Let’s address the question – Is ragi good for diabetics?
Why do people think ragi is good for diabetics?
Magazine articles and random folks who encourage ragi for diabetics often have this blanket statement: “Millets have a high fiber content and it is good for diabetics.” – Ok, first of all, it does it make sense to categorize all millets together? I think not…Finger millet (ragi) does not function the exact same way as Pearl millet or Kodo millet or…you get the idea. Secondly, how high is the fiber they are talking about?
Or how about Ndtv.com which puts out an article with the statement: “Ragi, or nachni, is often said to be a wonder grain for diabetics by experts.” – Who are these experts?
And also stated in that very article “Ragi has low glycaemic index”. – No data, no reference, nothing. By the way, this statement that “Ragi has low GI” is NOT true…nope, nada, not at all!! It is the opposite, in fact.
This is not a dig at NDTV.com at all. I just want to bring attention to the fact, that many such pop articles all over the internet that mislead and confuse people.
Anyway, back to Ragi… Let’s address these issues one by one.
Fiber in Ragi (Finger Millet Flour)
Let us check out the nutrition labels for ragi from 3 different brands.
- Deep Brand Ragi Flour
30 g of Deep Ragi contains 1 g of fiber; so 100g of ragi will contain 3.3 g of fiber
2. Udipi Brand Ragi Flour
50 g of ragi contains 5 g of fiber; so 100g of ragi will contain 4 g of fiber
24 Mantra Brand Ragi Flour
30 g of 24 Mantra Ragi contains 3 g of fiber; so 100g of ragi will contain 10 g of fiber
First of all that is a big jump in fiber when you compare Mantra Brand to Udipi Brand, but we will deal with this issue in 1 minute. Before that, let’s think about the above numbers for a second. Is it really that high in fiber?
Here are Bob’s Red Mill numbers for fiber levels with 100g of popular flours:
- Whole Wheat Flour – 18g
- Coconut Flour – 35.7 g
- Almond Flour – 14.2 g
- Stone ground brown rice flour – 2.5g
(When you look at the nutrition label in the link given, remember to convert all units to 100g measurement)
So, yeah, 10g of fiber for ragi is way better than rice flour; but it is not super high. Whole wheat and keto favorites like Almond and Coconut do much better in their fiber content.
Does Mantra’s 24 brand have extra fiber compared to the other brands?
To test this I took 1/4 cup of ragi of both brands: Mantra and Udipi.
I dissolved them in exactly 2 cups of water….
and then strained them using the same type of filter….
Here’s the coarse fiber strained side by side…
In the above image, the left ladle containing more bran/fiber is Mantra brand and on the right is Udipi brand.
Here’s the porridge made with the strained fiber added back in…
I don’t know if you can see well in the picture, but the Mantra ragi was thicker than Udipi ragi. (same amount of flour, the same amount of water, heat etc.)
Here’s my theory. During the processing, the Udipi/Deep brand mill the flour really fine and sieve out most of the bran for a smooth product. The Mantra product on the other hand seems more comfortable with having more bran in the product.
Here’s a closeup of the Mantra brand ragi flour…
Now look at the Udipi brand flour closeup:
As you can see the Udipi brand ragi is a fine powder. So, is that good or bad? The answer – it depends. If you are a diabetic, you should know the rule by now – more finely ground flour is, the faster it gets absorbed in your body and the higher the glycemic response.
But if you are looking for finely strained ragi to create a smooth porridge for your small children, you may find Udipi brand more suitable.
Does the size of the flour particles actually matter?
Are you wondering, “Oh well, how does a few micrometers of flour particle size even matter?” Well, lucky for you and me, scientists in Sri Lanka actually conducted an experiment to address this very question. Their paper was called: Effect of different milling methods on glycaemic response of foods made with finger millet (Eucenea coracana) flour
They compared the glycemic responses of foods prepared with finger millet flour (called locally as kurakkan), using traditional stone grinding (large flour particles) and industrial milling (finely powdered flour particles).
They found that GI for roti made of stone ground flour was 44±5 and that of roti made of industrially milled flour was 59±7. Pittu (a steamed dish) made of stone ground flour had a GI of 67±5 and GI of pittu made of industrially milled flour was 79±5. So, yes size of flour particles do matter when it comes to Glycemic Response by the body.
If you are a diabetic, the smaller the flour particles, the greater your body’s sugar level will rise following a meal.
Why is the Glycemic Index of Ragi high?
Ok, now let’s move on to the question regarding the glycemic index of ragi.
