Is Ragi Good for Diabetes?

Ragi or finger millets had been grown in tropical regions for thousands of years. Millions of people have been using them in their foods. They have become part of human food.

Ragi is the millet that is grown throughout the year due to its drought-tolerant property. It is packed with nutrients that have proved to be beneficial for the health of the person if consumed in the right quantity. Is ragi good for diabetes? Can it help people with diabetes to regulate their diabetes? Can diabetic patients eat ragi? Let’s take a look.

Ragi Nutrition

Ragi is highly nutritious in terms of calcium and potassium compared to all the other millets. Not only this, but it is also enriched with iron, magnesium, and zinc. It contains essential fats, proteins, folates, fibre, vitamins like C, E, and B, and minerals. It is free of cholesterol.

Ragi has polyphenols, a lot of phytates, tannins which are plant-based products useful in controlling the blood sugar level. They slow down the process of digestion. It is also a source of antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties.Consuming 10 to 20-gram ragi daily or on alternate days can improve your health and daily lifestyle. Being rich in calcium will prevent you from bone problems, and having zero cholesterol makes it an excellent food to be included in the weight loss diet plan and even in your day-to-day diet.

Ragi and diabetes

Ragi is useful for both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Ragi is a rich source of fibres that are useful to keep you fuller for a long time. Here is a list of fiber rich foods for diabetes. Patients with diabetes have the problem of hunger, which can be easily solved by ragi since it is a good source of fibre. It has low-glycemic that helps in preventing spikes in blood sugar levels .Consuming ragi about 50-60% from 15-20% total carb consumption is recommended for people with diabetes. This can help to keep their diabetes at bay.

Inflammation

It is caused when our body sends the inflammatory cells and cytokinins to fight against the harmful foreign particles entering our body. It is normal to have inflammation, but if it stays for a long time, then it may be a problem. In the case of diabetes, the inflammation is internal, which has been occurring in our body for a long time. Internal inflammation occurs due to obesity.

It is observed that the level of the inflammatory chemical is more in people with diabetes compared to people without diabetes. Oxidative stress is also one of the factors that may lead to diabetes. In this condition, the body is not able to balance free radicals and antioxidants. So, is ragi good for diabetes to overcome the above factors? The answer is yes. Ragi can be used to reduce your weight, which is the prime cause of inflammation. Also, it has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.

Blood sugar levels

• Finger millet has carbohydrates and calories in high amounts for instant energy. Still, it also has a plethora of phytates, tannins, polyphenols which are useful to slow down the digestion process. This reduces the sugar level in the patient with diabetes mellitus.
• Polyphenols are the micronutrients present in plant-based products. They are found to have various health benefits, including one of the benefits for diabetes patients since they have a high concentration of antioxidants.
• Increases in the level of albumin (protein in the human body) in urine and creatinine in the blood indicate complexion in people with diabetes.
• Research with a diabetic rat that was given finger millets seeds for 6 weeks has shown a reduction in the albumin and creatinine secretion of blood and urine, respectively. Studies on humans have to be done, which can confirm that ragi can be helpful to control these levels.
• Being higher in fibres (helps to stabilize sugar), ragi tends to have less impact on the blood sugar level of people with diabetes compared to other millets. Eating ragi even when you don't have diabetes will help you to prevent it because precaution is better than cure!

How to eat ragi?

Nowadays you can see there are various products like biscuits, cake are available in the market, bakeries which are labelled has made of ragi. Pick any which you like. You can make the laddoos of the ragi or even the ragi malt. In Maharashtra, Bhakri is made from ragi flour. People in Karnataka make the mudde of ragi. The best way to consume the ragi is by soaking them in the water and then boiling them to make the porridge. Ragi idli, ragi dosa, ragi vada, ragi pudding, ice cream of ragi, ragi poli, papad of ragi are some of the dishes which you will enjoy eating.

Bottomline

Ragi is the best millet to regulate diabetes. The proteins, minerals, calcium, potassium, magnesium, antioxidants, and inflammatory properties it possesses vitamins not just make it good for people with diabetes but also useful for people suffering from vitamin deficiency, obesity, bone problems, and many more. The consumption of ragi is more helpful in the case of type-2 diabetes since it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. So, now don’t ask, ‘Is ragi good for diabetes?' instead, start consuming it!