Millets for Children and Athletes

Frequent questions are asked if Millets are suitable for Children and how beneficial is it for athletes?

Millets can be given to babies. Babies can be fed Popped/malted Millets powder; this is like a millet based substitute for baby food like Cerelac or others. Traditionally children were given different forms of millets from 6 months up. Lets look at some examples:

• Finger Millet (Ragi) has nearly 3 times the calcium in milk and nearly 4.5 times minerals and nearly 18 times fiber and nearly 7.5 times calcium than Rice. It contains nearly 1.8 times minerals and nearly 3 times fiber and 8.4 times calcium than Wheat. Abundant levels of Thiamin (Vitamin B1) is present in Finger Millet which is not present in Rice and Wheat.

• Banyard Millet (Jhangora) Contains nearly 7 times minerals, nearly 50 times fiber and nearly 21 times Iron than Rice. It contains nearly 3 times minerals, nearly 8 times fiber and nearly 3 times Iron than Wheat. It contains lesser carbohydrates than Wheat and Rice and has abundant Thiamin (Vitamin B1) which is not present in Rice and Wheat.

• Pearl Millet (Bajra) Contains nearly 3.8 times minerals and nearly 6.5 times fiber and nearly 24 times Ironthan Rice. It contains nearly 5.2 times fiber and nearly 3 times Iron than Wheat. It contains the maximum amount of IRON content among the millets. 

What if I tell you that human body can absorb only 30% of the calcium in milk then Ragi stands out to offer 9 to 10 times more calcium than Milk.

Millets offer higher nutrition at a lower Glycemic Index and ensures that body does not pump more of Insulin and gives a sense of fullness post eating. This sense of eating ensures that we don't over eat or eat frequently which helps in managing Obesity.

Millets though easily digestible takes a longer time to digest and hence releases slowly over a period of time. As a result you feel hungry much later than you would with white, polished rice. In the same manner, the high fibre content of millets leads to slower digestion and a lower glycaemic index. Once one understands the nature of millets, one will find that much less quantities of millets are required to get the same amount of energy to keep us working.

 Carbohydrates are important for athletes as it is a major source of energy for them. Millets are the only source of carbohydrates which does not have any starch in it and they release energy slowly allowing for improved stamina during long periods of intense activity.

Hence Millets are highly recommended for children, athletes and the diseased.

Article by Rags Gopalan...