If you go to glycemicindex.com, and type in Ragi in the search box, you will get the following 3 results (as of Sept 2020):
| Millet/Ragi, (Eleucine coracana), dehusked, soaked 12 h, stored moist 24 h, steamed 1 h | 68 |
| Millet/Ragi (Eleucine coracana) | 84 |
| Millet/Ragi (Eleucine coracana) flour eaten as roasted bread | 104 |
All the above values are quite high and bad for diabetics. Remember, If your food has a GI of below 55, it is considered a low-GI food, between 55-70 is medium GI and above 70 considered high GI.
But let’s ask ourselves that if ragi is high in fiber as they say, why does it trigger such a high glycemic response?
The total carbohydrate content of finger millet has been reported to be in the range of 72 to 79.5%. The carbohydrates include starch as the main constituent being 59.4 to 70.2%. About 80 to 85% of the finger millet starch is amylopectin and the remaining 15 to 20% is amylose.
And if you all have read my report on GI on rice, you will remember:
When it comes to GI/ diabetics:
Amylose= good, Amylopectin = bad!!
Ragi’s endosperm containing a high amount of starch, that too majority being amylopectin + consuming it in highly powdered form makes for very high GI.
Indian Council of Medical Research Study
Ok, if you are still not convinced by the numbers, let’s listen to an actual expert:
Sudha Vasudevan, senior scientist, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation said that the mean value of GI of upma made from decorticated or processed finger millet (husk is removed from the grain) was high at 87, similar to the GI of white polished rice. Vasudev also said that the study showed that GI of finger millet flakes (also processed) was 82.3.
Conclusion
So, what does all this data mean? Should we ALL (everyone – adults and children, diabetics and non-diabetics) avoid Ragi? Certainly not!
The GI aspect is a problem for diabetics or people with pre-diabetic conditions. In fact, ragi is a spectacular grain with great qualities, if you take away the GI aspect.
The National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad, India, carried out a study of the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of various pulses, legumes, and cereals, including millets. Finger millet and Rajmah were highest in antioxidant activity, while finger millet and black gram dhal had the highest total phenolic content.
Furthermore, in The lost crops of Africa, it is noted finger millet is an important preventative against malnutrition. Among millets, finger millet is relatively better balanced in essential amino acids because it contains more lysine, thereonine and valine. Finger millet is also a rich source of minerals. Some samples contain 0.33 percent calcium, 5-30 times more than in most cereals. The phosphorus and iron content can also be high.
So, yes, ragi (finger millet) is nourishing and wonderful. But, if you are diabetic, try to eat other whole grains that have low GI and stay away from finely powdered starches like ragi powder.
I hope this was helpful. Please post your thoughts and comments below. As usual, I look forward to hearing from you!!
Did you enjoy reading the above article? Do you enjoy reading about food science and numbers? If so, try:
Which rice is best for a diabetic?
Which flour is best for a diabetic?
Rice vs Wheat vs Barley: Which grain has highest protein, fiber content?
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Mantra 24 Ragi Flour
Udipi Ragi Flour
Disclaimer
I am not a nutritionist/nurse/doctor. I just study numbers and report them. Consult your doctor before making any major changes to your diet.
Whether dates can be eaten by Diabetics in small portion for better minerals and fiber contents
Hi Mr Nagasubramanya, dates on a relative basis are better than sugar because of the fiber content.
But, if you eat them for the sake of mineral content (eg iron), it is too rich in carbohydrates and you can get better ingredients in nature which can give you iron (like rice bran, urad dal or moth/matki beans) that does not contain that much sugar or carbs.
Hope that helps.
Thank you so much for the clarification. I am a diabetic and have always been wondering if it is good. By the way is sprouted Ragi flour good or bad?
Hi Vijayakumar, any flour when compared to the whole grain is quickly assimilated in the body and hence increases the insulin surge in the body after consumption.
I would encourage you to eat ragi sprouts as a salad or steamed ragi sprouts instead of eating it via flour format.
Hi, this is some very nice information. I am doing a few experiments on the effect of eating different foods by wearing a Continuous glucose monitor. I was also under the impression that Ragi was really good for blood sugar. However I recently had a Ragi ball with sambar and my blood sugar spiked just like white rice. Maybe the fact that used store bought Ragi powder and boiled it for softness had something to do with it.
Thanks for this wonderful informative site!!
Hi Sandeep, thanks for the feedback. Yes, beyond all theories, monitoring you sugar levels is the best way to confirm what is best for you body. Right on!!
Hi Sandeep, could you let me know where you got the CGM? I’m looking for one for my mother. I only found Ultrahuman and the subscription model puts me off.
@Swetha – thank you for this analysis, ragi has always been difficult to pin down GI-wise and this makes a lot of sense.
Great Analysis!
Thank you!!
