Get ready to discover the wonders of an ancient, gluten-free, drought-resistant, and nutritious food. This wholesome group of grains are called millets. Join us as we discuss their history, recent resurgence, and health benefits. We’ll even offer tips on how you can add millets to your diet.
M: I’m Professor Megan
S: and I’m Professor Susan, and we’re
Both: Your Nutrition Profs!
M: We are registered dietitians and college professors who have taught more than 10,000 students about health and nutrition. We have answered a LOT of questions about nutrition over the years –
S: Some questions we get asked every year and some are rarely asked but very interesting.
M: We’re here to share our answers to these common (and uncommon) nutrition questions with you.
S: So bring your curiosity and let’s get started.
Both: Welcome to our class!
M: Did you know that 2023 is the International Year of Millets according to the United Nations?
S: Really, why? What’s so great about millets that they get a whole year?
M: Good question. That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about on today's snackisode…. The amazing world of millets. They have been called the “Mother of all grains” and a superfood, but what exactly are they?
S: Well…millets are the seeds of cereal grasses, which makes them whole grains. The most common are sorghum, pearl millet, teff, and fonio. You’ve probably heard of sorghum and maybe millet, but maybe not teff or fonio which are consumed in parts of Africa. They’re also consumed regularly in India and other parts of Asia.
M: They’re from the family Poaceae, a group of grasses cultivated for their small edible seeds. There are two broad categories of millets based on their size. Pearl, foxtail, proso, and finger are large millets. Koodo, barnyard, little, Guinea, browntop, fonio, and adlay (also known as Job’s tears) are small millets.
S: Pearl millet is the most widely produced for human consumption. And it’s the 6th highest producing crop after maize, wheat, rice, barley, and sorghum.
M: Millets have been cultivated in Asia and Africa for more than 4,000 years.
S: Wow!
M: And millets were the major grains consumed in Europe during the Middle Ages. So you’ll often see them described as “ancient grains” on food labels and packages.
S: Yeah, I’ve seen that.
M: Me too.
S: In India they consume a lot of finger millet, which is red andalso called ragi, nachni, marwa, and other name. It’s usually ground into flour and they use it to make all sorts of breads like roti, dosa, or parathas, or upma. And they use it to make sweets like cookies or cakes; or sometimes they do a porridge-like breakfast made out of it.
M: But in the U.S. millets are primarily used as animal and bird feed.
S: Yeah a lot of people have talked to me about that. Most bird seed mixtures are usually a type of millet called proso or common millet sometimes also called broomcorn millet. These are consumed as cereal foods in Asia and Eastern Europe. But generally just used for bird seed here.
M: Millets are also grown for feed for livestock and they’re used for ethanol production. But human consumption of millets is increasing here due to their high nutrient density. Susan, have you ever eaten any millet?
S: I ate teff several times when I was visiting Ethiopia. It’s commonly consumed grain there. You can eat it like oatmeal or porridge like a lot of other grains, but it’s used in other ways like ground into flour and then they use the flour to make a spongy flatbread called injera. We actually talked about this injera when- in our last episode, when we were talking about “Season’s Eatings”, holiday foods.
M: Yes we did.
S: Sometimes this teff can be used to bind other ingredients together.
M: Like other grains, millets are pretty versatile. They’re usually cooked like rice but you can change the amount of water that you cook it in to give it different properties. It can get kind of sticky though but if you toast it before you cook it, it’s supposedly less sticky and also tastes a bit nuttier.
S: We’ll find out.
M: Yeah.
S: So like a lot of other grains you can add them to salads or soups. You can eat them as a side dish like you might with rice, or quinoa, you can use them as a binder in things like veggie burgers or meatloaf. And we’re going to try them today as a binder in a patty that we’ve made. It can also be ground into flour like we mentioned before and used to make all sorts of foods.
M: You can even pop it like popcorn, although-
S: That would be fun!
M: I know! Although it’s much smaller. And some people use popped millet like breadcrumbs to coat various foods.
S: That’s a good idea.
M: Yeah.
S: It’s really best if you have millet to store it - whether it’s whole or in flour - store it in airtight containers in the pantry. It’ll last about 6 months to a year there or you can put it in the freezer.
M: We’re going to taste some foods made with millets shortly, and the nuttiness supposedly pairs well with warmer spices like cumin and coriander, or lemon juice and zest, as well as fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, or basil.
S: You know, I’ll bet millets go really well with roasted veggies like if you have sweet potatoes or squash…
M: Oh yeah!
S: Yeah, that sounds really good, right? Or you could add them to dishes with dried fruits, nuts, and other seeds!
M: This is really making me hungry.
