Role of millets in disease prevention and health promotion

There is a growing trend for preventing diet-related diseases by consuming functional foods. The concentrated bioactive compounds extracted from foods known as nutraceuticals have also been used for the treatment of some diseases. In this era of functional foods, millets have been emerged as superfoods. Millets are naturally rich in health-promoting nutrients and nonnutritive phytochemicals. The dietary fiber content of millets is several times higher than that of the staple cereals. A high dietary fiber content decreases the glycemic index of the food. Dietary fiber also acts as prebiotics and helps in the growth of healthy gut microbiota. The millet proteins contain all the essential amino acids and are free from gluten. The millet fats are rich in unsaturated fatty acids. They are also a good source of essential minerals, such as calcium, iron, zinc, and B-complex vitamins. Their phytochemical contents, that is, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins, are several times higher than those of the staple cereals. These nonnutritive components have been reported to possess antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, anticardiovascular, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antiulcer, and wound-healing properties.