth of cancer cells in your colon. And they do this without impacting healthy colon cells. Beat that! Even fiber in millet helps reduce your chances of developing colorectal cancer.
If you already have colorectal cancer, switching to pearl millets helps with your treatment, alongside medication and therapy.
11. Anemia during pregnancy Pearl millet is a rich source of iron, which is especially helpful when you’re pregnant. Several women suffer from gestational anemia. A pregnant woman needs more iron to help support the developing baby.
When that need isn’t met, she develops anemia. Eating pearl millet can help, as it’s a rich source of iron. Adding pearl millet to your diet will give you all the iron you’ll need to see you through the trimesters. How to include pearl millet in your diet? Pearl millet can be ground into fine flour and used to make flatbread.
Conclusion
You can even make cakes and pasta. In short, feel free to replace your existing flours with pearl millet. Another way to snack on this whole grain is by puffing them up like popcorn. You can eat puffed millet on its own, or make snack bars using it. Pearl millet porridge is the most popular way to eat this wholesome healthy food.
Pair it with full-fat yogurt, and you have a healthy delicious meal in front of you! Some people soak pearl millet in kefir or buttermilk to increase probiotic content. Then use this soaked version to make porridge. Pearl millet is great for so many reasons, but there are more whole grains waiting to be discovered.
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