S: Yeah me too! And this stuff smells pretty good…. Millets have been used to make beverages too. Especially in several African countries. In Namibia, they make a beverage called oshikundu and in Uganda, they make a similar beverage called bushera or obushera. And these beverages are made with some time of millets, usually pearl, and sorghum flour and water. And like a lot of other fermented drinks, like kefir, they add a little bit of the previously fermented oshikundu to the mix to kind of get the whole fermentation process started. They then leave it out at room temperature to ferment for a few hours, but interestingly you have to drink it right away because it pretty much only lasts a few hours, maybe up to six. But it is consumed as sort of an everyday drink for all ages, and this is the non-alcoholic version.
M: Yeah, they also make fermented alcoholic beverages or beers using millet.
S: Mmmm.
M: So in Zimbabwe, they make umqombothi which is homemade or there is a commercial version or brand of sorghum beer called Chibuku. It’s actually called Chibuku Shake Shake because you have to shake it up to drink it. And that’s a pretty common beverage.
S: I looked for Chibuku Shake Shake online and I could find it but it was like East coast and they wouldn’t ship it, and so we don’t have any…
M: If anybody has access and wants to send us some.
S: We don’t have one of those today to try
M: Well in Sudan, they have Merisa made from dates, millet, and sorghum, but it’s only consumed in South Sudan as it's illegal in Northern Sudan under Muslim Sharia laws.
S: Yeah, because that’s an alcoholic beverage as well.
M: In Ethiopia they make tella beer made from teff. Did you try any of that?
S: I didn't , but there was another fermented beverage but it wasn’t made from teff, that I did try.
M: And then in Nigeria, they have oyokpo beer made from pearl millet.
S: So millets can be used in a number of ways. And in addition to all this versatility, millets are really, really hardy. They’re drought tolerant, pest resistant so they can survive in feally harsh environments with less fertile soil.
M: Well that will be great as growing conditions change with the climate. So with more droughts predicted, we’ll need to be able to grow food in harsher climates.
S: Right! And because they can withstand a wide range of these difficult growing conditions, they’re going to need fewer fertilizers and fewer pesticides, so growing millets may really help with food insecurity in India and sub-Saharan Africa.
M: And they have deep roots which can also help reduce erosion and retain soil and mitigate desertification.
S: Ok… so I can see why the U.N. and the World Health Organization devoted a whole year to celebrating millets. They sound really amazing!
M: They do. I’m excited to try them. Well, so earlier we mentioned the nutrient density of millets. So remember everyone, foods that are nutrient dense mean you get a lot of nutrients per each bite of food. Millets, in particular, are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber, antioxidants like phenols, several vitamins and minerals, as well as protein.
S: You know, we’ve talked quite a bit about the benefits of antioxidants on this podcast in lots of episodes, but maybe we haven’t talked too much about fiber, so let’s do that..
M: Right! All dietary fiber is good for us and all fibers are carbohydrates. But humans don’t have the necessary enzymes to break down fiber in our food so it just passes through the digestive system chemically unchanged. But as it moves through our systems it leaves behind a wake of health benefits.
S: Some fibers dissolve in water and so these are called soluble fibers. And soluble fibers are particularly helpful for reducing cholesterol levels and blood glucose which may reduce risk for developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes. They “pick up” some cholesterol and glucose molecules before they are absorbed and carry them out of the body.
M: Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water, but it gives the muscular walls of our GI tract a workout, reducing one’s risk for things like constipation or diverticulosis. Insoluble fiber also serves as a prebiotic meaning it feeds the beneficial bacteria that live in our guts so they can grow and thrive. We mentioned fiber and prebiotics a few weeks ago in our IBS episode.
S: Oh yeah we did. So millets contain between 3 and 14 grams of fiber per cup which is a pretty wide range but it depends on the type. That’s a lot more than wheat or rice.
M: They also have a low glycemic index, so they won’t raise your blood sugar as high as some other grains can. One study in India showed that a balanced diet that included up to 90 grams of millets helped lower A1C in those with diabetes.
S: Wow, that’s really good.
M: Yeah!
S: Millets are also gluten-free so they can be a good wheat substitute for anybody who has celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
M: The protein in millets is very diverse and some forms contain almost all of the essential amino acids your body needs. A cup of pearl millet contains about 6 grams of protein which is great for a grain, but a cup of sorghum contains 20 grams!
S: 20 grams! That is a lot! Remember, a cup is about the size of your fist and 20 grams of protein in a cup- that’s about the same amount of protein you’d get in 3 oz of beef or chicken. And so 3 oz of beef or chicken is about the size of a deck of cards.
M: Yeah, that’s a lot!
S: Wow!
M: And like most grains, millets are high in several B vitamins like niacin, B6, and folate. They’re also high in minerals like phosphorus, iron, copper, calcium, manganese, and magnesium.
