Millets and diabetes

Purvishd

How millets release glucose?

We've always heard and some what believed that millets are good for diabetics, their slow-release mechanism helps to release glucose over a period time, etc

So if you never believed it, it's ok, neither did I 😉

So I thought of trying it out and see if there's really proof in this pudding called millets ? I went to putting on a CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) device as I wanted to see this first hand on myself.

The results are shocking :

Millet lunch :
The glucose dips a bit and goes upto 105 and after 2hrs it's down below 100

Millet snack with coconut water :
The glucose dips a bit, goes upto 115 and after 2hrs it's below 100

Millet dinner : 7pm
Glucose spikes to 100, dips to 90, gives a second spike to 115 around 8pm and 2hrs post it's 105

Other carbs like wheat and rice give one big spike and drop and this is very fast leaving you hungry and craving for more carbs, specially sweet desserts.

Getting out of this loop is simple, there's a solution available and it's having a millet meal for dinner. The glucose is fed the right way, satiating hunger and there are no more cravings once you make this a habit.

Qbaimee

What is a millet?

musicfan68

Never heard of a millet.

SuzySunshine99

It's a grain, a lower-GI food than some other grains. Not sure about eating it 3 times a day though. Seems excessive.

AnnPT77

There is no magic food. If diabetic, you may need to manage your carb intake, and the glycemic index/glycemic load concepts may be relevant to doing so, along with many other things.

VegjoyP

Millet is a great alternative. We need a diversified diet for our microbiome. So many of us have ideas and beliefs that may be less beneficial than we think.

We are each unique and finding what works for you is key. I am happy you found something that you like and can help you feel vital.

A few other alternatives you may want to consider are amaranth, teff and quinoa

perryc05

What for is the the millet you are eating, whole steamed/boiled or ground? Do you know what variety it is? The more something is ground up the quicker it's energy is released as your digestive system doesn't have to work as hard to convert it.
Also the things eat in combination with something will have an effect on how fast it reaches the blood stream.
You will see here also there are several varieties of millet and they have a range of GI readings. Jowar millet for example has a GI value of 70 whereas many millets are more in the 50 range and are hence slower release:
https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/millet-for-diabetes#the-glycemic-index
I have been an avid reader of this blog for a while which is produced by the Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service and they have a lot of good information about the GI ratings of many foods:
https://glycemicindex.com/
Based on their data pearl barley is a grain with a pretty low GI:
https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/?food_name=pearl+barley&product_category=&country=&gi=&gi_filter=&serving_size_(g)=&serving_size_(g)_filter=&carbs_per_serve_(g)=&carbs_per_serve_(g)_filter=&gl=&gl_filter=

Xellercin

What do you mean by "millet?" It is a word that means different things in different cultures.

paperpudding

I don't find rice or wheat products ( I never eat just wheat, the way I eat just rice) leave me more hungry after or make me crave sweets.

Haven't bothered checking my blood sugar afterwards since I am not diabetic.

Even if I were, I would give eating same thing for 3 meals per day a miss.

kshama2001

This is the millet with which I am familiar:

https://www.bobsredmill.com/hulled-millet.html



I used to live in a yoga retreat center (in the USA) that served oatmeal 6 days a week. (That was 20 years ago and I still can't touch the stuff.) But the cook on Mondays made millet, which I love with a stupid amount of peanut butter. Unfortunately, I like it with so much peanut butter (and a little honey and walnuts), that it is not a good choice for me

I used to make a yummy pilaf with rice, quinoa, and millet.