Here's Why You Must Consume Millet Bhakri Every Day

Millets are an excellent source of copper, magnesium, and phosphorous. They help you in losing weight, keep blood sugar levels in check, and are even good for digestion since they are packed with fibres. But most of us don't give enough attention to millet.

Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar shares a video on Instagram throwing light on the health benefits of millet. This makes for guideline 4 of her ongoing fitness project 2023. She also shows the proper way of cooking and consuming millet.

According to her, poor cooking skills may come in the way of staying healthy. Because we don't want to take the pain of cooking, we end up buying alternatives like nachni chips or multi-grain bread to keep the millet consumption going. That's not a healthy way to eat millet. Packaged and processed food items can never give you the nutrition that comes from home-cooked fresh food.  

Rujuta Diwekar says that millets are rich in fibre, amino acids, Vitamin B, and minerals. One of the best ways to have this superfood is through homecooked bhakri. You can eat millet bhakri with a sabzi, dal and chutney, every single day.

If you still struggle with kneading dough (since it has the tendency to break easily), Rujuta shares a kitchen secret. Always knead the millet dough with warm water.  And then, make roundels from it, and hand press them to create a bhakri, before you put them on your iron tava for cooking. 

Apart from being inexpensive and easier to grow, here's why you must eat millet:

· Niacin, a type of B Vitamin- found in millets - is useful in energy production, and nerve health and keeps the digestive tract healthy. 

· The magnesium, zinc, and fibre found in millet make it an excellent food for blood sugar regulation, especially for PCOD and diabetes.

· The folic acid in millets helps with iron assimilation and improves skin, health, and fertility.

Talking more about millet, the nutritionist states that you must never mix them all together (something like multigrain bread). Instead, go for a single millet at a time. To make it interesting, you can pair it up with jaggery and ghee. You can certainly have it with chutney that will amp up your experience.

Rujuta gives a quick seasonal guide for millets –

1.   Bajra and Makai are for the winter. You can relish them with jaggery and ghee

2.   Jowar is better for summers. Have it with a good chutney.

3.   Ragi is consumed all around the year and can even be turned into a dosa, laddoo etc. In fact, even bajra is an excellent ladoo to prevent hair loss.

“A millet bhakri a day, keeps the dullness away,” Rujuta adds.

Millets are not a replacement for your rice and wheat roti. Of course, you can continue having them if you want.

Guideline No. 3 by Rujuta Diwekar was all about three healthy habits required for good sleep.

1)Fixed bedtime

Following a proper routine is essential and even Ayurveda approves of it. While we know that studying or going to work is important, health is also something that we cannot overlook. Rujuta states that a fixed bedtime helps your body to be in sync with the natural rhythms, improves digestion and helps prevent diseases or ageing.  

2) Warm water bath with neem leaves/ nutmeg

To make sure that you are relaxed at night, do take a warm bath. You can add neem leaves or nutmeg to the water. Neem fights infections and keeps your immunity strong. Nutmeg is also known for its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. A warm bath in the night with any of these or both of these will leave you feeling calm, and strong in your mind and help optimise sleep.

3) Rub ghee on the soles of the feet  

This is important, especially for those who feel bloated and gassy at night. This practice of applying ghee on the soles of your feet leads to improved sleep quality and allows you to wake up feeling fresh as a daisy. For this, you can use a special waati (kansya) and put the ghee into it.

Apart from all this, keep a 2 to 3 hours gap between dinner and bedtime. You should not use any gadgets 60 mins before sleeping (guideline from 2018 project). Having haldi milk in the night helps and do sleep in a well-ventilated, cool and dark room, she adds.

Rujuta Diwekar shows five daily stretches that everyone must do on a regular basis. You can do these exercises in the morning, afternoon and in the evening as well. These will hardly take five minutes.

Take a look at the video:  

You can follow these tips to stay healthy.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.