S: That sounds like a lot of really great reasons to try millets!
M: And people are! According to a news source from India, in the first 3 months after 2023 was declared the Year of the Millet, consumption in India increased 30%.
S: Wow! We’ve posted some millet nutrition info in our show notes at YourNutritionProfs.com, so check it out.
M: Ok, but are there any reasons not to eat millets?
S: Maybe… Millets do contain what some people call “anti-nutrients” in varying amounts. These are substances that may be beneficial in low doses but in high doses, they might inhibit absorption of other nutrients.
M: So in millets, these anti-nutrients include tannins, oxalates, and phytates, as well as some digestive enzyme inhibitors. But when consumed in high amounts these can reduce protein digestion and block absorption of some nutrients including minerals like iron and iodine.
S: Let’s talk a little bit about iodine. Iodine is used by the body to make thyroid hormones. A lack of iodine can cause a condition called goiter. In some areas of Darfur Province in Sudan, up to 74% of their calories were coming from millets, and there was quite a bit of goiter in that area!
M: 74% of calories from millets is really high!
S: Yes it is!!
M: In the U.S. and Canada, the recommendation is that 45 to 65% of your total calorie intake should be from carbohydrates and that would include all fruits, veggies, and grains.
S: Right. So that high of an amount is super unusual, so for most of us it’s not an issue. But if you’re already hypothyroid you might want to minimize your intake, especially of pearl millet and sorghum because they’re the highest in these anti-nutrients.
M: Probably wise. And diets high in oxalates are also risky for the development of kidney stones.
S: Yes, so if you’re vulnerable to those you may also want to avoid pearl and sorghum millets. But there are other types of millets you could consume instead.
M: Ok.
S: You can also minimize the anti-nutrient issues by soaking millets in water, and then rinsing them, and then when you cook them, cook them in lots of water.
M: The effects can also be reduced if you consume sprouted or fermented millets instead of whole millets..
S: So like, the fermented millets would be in some of those beverages that we talked about.
M: Oh yeah.
S: Yeah. So these anti-nutrients and fibers also help slow digestion of millet foods which can cause GI issues if you’re not used to eating that way. So introduce them slowly into your diet.
M: That’s a recommendation Your Nutrition Profs would make for all sorts of foods!
S: Yes we would!
M: If your body is unfamiliar with a particular food, introduce it into your diet slowly to avoid GI upset.
S: And, you know, these anti-nutrients might sound a little bit scary, you would need to consume a significant amount to see harmful effects, like we saw in Darfur province. And Your Nutrition Profs recommend consuming a wide variety of foods and in moderate amounts.
M: Yes! Good advice…. But I am hungry, so let’s eat.
S: I’m hungry too. So today we’re going to try millets in a couple of different ways.
M: First, we’ve got just regular millets to try. We purchased ours at an Asian specialty market and the package says it’s “Glutinous Millet”.
S: We put a picture on our show notes, but I looked it up… Glutinous millet is a form of foxtail millet. It was originally cultivated in northern China and millets have been grown there since at least 2700 B.C.E. The starch in glutinous millet is a little bit different than the starch in regular millet and that makes it stickier.
M: Glutinous, hmmm. That doesn’t mean that it contains any form of gluten does it?
S: Yeah, I looked that up too because that confused me. So glutinous, in this case glutinous millet is spelled g-l-u-t-i-n, the gluten that those with celiac disease need to avoid is spelled g-l-u-t-E-n and they are not the same thing although they sound the same when you say them out loud.
M: Exactly.
S: All millets are g-l-u-t-E-n free so they are appropriate for people with celiac disease.
M: Good distinction. Alright, well I’m looking at some millet seeds right in front of me and they are very small. They are kind of grayish-brown looking and they look like really tiny pebbles or really large bits of sand.
S: Yeah, they look like couscous.
M: It does- it looks like baby couscous.
S: Yeah, but it’s a little grayish brown in color… so let’s try them. So this is just plain old ordinary millet that I boiled for like 20 minutes.
M: Yeah, prepared like you would rice.
S: Yes. They are a little bit nutty.
M: They are.
S: I like them.
M: I actually really like them too.
S: They are pretty darn delicious.
M: They really are.
S: Yeah. Wow, so, like we said you would eat them like rice or cook it… cook them like any grain- rice, quinoa… you know, in the package, it actually looks a little like quinoa.
M: It did, yeah or it does.
