Keep the bran on millets to retain health benefits: study

Foxtail millet ready for harvest at a farm in Dindigul district. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Removing the bran from millets results in decreasing the protein, dietary fibre, fat, mineral and phytate content in them, while increasing the carbohydrates and amylose content, a recent paper in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Springer has shown. This removal could squander away the benefits of eating millets. 

The article, ‘Impact of debranning on the nutritional, cooking, microstructural characteristics of five Indian small millets’, by Shanmugam Shobana et al makes a case for consuming millets as whole grains without de-branning. “Dehusked millets are nutritious and should be promoted in Indian diets to improve diet quality, debranned millets are nutritionally inferior, can increase the glycemic load of Indian diets”, the authors say. The study was conducted by the department of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), Chennai, and the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad.  

High in minerals

Millets are high in minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, and potassium, and they are an excellent source of phyto-chemicals such as phenolic compounds when compared to other major cereals (rice, wheat, maize), conferring a range of health benefits such as antiaging, anticarcinogenic, anti-atherosclerogenic, antibacterial, and antioxidant effects. The Food and Agriculture Organization recognised 2023 as the International Year of Millets and the Indian government went all out to celebrate it. 

Dr. Shobana says: “We did a small market survey in 2018, and found that millets, polished like white rice, were being sold in stores. There are differences between polished millets and whole grains, in terms of colour and texture, but if you are buying packaged products, it is difficult to tell.” This particular study looked at the smaller millets — foxtail, little, kodo, barnyard, and proso.  

But why are millets polished? Dr. Shobana explains that removing the bran and germ extends the shelf life of millets. Millet bran is rich in fats, and not removing it might reduce shelf life, as it could become rancid faster. De-branning will also reduce cooking time, making the grain softer and less chewy.  

V. Mohan, president, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, adds: “While millets have their advantages in terms of phytonutrients and protein intake, the type of millets available in the market are highly polished and consuming this results in a high glycemic index, which is not desirable. We should take efforts to make millets available as they originally were available in the country, so that they are of benefit to people with diabetes too.”  

Dr. Shobana proposes a solution for the shelf-life problem: “Several advances in packaging technology, including vacuuming, can help extend the life of whole grains, even with bran.”