Millets Vs Barley

Be it alcoholic beverages - the fermented beers or malted whiskeys, be it the non-alcoholic food items like Barley porridge or water or breads, Barley is a major cereal grain that touches almost every age group with its variations.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), is also used as animal fodder. It is used in soups and stews, and in barley bread of various cultures. Barley grains are commonly made into malt in a traditional and ancient method of preparation. No wonder this cereal crop is one of the most produced grain in the world.

Barley is a widely adaptable crop. It is currently popular in temperate areas where it is grown as a summer crop and tropical areas where it is sown as a winter crop. Its germination time is one to three days. Barley grows under cool conditions, but is not particularly winter hardy. Barley is more tolerant of soil salinity than wheat, which might explain the increase of barley cultivation in many parts of the world. Barley has a short growing season and is also relatively drought tolerant.

I can certainly hear the murmurs of many of friends who drink Barley, as they smirk and think "Who is bothered about the nutritive part of barley".. Ye, lets look at the nutritive content of Barley.

• Barley contains decent levels of protein, calcium and phosphorus though lower than most of the millets.
• Barley stands out in the digestive fibre content which is highest among the millets, Oats, Rice and Wheat. At the same time barley also contains as much carbohydrate as rice.

Barley was always considered as a health food across the globe as it offers decent levels of nutrition, good amounts of carbohydrates for growing children and digestive fibre.

But let me list the reasons why I find Millets to be superior to Barley:

• Finger Millet contains nearly 12 times calcium than that in Barley, Proso, Foxtail, barnyard, Pearl and Soghum - all these millets have more Protein than barley.
• Barnyard and Pearl millets contains more than 6 times Iron than Barley and all the millets contain good quantities of Thiamin (Vitamin B1) while Barley has negligible quantities.

1. Barley occupies 0.46% of the total cropped area, 0.62% of the food grains and 0.76% of the cereals in the country. Similarly it contributes 0.86 of the total production of cereals and 0.81% of the food grains in India. There has been steady shortfall in the area and production of the crop since 1960-61 onward with the beginning of the Green Revolution. 

2. The production has fallen down from 28.66 lakh tones in 1960-61 to 14.06 lakh tones in 2002-03 at an average annual rate of 1.21 per cent. This decline is mainly due to the transfer of the barley area to wheat cultivation. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are the two ma­jor producers of barley in the country. These two states together provide 64 per cent of the total area and 72 per cent of the total production of barley in India. Barley is essentially a crop of North India.

3. The top 5 Barley producers globally are Germany, France, Ukraine, Russia and Spain.

4. So the first objection I have for consuming Barley is, it does not benefit a large section of India or Indian farmers. It certainly takes care of the 2 states in India but when we buy millets we really support our own farmers who are dependent on ~50% of rain fed Indian agricultural landscape. Why should I buy something manufactured by farmers in EU and Russia when our own farmers produce equivalently / more nutritive food. Read more here. 

5. The cost of a Kg of Barley is about INR 35/- to 45/-. Compare this against Millets which costs anywhere between INR 30/- to 70/-. Though the cost is almost similar the nutrition value of Millets is much higher.

6. My last objection is based on the importance of alignment of our lifestyle with nature. We need to submit that nature is super intelligent and wise in endowing capabilities in all of us and bless us with the right environment. If nature wanted Barley to nourish the people of India it would have endowed India with a large scale ability to grow Barley.

There is an unwritten rule among the wise "To consume what grows near you" and that is the best way to align with nature.

Hence eating Millets is better for Indians as they would support millions of small farmers and their produce and not remit their breakfast / dinner bills to foreign countries. Millets are cost effective and its value for money is unmatched. Also by eating Millets you align better with nature. There are recipes which are available in the net which suggests mixing Wheat, millets and barley in some proportion to make the whole meal healthy and nutritive. This could be one of the ways to ensure that we eat a balanced diet.

These are my thoughts and I leave it to your wisdom to decide what is best for you.

Article by Rags Gopalan...

Millets Vs Oats

One of the grains that has found its way to our kitchen shelves especially in the middle and upper middle class families is Oats and its variants.

Wikipedia states, "The common oat (Avena sativa) is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other grains). While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed.

Now one point i need to highlight is that both Millets and Oats are used as feed for livestock which may make some people think as to why humans should feed on them? But it is important to understand that Millets have been our staple diet from many many years and a part of it was shared with livestock also.

The nutrition content of Oats is one of the best and it is better than Millets in few areas. It has nearly 40% more protein than Wheat, Proso Millet and Foxtail millet. It has more fibre than Barnyard millet and it has more phosphorus and Thiamin than any of the millets or Rice or wheat.

Oats certainly has less calcium than Finger Millet (Ragi has close to 5.5 times calcium than Oats), and Pearl Millet (Bajra) has more than 3 times Iron than Oats. In short, Oats is an excellent cereal to be added to our menu in a regular manner.

But let me list the reasons why I find Millets to be superior to Oats:

1. Oats is best suited to grow temperate regions and is very sensitive to temperature increase. Please note it has the same risk as wheat which is sensitive to rise in temperature and hence to global warming / climate change risks.