Awesome article Swetha, I bumped into this while researching Ragi – my body is “hot” (pitta type) and all millets make it even hotter, I zeroed in on Ragi since it’s a “cool” millet but this has a high GI and I want to keep my inslulin levels low (and I stay off sugar, wheat and rice) – I am not sure which millet is best for me, will be great if you can share any insight. Thanks!!
Hi Gautam, among the millets Bajra has better GI (55).
If you are looking for grains with least GI, I would suggest black rice (GI- 42) and barley (GI -35). Unfortunately, I am not aware how these grains perform based on Ayurveda. Let me know if none of them fall under the “cool” category and I can suggest other grain options. Check out this post for reference.
https://www.upgrademyfood.com/how-to-eat-a-low-glycemic-diet-as-an-indian-vegetarian-part-3/
Hi Swetha,
Thanks for the many posts on GI. Maybe I missed it, but do you have a post on GI of finger millet GRAIN? I’m also looking for some recipes for cooking finger millet grain.
Thanks,
Amit
Hi Amit, the dehusked, soaked and steamed grain is listed in the article above as 68. I don’t think many people eat ragi grain as a whole, so it may be unlikely to get numbers for other methods such as pressure cooked ragi and so on. There many be new studies, but nothing that I know of. Sorry!
Hey thank you for detailed information. But Im really confused I have been on ragi diet for a week after getting my blood sugar tested for 216 and just after five days when I tested it again after consuming ragi it dropped to 150 .now after reading the article I’m not so sure I even lost two kgs.
Hi Rachana, if the Ragi diet is lowering your sugar levels, then I think you should stick to it. Maybe the combination of ragi meals with fiber and fat is really working for you. Or the way you are making it is good. Whatever it is, go with the numbers on your test, they are your body’s best guide.
Maybe as Swetha says, the polyphenols and other minerals plus your gut microbes might play a role.Each person reacts differently to foods. I would stick to what works for me. All the best
Hi Swetha
This is some work. I never bothered to validate the age-old theory that ragi is good for diabetics and wonder food ( i guess it still is, am a big fan) . Just finishing a CGM with different Indian foods and found out ragi indeed spikes my blood glucose levels (tried with various side dish – sambar, peanut chutney, pappu, etc). My questions on “Is Ragi good for diabetics” on Google led to your post.
BTW, the latest combo I tried is Ragi ball with guacamole 🙂
Even with guac, huh? That’s good to know Senthil! Thanks for sharing!
Can we mix Ragi roti with some isabgol dissolved water to increase the fiber content thereby it should help. I tried ragi roti ( fine ground flour) and it increased blood sugar spike and was searching the reason which leaded me to your place. Will try this approach and see how my body responds.
Thank you for the detailed, informative write up – much appreciated!
I have blood sugar problem for 15+ years. 2 years back, I started studying about the foods I eat, blood sugar and insulin spikes. My problem is the heavy insulin release, continuously, after eating, especially after morning meal.
I was vegetarian most of my life. Ate mostly wheat roti, rice, with sabji, dairy, etc.
After stopping wheat and rice, I ate sabji for few weeks and it was life changing, body changing, experience!!
Not all carbs are bad, I found.
But many grains are!
Bananas are excellent for me (high carbs/sugar, yet low insulin response)
Potatoes spike my blood sugar right away (then insulin follows after 3-4 hours). But excellent source of energy and insulin isn’t as bad as grains.
Recently I tried Besan.
Same reaction as wheat, rice.
I haven’t tried Ragi (Ayurveda says it has Heating as natural quality. I am afraid of its high carbs. It is slow digesting grain, like wheat n rice).
Bajra is similar to Ragi, so I am expecting same response (haven’t tried yet).
I am trying CORN flour and this seems to be much better. Lower insulin spike.
I tried some Kuttu and this also give good response. (Mixed Kuttu+Corn flours to make dosa).
I found that main culprit of sugar-insulin imbalance is slow digesting grains (complex grain carbs). They continue to release sugar in blood for hours, and pancreas keep releasing insulin.
High proteins from meats give very good response. Perhaps the best food if eaten in limits. And vegetables, fruits. Maybe these digest fast, that’s why they are lighter on pancreas’ insulin production.
My problem is high insulin. Pancreases produces more insulin than needed. This keeps my body cold. Heart rate slow (50-60rpm). Blood flows slowly, often can’t see veins on skin. Low thyroid. Is this diabetes?
And cutting high carb grains (wheat, rice, besan, dals, etc) has been most helpful.
What are your thoughts on Corn, Kuttu/buckwheat, carbs of fruits, veges, root veges?
Nice analysis, thanks mam.
Wonderful article. I am diabetic . Controlling with diet. When i switched over to almond flour from ragi and amaranth, there was a 45 point reduction in blood sugar level. Tastes excellent.