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| Nutri-cereals for nutritional security | | |
Dr. Parveen Kumar, Dr. F. D. Sheikh
Nutritional security is an essential pre-requisite for well being of the peoples and for economic development of nations. Food security loses its significance without nutritional security. Unfortunately, until a few years back, all across the globe the major focus was to ensure food security of all. On the nutritional security front almost all the nations lagged behind. Further worsening the situation was the COVID-Pandemic which distorted the food supply chains. This resulted in additional population getting trapped in the vicious cycle of hunger, poverty and malnutrition.
This year the annual UN FAO report titled ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021’ is a testimony to the growing prevalence of hunger and malnutrition in the world. The report has some shocking revelations that point out to the increased incidences of hunger and malnutrition in the world. In addition, millions of people around the world suffer from food insecurity and different forms of malnutrition because they cannot afford the cost of healthy diets. The annual report 2021, states that nearly one tenth of the world population i. e between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020, which is around 161 million more than in 2019. In recent years, several major drivers have put the world off track to ending world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. The challenges have further grown with the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent measures to contain the deadly virus. The 2021 report presents the first global assessment of food insecurity and malnutrition for 2020 and offers some indication of what hunger might look like by 2030 in a scenario further complicated by the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlights the need for a deeper reflection on how to better address the global food security and nutrition situation.
As a result of the deteriorating nutritional levels of the population, renewed efforts are being made to improve the nutritional security and at the same time also ensure availability, accessibility and affordability of these nutritional interventions. The government of India also has started all out efforts to get rid of this menace of malnutrition and hunger in the country. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has come up with the POSHAN Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission. POSHAN is a government of India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. POSHAN was launched by the Prime Minister on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8 March, 2018 from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan; the POSHAN Abhiyaan directs the attention of the country towards malnutrition issue and addresses it in a mission-mode.
MILLETS: THE NUTRI-CEREALS:
Millets are traditional grains, grown and consumed in the Indian subcontinent from the past more than 5000 years. These are one of the oldest foods known to humanity. Millets, owing to their unique characteristics have been identified as a major category of food commodities to be propagated and promoted for enhancing nutritional levels of the population. These are a group of small grained cereal food crops which are highly nutritive, tolerant to drought and other extreme weather condition; do not require much input and most of them are natives of the country. These millet crops are called as ‘Nutri-cereals’ as they provide most of the nutrients required for normal functioning of human body. Millets are classified into major millets and minor millets based on their grain size. Pseudo millets are so called because they are not part of the Poaceae botanical family, to which ‘true’ grains belong, however they are nutritionally similar and used in similar ways to ‘true’ grains.
IMPORTANCE OF NUTRI-CEREALS:
Recognizing the importance of millets in the nutritional security, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GoI has declared millets comprising of Sorghum (Jowar), Pearl Millet (Bajra), Finger Millet (Ragi/Mandua), Minor Millets i.e., Foxtail Millet (Kanngani/kakun), Proso Millet (Cheena), Kodo Millet (Kodo), Barnyard Millet (Sawa/Sanwa/Jhangora), Little Millet (Kutki), Brown top millet and two pseudo millets i.e., Buckwheat (Kuttu), Amaranth (Chaulai)) as ‘Nutri-Cereals’ for production, consumption and for trade and commerce. Millets are gluten free and non- allergenic and non acid forming foods. Millet consumption decreases triglycerides and C- reactive protein, thereby preventing cardiovascular disease. All millets are rich in dietary fibre. Dietary fibre has water absorbing and bulking property. It increases transit time of food in the gut which helps in reducing risk of inflammatory bowel disease and acts as detoxifying agent in the body. Millets act as a probiotic feeding for micro flora in our inner ecosystem. Millets hydrate our colon to keep us from being constipated. Niacin in millet can help lower cholesterol.
NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF MILLETS:
These nutri-cereals contain about 7-12% protein, 2-5% fat, 65-75% carbohydrates and 15-20% dietary fibre. The essential amino acid profile of the millet protein is better than various cereals such as maize. Millets contain fewer cross-linked prolamins, which may be an additional factor contributing to higher digestibility of the millet proteins. Small millets are good source of phosphorous and iron. Millets contributes to antioxidant activity with phytates, polyphenols, tannins, anthocyanins, phytosterols and pinacosanols present in it having important role in aging and metabolic diseases. All millets possess high antioxidant activities.
A. MAJOR MILLETS:
a. Sorghum (Jowar):
It is rich in protein, fibre, thiamine, riboflavin, folic acid, and carotene. It is also a good source of potassium, phosphorus and calcium with sufficient amounts of iron, zinc and sodium. A major portion of protein present in Sorghum is prolamin. Prolamin has a unique feature of lowering digestibility upon cooking which might be a health benefit for certain dietary groups.
b. Pearl Millet (Bajra):
Pearl millet contains considerably high proportion of proteins (12-16%) as well as lipids (4-6%).
It contains 11.5% of dietary fiber. It increases transit time of food in the gut. Hence, reduce risk of inflammatory bowel disease. The niacin content in pearl millet is higher than all other cereals. It also contains foliate, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc and vitamins E and B- complex. It has high energy content compared to other millets. Pearl millet is also rich in calcium and unsaturated fats which are good for health.
c. Finger Millet (Ragi):
Finger millet has the highest mineral content and is the richest source of calcium (300-350 mg/100g). Finger millet proteins are unique because of the sulphur rich amino acid contents.
The grains have excellent malting properties and are widely known for its use as weaning foods.
It has high antioxidant activity.
B. MINOR MILLETS:
d. Foxtail millet (Kakum)
It is considered to be one of the most digestible and non allergic grains. It also contains minerals such as copper & iron.
e. Kodo millets (Kodon):
It has high protein content (11%), low fat (4.2%) and very high fibre content (14.3%). Kodo millet is rich in various B vitamins especially niacin, pyridoxine and folic acid as well as the minerals such as calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc. Besides, it also contains a high amount of lecithin and is an excellent for strengthening the nervous system.
f. Little millet (Kutki/Shavan)
Little millet, as its name goes, is smaller than other millets; but is high in iron content and also has high antioxidant activities. It contains about 38% of dietary fiber.
g. Barnyard millet (Sanwa)
It is the richest source of crude fiber and iron. The grains possess other functional constituents i.e., Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) and Beta – glucan that are used as antioxidants and in reducing blood lipid levels.
h. Proso millet (Chenna/Barri)
This minor millet has the highest amount of proteins (12.5%) with a significant amount of carbohydrate and fatty acids. It is cheaper source of manganese as compared to other conventional sources like spices and nuts. The higher amount of calcium present in it also helps in bone growth and maintenance. Besides, this millet reduces cholesterol levels and also reduces the risk of heart diseases.
C. PSEUDO MILLETS
j. Buckwheat (Kuttu)
It also contains about 18% crude protein with biological values above 90%. This can be explained by a high concentration of all essential amino acids, especially lysine, tryptophan, and the sulphur-containing amino acids. It is also rich in iron (60–100 ppm), zinc (20–30 ppm) and selenium (20–50 ppb). It also contains aromatic compounds. Salicylaldehyde (2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) was identified as a characteristic component of buckwheat aroma. On an average one cup of cooked groats contains about 155 calories, with 6 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, 33 grams of carbohydrate, and 5 grams of fiber. The Starch in groats is 25% amylase and 75% amylopectin and depending on hydrothermal treatment, buckwheat groats contain 7–37% of resistant starch.
j. Amaranth (Ramdana/ Rajgira)
With high protein content (13-14%) and a carrier of lysine, an amino acid that’s missing or negligible in many others, this grain has also an oil percentage of 6 to 9% which is higher than most other cereals. Amaranth oil contains approximately 77% unsaturated fatty acids and is high in linoleic acid. It is also high in dietary fibre, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and appreciable amounts of calcium.
Millets are wonder foods and the unfortunate part is that owing to lack of knowledge regarding nutritional value of these crops, these have more or less lost their importance as vital crops. It is high time to promote the cultivation of these crops by educating masses about the health benefits of them. |
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