2. Because of the above reason Oats is not grown widely in India and is limited very few parts of India. The top 5 producers of Oats is European Union, Russia, Canada, Australia and  United States.

3. So the first objection I have for consuming oats is, it does not benefit India or Indian farmers. When we buy millets we really support our own farmers who are dependent on ~50% of rain fed Indian agricultural landscape. Why should I buy something manufactured by farmers in EU and US when our own farmers produce  equivalently nutritive food. Read more here. 

4. The cost of a Kg of Oats is about INR 105/- to 150/-. This is the plain variety and the costs vary based on the flavor and version of oats that is offered. Compare this against Millets which costs anywhere between INR 30/- to 70/-. So the value for money is extremely good for Indian Millets and affordable by many.

5. My last objection is based on the importance of alignment of our lifestyle with nature. We need to submit that nature is super intelligent and wise in endowing capabilities in all of us and bless us with the right environment. If nature wanted Oats to nourish the people of India it would have endowed India with a large scale ability to grow oats.

There is an unwritten rule among the wise "To consume what grows near you" and that is the best way to align with nature.

Hence eating Millets is better for Indians as they would support millions of small farmers and their produce and not remit their breakfast / dinner bills to foreign countries. Millets are cost effective and its value for money is unmatched. Also by eating Millets you align better with nature.

These are my thoughts and I leave it to your wisdom to decide what is best for you.

Article by Rags Gopalan...

Millets Vs Wheat

It is in human nature to compare things. I would like to start with the disclaimer that in nature's scheme of things all are good and bestowed with the blessings and grace of the almighty. If its not unique it would not have found its way to existence since Nature does not create carbon copies.

The objective of the article is not to pitch eatable one against the another and identify which is superior but to understand the nature of things and strike a balance if we can in our daily intake.

Some of the millets are really superior to Wheat and examples are as follows:

• Barnyard Millet (Jhangora) Contains nearly 3 times minerals and nearly 8 times fiber and nearly 3 times Iron than Wheat. Contains one of the highest amounts of digestive fibre among millets.
• Finger Millet (Ragi) contains nearly 1.8 times minerals and nearly 3 times fiber and 8.4 times calcium than Wheat. Contains the maximum amount of Calcium among millets.
• Pearl Millet contains nearly 5.2 times fiber and nearly 3 times Iron than Wheat. It Contains the maximum amount of IRON content among the millets.

Wheat is one of the naked grains variety which is touted to have good amounts of protein, decent levels of Iron and carbohydrates and it makes a fairly balanced diet. Should we make Wheat as the staple diet with 100% of our intake with wheat? Probably not. Lets find out why.

Gluten

Gluten is the protein found in wheat. It gives wheat the elastic quality that helps it rise and keep its shape while making bread. It does so by creating a gluten network in the dough to trap carbon dioxide during fermentation. This causes the dough to rise and results in a chewy texture.

Over time, wheat varieties that have more gluten have been selected for cultivation. Foods rich in gluten are fairly acid-forming since it is not easy for our bodies to digest gluten. An acidic environment is created in the body which leads to a host of problems – fatigue, acidity, obesity, cancer, diarrhea to name a few.

Today, we eat a diet in which gluten forms a major component whereas our ancestors who ate wheat did so along with many other grains that did not contain gluten. Our bodies can process a little bit of gluten (not in the case of people with celiac disease who cannot eat any gluten) but not if wheat and wheat products become the staple in our diet. Most, if not all, processed food contain gluten – biscuits, noodles, pizza, bread, pasta, breakfast cereals. These foods are the mainstay of our diet today.

Millets are grains that do not have any gluten. Those who have experimented with rolling out ragi, jowar or bajra rotis will vouch for how much easier it is to roll out wheat rotis. However, this makes millets easy to digest and mildly acidic, if not alkaline. If your diet is rich in gluten, consider adding millets to your diet to help create a more alkaline medium in your body. This will go a long way towards improving your health.

Generally health care experts who are genuinely interested in our welfare should  recommend that we should mix wheat with substantial portion of Millets (may 50:50 when we start and slowly move to 20:80 in favor of millets).

I shall leave it to your wisdom to take a decision on how and what you want to eat.

Article by Rags Gopalan...

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...

Green revolution, Diabetes, Malnutrition in India: Part 2

Please read Part 1 here...

4. Growth of Millets, Rice, Wheat post Green Revolution:

Image Courtesy: Millets Network of India

It is clear that Green revolution which promoted Rice and Wheat resulted in 125% cumulative growth for Rice in 40 years and an astonishing 285% for wheat over the same period. But lets look at Millets which has declined 2.4% over the same period.

5. Demerits of this strategy:

Lets look at the demerits of this strategy:

1. Please read as to why Millets are miracle grains / gods own crops.. here.

2. Millets do not require huge amounts of water and irrigation. In fact some of the millets requires less than 25% of rainfall requirements than Rice and Sugarcane.

