Millets are widely accepted as having a low Glycemic Index (GI) helping to manage diabetes. According to a new study published in ‘Frontiers in Nutrition’, the consumption of millets will help reduce the risk of developing diabetes. The researchers utilized the data collected from 65 global studies to analyze the GI outcomes. 56 studies were used to analyze fasting, post-prandial glucose level, insulin index and HbA1c outcomes in a meta-analysis.

      The results from the descriptive statistics revealed that the mean GI of millets is about 36% lower than in typical staples of milled rice (71.7 ± 14.4) and refined wheat (74.2 ± 14.9). The analyses showed that Job's tears, fonio, foxtail, barnyard, and teff were the millets with low mean GI (<55) that are more effective (35–79%) in reducing dietary GI. Millets with intermediate GI (55–69) are pearl millet, finger millet, Kodo millet, little millet, and sorghum which have a 13–35% lower GI than the control with a high GI (>69). The meta-analysis also showed that all millets had significantly lower GI than white rice, refined wheat, standard glucose or white wheat bread except little millet which had inconsistent data.

      The study highlights that long term millet consumption lowers fasting and post-prandial blood glucose levels significantly by 12 and 15%, respectively, in in patients with diabetes.