How would you like to add one of the healthiest foods on the planet to your diet? Finger millet, commonly known as ragi, is a gluten-free grain that’s easy to cook, delicious, and loaded with nutrients – including vitamins and minerals essential to human health.
Several studies have found finger millet provides antioxidant benefits that help protect against free radical damage and boost cardiovascular health
Find out what else finger millet can do for you in this comprehensive guide on the benefits of finger millet for your health.
1. Complete protein
Millets like finger millet contain all 9 essential amino acids, which are vital for growth and repair.
This makes them an ideal food for children and pregnant women. Plus, millets are a good source of thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), and iron – all-important vitamins that help with growth, development, and well-being.
This makes finger millet a healthy addition to any diet. As part of a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds you can ensure your body gets what it needs to support its complex systems.
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2. Source of antioxidants
Finger millet is an excellent source of fiber, which is essential to proper digestion and helps in stabilizing blood sugar levels.
Due to its low glycemic index, finger millet can help you keep hunger pangs at bay and increase satiety—all without increasing your risk of developing diabetes.
Fiber also helps you feel fuller faster and longer, so it’s a much healthier way to meet your daily calorie needs than through processed grains or sweets.
3. Disease-fighting Antioxidants:
Finger millet contains both vitamin C and beta-carotene, two antioxidants that may help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Vitamin C also helps keep your immune system healthy while beta-carotene fights free radicals that can damage cells in your body.
If you’re trying to lose weight or simply improve your health, consider adding finger millet to your diet. You won’t regret it!
4. Helps to balance cholesterol levels
Finger millet has lots of fiber and proteins, as well as omega-3 fatty acids that lower cholesterol levels.
Its high fiber content also helps to control blood sugar levels, which means it’s not only good for your heart health but can also help to improve your insulin sensitivity.
5. Great source of dietary fiber
Recently recognized by the FDA as a health food, thanks to its amazing health benefits like boosting brain function, reducing stress, and supporting muscle recovery after exercise, superfood finger millet may be one of nature's most underrated foods!
It contains high amounts of insoluble and soluble dietary fiber, making it extremely beneficial for lowering cholesterol levels and maintaining normal bowel movements.
In addition to these wonderful health benefits, finger millet is gluten-free so those who are intolerant to gluten can enjoy it without worry!
One cup of cooked grains contains almost half your daily recommended intake of B vitamins including folate – and essential vitamins during pregnancy – iron, zinc, and magnesium!
6. Great source of Magnesium
Finger millet is a good source of magnesium, an essential mineral that helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure. Magnesium is also needed to help build and maintain strong bones.
A lack of magnesium in your diet can increase your risk for osteoporosis. Get more finger millet, as well as other good sources of magnesium, by eating foods like leafy greens, spinach, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, and cashews.
To get even more magnesium from finger millet, cook it with whole grains or pair it with beans or lentils.
7. Antibacterial properties
Finger millet has a high concentration of phytochemicals, making it an immune booster. It’s said to have antifungal and antibacterial properties that can help prevent infections.
The fibers found in finger millet—and all whole grains—help fight these infections and increase digestion. This helps you stay healthy throughout any cold or flu season.
Finger millet is also high in protein, which will keep your muscles strong and may even slow down muscle loss as you age.
Eating finger millet may also boost your metabolism and lower cholesterol levels by helping reduce inflammation.
8. Heart health booster
The health benefits of finger millet are closely tied to its effects on heart health. Thanks to a class of antioxidants called polyphenols, finger millet may be able to reduce oxidation and inflammation throughout your body, which could have positive implications for your cardiovascular system.
While it's still unclear whether or not finger millet can fight heart disease in humans, it seems likely that these positive results would transfer over; again, these antioxidant properties are what make finger millet so beneficial.
If you're trying to boost your heart health, adding finger millet into your diet is certainly a good place to start.
9. Anti-aging properties
According to a study published in Nutrition & Metabolism, finger millet has anti-aging properties.
The nutrients in finger millet can help improve memory and slow down cognitive decline among older adults.
This is because finger millet is rich in vitamin E, magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus – all of which are known to play vital roles in boosting our brain health as we age.
So next time you’re making a bowl of porridge at breakfast or a hearty kheer dessert after dinner, make sure to sprinkle some finger millet on top – it’ll only make your food healthier
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10. Minerals and Vitamins
Finger millet is a rich source of vitamins and minerals that are essential to your body’s health.
In particular, finger millet has 15 times more vitamin C than wheat. It also contains high levels of calcium, phosphorus, and thiamine.
Further, finger millet helps boost your immune system because it is rich in zinc which boosts white blood cell production.
This means you have an increased ability to fight off infections and diseases. Additionally, finger millet can help regulate cholesterol levels in your body since it contains soluble fiber which binds with bile acids and removes them from your body. This lowers cholesterol levels by promoting healthy digestion.
Finally, finger millet provides iron-rich foods that help prevent anemia since iron deficiency can lead to anemia symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, or pale skin color.
The bottom line:
finger millet is a great grain to include in your diet if you’re trying to lower your cholesterol or blood sugar. As well as eating it, you can use ground finger millet flour in baking or even add raw grain into recipes such as smoothies (just remember to blend up!). You can find more information about cooking with finger millet here.