3. Because of less irrigation requirements they also don't require too much power either.

4. Millets can grow on poor soil and dry lands and most importantly 60% of India's agricultural land is rain fed hence more suited to grow Millets.

5. Millets can ensure not just food security for human but also for cattle and the entire agricultural chain.

6. Millets are more nutritious, less expensive and suits Indian agricultural environment - which can be grown all through the year and is not seasonal. Read it here.

More importantly it has low Glycemic Index which in my opinion is the primary reason for high % of diabetes in India. So the prime demerit and tragedy of Green revolution is it ignored Millets and favored Rice and Wheat.

This rubs in hard since Millets were among the staple diet for most of the Indians which was ignored for no obvious reasons.

Summary:

So i am going to conclude with just few questions for which i don't have any answers but i leave it to you to search for the answers if you are interested:

1. If Millets provide more nutrition than Rice and Wheat then why should the government not promote this as our staple diet?

2. Sugar cane needs approximately 7 times more water than some of the Millets. With so much water scarcity why cannot the government promote more of Millets growing than Sugar Cane?

3. If global warming is a reality and if the temperature increases by 2-3% then it is said that Wheat as a crop would disappear from the face of earth. What is the government doing to de-risk our lives from this possible disaster?

4. If global warming is a reality then water as a resource would be more and more scarce, If so how our government is planning to keep up the rice and sugar cane productivity which requires standing water? Why should the subsidies be directed at them in a major way?

5. If the Glycemic Index is low for Millets then it can prevent onset of Diabetes at a very young age. Why cannot health care industry promote Millets as staple diet?

6. 11% of Indians are understandably suffering from over nutrition which is because of high calorie intake. Why can't the easiest solution to obesity be told as switching from Rice / Wheat to Millets?

7. If the Millets are pest resistant then it does not require fertilizers and its associated subsidies and health problems. If some thing is so organic, nutritious, inexpensive and natural then why cannot government promote this?

8. If Millets provide food security for the entire agricultural chain and not just for Human beings then why would Indian government allow a reduction in cultivation for such miracle grains?

While the green revolution was conceived with all the noble intentions and it has produced desirable results for its plan, i contend we should also include Millets in this plan and help Indians build a healthy and secured India. Its still not late but would it reach the right ears?

Article by Rags Gopalan...

Green revolution, Diabetes, Malnutrition in India: Part 1

Disclaimer: This article is an output of correlating few data / information what we have today and should be considered as one of the inputs for future planning. The author is not an expert and has expressed his opinion from his understanding. 

The key point i am trying to make in this article is that India's much acclaimed green revolution which was poorly planned is the root cause of high % of diabetes and malnutrition in the country. While we have to give due credit for the progress we have made with Green revolution but better planning over a period of time could have avoided the situation we are in today. I certainly concede that "In hindsight everyone is wiser". 

To prove my point I am going to present multiple facts and data points and draw a correlation from them.

1. Malnutrition in India:

This alarming state of affairs is reproduced from Wikipedia...

"The World Bank estimates that India is ranked 2nd in the world of the number of children suffering from malnutrition, after Bangladesh (in 1998), where 47% of the children exhibit a degree of malnutrition. The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world, and is nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa with dire consequences for mobility, mortality, productivity and economic growth. The UN estimates that 2.1 million Indian children die before reaching the age of 5 every year – four every minute....

The 2011 Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report ranked India 15th, amongst leading countries with hunger situation. It also places India amongst the three countries where the GHI between 1996 and 2011 went up from 22.9 to 23.7, while 78 out of the 81 developing countries studied, including Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, Myanmar, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Malawi, succeeded in improving hunger condition..."

Only in 3 out of 81 countries GHI index has worsened and India is one among them. There are multiple problems which range from political, bureaucratic, agricultural productivity, water and resource management etc. But one thing is clear that despite huge gains in agricultural output we still are not able prevent a significant size of our population starving  every day.

2. Diabetes Capital of the world:

With 63 million+ estimated Diabetes patients India is closing in on China which has the highest Diabetes population of 93 million fighting for the title "Diabetes capital of the world". I request you to read the article here on the Diabetes problem in India. http://www.suryaecolife.blogspot.in/2013/04/millets-vs-diabetes-obesity-and.html

3. Green revolution in India:

Again quoting from Wiki...

"The introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation are known collectively as the Green Revolution, which provided the increase in production needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains, thus improving agriculture in India. high-yielding wheat was first introduced to India in 1963. M.S. Swaminathan is known as the "Father of the Green Revolution in India" The methods adopted included the use of high yielding varieties(HYV) of seeds.."

Green revolution promoted the development of Rice and Wheat in India which resulted in extremely good growth over the years and has helped self sufficiency for India in terms of food grains. All kudos to the team which has worked towards it. There is absolutely no belittling their efforts.

But let me continue in the next article where the planning over the period of years could have been better...

Article by Rags Gopalan...

Miracle Grains: Part 6 - Comparative nutrition Chart in Millets Vs Rice and Wheat

Image courtesy: Millet Network of India

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Article by Raga Gopalan..