In a new study from ICRISAT, researchers found the consumption of millets can reduce total cholesterol, triacylglycerols (commonly known as triglycerides) and BMI.
They analyzed the data of 19 studies with nearly 900 people.
They showed that consuming millets reduced total cholesterol by 8%, lowering it from high to normal levels in the people studied.
There was nearly a 10% decrease in low- and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (commonly viewed as ‘bad cholesterol’) and triacylglycerol levels in the blood.
Through these reductions, the levels went from above-normal to normal range. In addition, consuming millets decreased blood pressure with the diastolic blood pressure decreasing by 5%.
The study also showed that consuming millets reduced BMI by 7% in people who were overweight and obese, showing the possibility of returning to a normal BMI.
All results are based on consumption of 50 to 200 g of millets per day for a duration ranging from 21 days to three months.
The results bring critically needed scientific backing to the efforts to popularize and return millets to diets, especially as staples, to combat the growing prevalence of obesity and being overweight in children, adolescents and adults.
The team says that millets are much higher in unsaturated fatty acids, with 2 to 10 times higher levels than refined wheat and milled rice as well as being much higher than whole grain wheat.
This study further emphasizes the potential of millets as a staple crop that has many health benefits.
It also strengthens the evidence that eating millet can contribute to better heart health by reducing unhealthy cholesterol levels and increasing the levels of whole grains and unsaturated fats in the diet.
Obesity and being overweight are increasing globally in both wealthy and poorer countries, so the need for solutions based on healthier diets is critical.
This new information on the health benefits of millets further supports the need to invest more in the grain, including in its whole value chain from better varieties for farmers through to agribusiness developments.
If you care about food and heart health, please read studies about why high-protein foods may increase your heart disease risk and findings of eating this food could cause excessive belly fat and heart fat.
For more information about food and your health, please see recent studies about these two common foods may protect heart health, reduce inflammation and results showing that these two common foods may reduce inflammation, protect heart health.
The study is published in Frontiers in Nutrition. One author of the study is Dr. S Anitha.
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