If your food is right, you don’t need medicine. And if your food is wrong, no medicine is sufficient. The “Millet Man of India,” Khader Vali, recently visited Salt Lake and educated the audience on how they would be healthier by removing rice and wheat from their diets and replacing them with the magic grain, millet.

Vali, a Padmashri awardee, was not alone. Teachers, industry experts, and even individuals recovering from serious ailments extolled the virtues of millets.

The event took place at Bidyut Unnayan Bhaban in LA Block and was organised by the Engineers’ Welfare Forum (EWF) in collaboration with the National Energy Excellence Drive.

“We usually hold talks on power plants and energy-related issues, but today we are deviating from our core area as we want everyone to be healthy,” said Prasanta Sinha on behalf of EWF.

Once upon a time

Millets have been cultivated in Asia and Africa for some 8,000 years. Agricultural scientist Anupam Pal shared how this grain was consumed in the Indus Valley Civilisation and has been mentioned in Sushruta Samhita.

Why then has this grain experienced so drastic a decline that most people struggle to even recall its name in the vernacular? For the record, there are various types millets locally called jowar, bajra, ragi as well as pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet etc.

“The British waged an anti-millet campaign,” explained Rintu Banerjee, deputy director of the agriculture and food engineering department at IIT Kharagpur. “They wanted to focus on cash crops and oppressed farmers who grew millets and systematically eliminated it from high society by not allowing it to be included in any elite dishes.”

Vali was worried at how India is blindly following Western trends that are unhealthy and often based on scientific myths propagated by corporations. “Millets were shamed as being primitive food fit only for birds and animals and now we are struggling to revive it,” said the food and nutrition specialist from Mysore.

Dr Kader Vali (in brown) along with other dignitaries light the ceremonial lamp at Bidyut Unnayan Bhaban

Healthiest of the healthy

The experts could not praise millets enough. Through graphs and charts, they showed how millets are more nutritious than rice and wheat. “They are rich in fibre and support digestion and gut health. They contain essential minerals such as magnesium, iron, and calcium. Their low glycemic index helps manage blood sugar levels, have antioxidants, and reduce the risk of obesity,” stated Banerjee.

“Rice and wheat have made people addicted to fibreless grains. They increase blood glucose levels and are detrimental to human gut health,” said Valli while encouraging people to prepare the millet-based ambali drink at home for improved gut health (see box).

Pal added that millets have a higher satiety value too. “You’ll feel full after consuming much less quantity than you would with rice. But beware! Now-a-days some biscuits advertise themselves as millet biscuits but read the nutritional information closely and you see they contain only five per cent millet and 95 per cent wheat or flour,” he cautioned.

Vali on the other hand said he eats 10 kodo millet idlis in the morning and feels full throughout the day.

Good for the planet

Millets are not just beneficial for consumers but also for farmers and the environment.

“Millet has a short cultivation cycle. So while wheat and rice farmers can typically harvest two crops a year, millet can yield four to six crops annually. They are also resistant to pests and diseases, eliminating the need for chemical pesticides,” said R.K. Sinha, businessman, social worker and former member of the Rajya Sabha. “Growing a kilo of rice or wheat requires 8,000 to 10,000l of water but the humble millet needs only 150-200 litres.”

Banerjee elaborated on how millets are less water-intensive, more drought-resistant, and sustainable. “They reduce soil erosion and improve soil fertility. In fact, 27 per cent of India’s millet production — the highest proportion — comes from our desert state Rajasthan. Other significant producers include Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. India is the largest producer of millets globally, contributing 20 per cent of global output with over 17 million tonnes a year. But most of it is exported to the UAE and Saudi Arabia so we need greater awareness of this grain within our own country,” she said.

Samples of millets displayed at the seminar.

Get well soon

Sinha, a 74-year-old who described himself as having once been a “museum of diseases,” shared his story: “I had diabetes, high BP, and weighed 113kg. I underwent two kidney transplants and was popping 17-18 pills each day.”

But Sinha has now eliminated rice, wheat, and sugar in favour of millets and jaggery and requires almost no medication. “I’ve dedicated my life to promoting millets now. I visit villages to meet farmers and patients and assist them,” he said.

S. Suresh Kumar, chairman of DVC, said he was once posted in a backward region of Karnataka where the staple food was millets. “I too found it beneficial for my health. But to incorporate it into your regular diet one needs support from one’s spouse at home. My wife and I consulted Vali and have now made the switch.”

What you can do

Due to subsidies, a kilo of rice may cost around Rs 30, while millet costs about Rs 200. “But don’t wait for the government to take action,” Vali urged. “If there is demand for millets, the government will respond accordingly. So reduce your rice consumption; ask your shopkeeper for millets every day and in a week you’ll see him stocking them.”

If you’re interested in trying out millets but unsure how to cook them, you can order some millet-based dishes first. Meal-O-Millet — a cloud kitchen that claims to be Bengal’s first millet kitchen — was inaugurated on the day of this seminar in Sukantanagar and will send home millet dosa, fried rice, noodles, chops, payesh etc.

“Even if one believes in the health benefits of millets it’s asking for too much to suddenly quit rice entirely from your diet. But starting with just one millet meal can make a difference,” suggested Tirthankar Paul, managing director of Cygnus Advertising, who is also behind Meal-O-Millet. “I myself have been eating two millet meals a day for a while now and view this venture as more than just a business. It’s a social cause.”