MILLET – A WONDER GRAIN

The old age saying, "You are what you eat," is still relevant today.

A nutritious, well-balanced diet is the key to excellent health. People are now more aware of the importance of eating a nutritious, well-balanced diet to support a healthy lifestyle. Grain millet has been the customary part of India's food basket. So why not incorporate it into your regular diet? Eat correctly to maintain your health! 
A varied genus of small-seeded grasses, millets are widely grown in arid and semi-arid climates worldwide. According to Ushakumari (2009), this crop is extremely resistant to drought and can withstand a variety of agro-weather stressors.

Millets are mostly only used by elderly consumers and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Research is being used to eradicate hunger and poverty through the utilization of millets, production methods, and processing processes. Jaybhaye et al. (2014) created a completely new line of food products in response to customer health concerns. They also examined several types of conventional processing and how to automate them for convenience, such as ready-to-eat (RTE) food items with a range of characteristics. In Tamil Nadu, attempts have been undertaken to boost millets' productivity and farmers' profits through the application of cutting-edge agricultural technology.

New technology has increased the percentage of each minor crop, such as finger millet (82%), tiny millet (95%), kodo millet (83%), Italian millet (43%), and barnyard millet (82%).

Therefore, tiny millet, which has a high yield potential, is simply made available to farmers with poor socioeconomic level. The high nutritional content and health advantages of millet further support its production. It's a special feature of gluten-free foods for those who are allergic to gluten. It is also beneficial for people who don't exercise, and in order to encourage healthy living and fight the sedentary lifestyle, millets should be included in our daily meals (Michaelraj & Shanmugam, 2013). Millets are a better choice for food security. Millet has a very high phenolic content that has both strong bioaccessibility and antioxidant (inhibitor) properties.

By scavenging free radicals and polygenic disorders linked to a lower glycemic index, these phenolic compounds helped prevent and treat cancer (Shahidi & Chandrasekara, 2013). Millets have become an underutilized crop in the current situation, mainly in developing countries, because of their higher nutritional value (macro and micronutrients), highest production, and ease of harvesting on all climacteric conditions, such as marginal, hot, and dry conditions where some cereal crops do not seem to be able to grow.

Although millet varieties are still utilized today to make marketable commodities for human use, they were historically considered both an animal and a food source for the underprivileged. Sorghum, finger millet, foxtail, tiny, kodo, proso, and barnyard millet are among the principal millets, which are nutrient-dense cereals. These are among the earliest foods that people have ever eaten. The Poaceae family includes a number of kinds of coarse cereal grasses that are grown for their tiny, edible seeds.

BENEFITS OF MILLETS :

• They are very nutrient-dense, non-glutinous, and do not produce acid. They are therefore calming and simple to stomach.

• They are rich in B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, vital amino and fatty acids, and dietary fiber. Iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and other minerals are very abundant in them.

• They also release a smaller percentage of glucose over a longer period of time, resulting in satiety and lowering the risk of diabetes.

• With a protein level ranging from 6 to 11 percent and a fat content ranging from 1.5 to 5 percent, these grains are heavy in carbs.

TYPES OF MILLETS

• Pearl Millet: The most prevalent variety of millet is pearl, which can be white, yellow, gray, or even purple. At three to five millimeters, the grains are among the largest.

• Sorghum Millet (Jowar): Millets are typically 4-6 millimeters in size and come in a variety of colors, including white, yellow, and red.

• Finger Millet (Ragi):  grains are tiny, measuring just 1-2 millimeters each, and are nearly usually brown.

• Foxtail Millet:  Grains can be red and black, white, or yellow, and they are roughly two to three millimeters in length.

• Porso Millet: The grains of proso millet have lines along their lengths and measure around 3 millimeters. They may be brown, yellow, or white in color.

• Little Millet: Grains are gray and white in color and are two to three millimeters in length.

• Barnyard Millet: Approximately 3 millimeters in length, barnyard millet is also available in white and gray hues.

• Kodo Millet: Grains are roughly 3–4 millimeters long and range in color from dark brown to blackish.

• Browntop Millet:  Grains range in length from 4-5 millimeters and are tan to white.