S: Yeah. Ok, so we also found several recipes for various sort of fritter-type foods. And so we made millet cakes with carrots and spinach. So the way we did it was we made the millet and then we, put the millet in a bowl- the cooked millet in a bowl. We fried up some shallot, garlic, carrot- shredded carrot, and spinach. And just warmed that up a little bit- cooked that up just a little bit. Added that to the millet. Added a few more ingredients and a binder and made some cakes. And then we baked these cakes that look like- they kind of look like a crab cake. We baked them in the oven. So we’re going to try these. Oh, and we also have a little bit of sauce to go with them. It’s a yogurt and parsley sauce.
M: And it’s quite green but I’m assuming that’s from the spinach.
S: Oh, I’m sure it is.
M: Yeah.
S: Yeah.
M: Mmm… that’s good. I would definitely eat this again. I’m going to try it with the sauce.
S: That is so good. I would definitely eat this again too.
M: It’s good with the sauce, it’s good without the sauce.
S: Mmm... I’m going to try it with the sauce…. Delicious.
M: I feel like this might be the best thing we’ve tried.
S: I think you might be right!
M: It’s really good.
S: Yeah, I could eat these all day. And you know, the recipe made... I think I made 18 cakes.
M: You made 18 cakes?
S: Yeah.
M: That’s a lot of cakes.
S: I made 18 of these.
M: Oh my gosh.
S: We only cooked up three of them to start- you know, to taste it. But holy cow, I wonder if I can freeze them?
M: I bet you can.
S: You think I should bake them first and then freeze? Or freeze them….
M: I’d bake them first.
S: Bake them first, and then freeze them?
M: Yeah.
S: Cause I don’t know how I’m going to eat 18 of them.
M: No. I mean, I’ll take some…
S: Ok, but these are really, really good. We’re going to post the recipe and this was just a recipe we found on the internet, but we’ll post the recipe in our show notes and we highly recommend you try this because this is delicious.
M: Mmm Hmmm. Ok, but what about a millet drink?
S: Well, I was able to find a we have a beer made from millet. It’s brewed in Quebec, Canada and it’s from a company or brewery called Glutenberg… isn’t that cute? And they have several varieties of beer and they’re all made from various grains and the one we’re going to try is their white ale. And the grains it uses are millet and buckwheat.
M: Alright, well let’s crack it open.
S: Alright, here we go. Love that sound.
M: Alright.
S: Here we go. Oh the pouring. Ok, here goes.
M: I like it too.
S: That’s a pretty good beer.
M: It’s refreshing.
S: Ours isn’t quite as cold cause it’s been sitting here with us.
M: It’s still pretty cold.
S: It’s pretty cold. It would be really good on a hot day.
M: Yeah. This is what we needed in the summer when it was over 100 degrees.
S: Oh, yeah definitely. It doesn’t have an after taste.
M: Not at all.
S: It reminds me a little bit of a lager…
M: Yes.
S: It’s a little cloudier than that though. So kind of like a cross between a lager and maybe a hefeweizen?
M: That’s what I was going to say! I think you’re right, yeah.
S: Yeah, and I do like a good hefeweizen, so…
M: Me too.
S: I would drink this again for sure.
M: I would too… I’m going to keep drinking this one.
S: Alright. Oh my gosh!
M: Well this was a success.
S: Totally! I think millets are delicious. And I’m going to start buying them.
M: I think I am too.
S: I’m going to start using them. I’m going to use them instead of rice. You can use them instead of any kind of wheat. Like we use bulgar wheat sometimes in some of our dishes so you could use it instead of that.
M: I use quinoa.
S: Yeah so there’s lot so of options for this and really listeners, this was delicious. We’re not just saying that.
M: No we’re not…that’s some good stuff.
S: Yeah. So that’s it for our deep dive into millets. We apologize for any mispronunciations I’m sure we had in this episode!
M: Yes, I’m so sorry about that.
S: Me too.
M: Alright, so we’re at the end of 2023 but millets are amazing! Add you should definitely add some to your diet but maybe not too many at once-
S: Right.
M: They’re nutrient dense and versatile and they make a tasty beer!
S: For sure! So join us next time when we answer the question: What is nutrigenomics? And can you really eat for your genes?
M: I’m looking forward to it!
S: It’ll be a good one.
Both: Class dismissed!
S: We hope you enjoyed this episode. You can find the show notes and a list of sources on our website, yournutritionprofs.com.
M: Your homework is to follow us at your nutrition profs on Instagram and to listen to our next episode. You can listen on Amazon Prime, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere podcasts are found. We’d appreciate it if you’d “like” us, write a review, subscribe, and invite your family and friends to join us too.
S: If you have a nutrition or health question you’d like answered, let us know! We may even do a show about it! Send an email to yournutritionprofs@gmail.com or click on the “Contact Us” page on our website.
M: Thanks to Brian Pittman for creating our artwork. You can find him on instagram @BrianPittman77
Both: See you next time!