Abstract

AN AYURVEDIC APPROACH TO MILLETS VIS-À-VIS THEIR NUTRITIONAL UTILITY

*Sunaina and Rohit Johari

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Abstract

Ayurveda, a traditional natural healing system of medicine narrates three upastambhas (sub-pillars) i.e., Ahara (Food and dietary regulations), Nidra (guidelines of sleep), Brahmacharya (nonindulgence in sexual activity), Ahara (Food and dietary regulations) for building health and prosperity of a human being. Ayurveda specially focuses on Ahara dravya (Food and dietary supplements) which is widely accepted worldwide for healthy nutrition. It not only nourishes manah (mind), Sharira (body) and Atma (soul) but also helps in sustaining better health and immunity of an individual. Millets (Trindhanya) described in ancient ayurvedic classics has gain importance in current era due to their highly nutritive values for maintaining health. Millets are a highly nutritious crops which contains considerable amounts of essential vitamins and minerals for vitality. Millets are good source of energy which helps in building immune system. Millets, which are rich in high dietary fibre provides multiple health benefits such as improving gastrointestinal health, blood lipid profile, and blood glucose clearance. Millets with low Glycemic Index (GI), keep blood sugar steady, lowers the cholesterol and helps to lose weight. All of these things are considered healthy options in preventing celiac disease and diabetes. Moreover, Ayurveda also recommends to eat millets like kuttu (buckwheat), ragi (finger millet), Jowar (sorghum), Bajra (pearl millet), Rajgira (Amaranth) for sustainability of health and prosperity. Following study includes rationality of ragi (Finger Millet) and bajra (Pearl Millet) with respect to data available in ancient ayurvedic literature and modern nutritional approach for sustaining human wellness.

Keywords: Ayurveda, Ahara, Trin-dhanya, Millets, tri-upstambha, Nutrition.