Ragi or Finger millet or Nachni used to be grown in Uganda in East Africa and from there it reached India in 1800 BC. This gluten free millet, Ragi or Nachni used to be a staple diet of Indians before rice & wheat took over us completely. Ragi is called finger millet because of its appearance, the head of the grain comprises of 5 spikes, resembling our five fingers. As people have become more heath conscious these days, this wonder grain is gradually making place in our food palette because of its health benefits. Also, ease of buying ragi/nachni online is facilitating making ragi part of our diet again. Ragi cereal can be grounded in a fine flour or can be coarsely grounded and used as ragi rava for making ragi idli, ragi upma, ragi chilla, ragi halwa etc. It’s an important millet & since Ragi nowadays is so easily available online, it should be part of everyone’s diet.
Let’s look at some of the health benefits of Ragi or Nachni or Finger Millet:
Weight loss with Ragi
- Rich in Calcium: Amongst plant based food sources, Ragi has the highest component of calcium. Calcium is an important mineral for strengthening of bones & teeth. According to the National Institute of Nutrition in India, 100 grams of Ragi contains 344 mg calcium. Calcium is extremely important for growing kids & aging people, ragi porridge made from ragi rava is not only tasty but also can be healthy substitute for regular rava.
- High Protein: Ragi has good protein component, a mineral essential to manage wear & tear of the cells in the body.
- Rich in Dietary Fiber: Since Ragi/Nachni is rich in fiber, it keep you satiated for longer hours, keeping hunger pangs at bay. Also, the fiber in Ragi aids in digestion thereby keeping our digestive tract healthy. With its regular consumption, we can get rid of stomach problems, like loose motions or constipation.
- Gluten Free: Gluten is a protein component which sometimes creates gastric or digestive issues for the people who are intolerant to gluten.
Sometimes, despite of understanding the health benefits of certain food, we are not able to include it in our daily diet, maybe because of ease of availability or we don’t know how to use it.
But, online e-commerce platforms have made it easy to buy Ragi online. Not only you can buy them easily online but also Ragi is now available in easy to use forms.eg. ragi flour, ragi rava, ragi idli rava, ragi dosa rava.