Podiatrist Vinaya A.S. has bumped across southern India in a bus-turned mobile clinic for 17 years, going village to village checking feet for the ulcer-causing effects of diabetes. These days, her key to staving off limb amputations comes down to one thing: food.
Millets, to be precise. The ancient grains were a staple in India for thousands of years, but largely spurned since a so-called Green Revolution last century led to cheaper, more abundant supplies of refined rice and wheat flour that can bolster blood-sugar. Now a surge in type-2 diabetes is pushing doctors and government officials to recommend a return towholegrains, like ragi or finger millet, that healthfully sustained previous generations.
Vinaya A.S. with patients at a mobile clinic on the outskirts of Bengaluru
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Food is your medicine you need to eat right, Vinaya, 48, told a group of villagers inDoddaballapur, on the outskirts of Bangalore, last month. Bring the fiber-rich ragi back to your plates, along with fruits and vegetables.
Healthy food choices are becoming critical in India, where diabetes is ripping through the population with deadly consequences. The number of adults living with the disease has risen more than five fold since 1980, though more than half of sufferers arent aware they have it. Left uncontrolled, high blood-sugar levels can damage organs and tissues, including the nerves and blood vessels in the feet, making them susceptible to injuries that fail to heal and eventually turn gangrenous. When that happens, amputations can be life-saving.
Onset of diabetes occurs about a decade earlier in Indians than in North Americans and Europeans. About a third of Indians with the obesity-linked disease are thin, suggesting that too many calories isnt the only diet-related problem, saidK. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.
Modern Indian meals lack fiber, which protects against diabetes, and are high in white rice and other refined carbohydrates, like wheat flour, used to make poori, or deep-fried bread, and samosas, a deep-fried, vegetable-containing pastry. Such energy-dense foods cause spikes in blood-sugar that weaken the bodys response to insulin and, when eaten regularly, can eventually lead to type-2 diabetes.
Traditional staples, like millets, have been replaced by polished rice and refined wheat flour even in rural areas, said Reddy, a cardiologist who is a past president of the World Heart Federation. Traditional Indian diets, not in vogue now, had a protective effect against diabetes.
There were 69.2 million adults living with diabetes in India in 2015, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Complications such as stroke, kidney failure and blood-poisoning from festering sores kill more than 1 million annually and the country will have 123.5 million diabetics by 2040 unless trends in overweight and obesity are curbed, the Brussels-based group predicts.
Health awareness is motivating Indias urban upper crust to seek out so-called superfoods, such as steel-cut oats and quinoa, a type of edible seed from South America, but millets an umbrella term for many small seeded grains have been slower to catch on, said Krishna Byregowda, the agriculture minister of Karnataka state.
Why are we forgetting our own superfoods while buying and adopting imported oats and quinoa? he asked a crowd at a three-day Organics and Millets National Trade Fair in the state capital, Bangalore, last month.
Customers at Vaathsalya Millet Cafe in Bengaluru.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Byregowda is spearheading a campaign involving chefs, nutritionists, doctors and food businesses to bolster demand for a grain he grew up eating as ragi mudde finger-millet flour cooked and shaped into soft mounds and served with leafy greens in a spiced gravy.
His farmer-ancestors grew it not just for its nutritional benefits: the crop needs a third of the rainfall of rice. Yet, millet and sorghum production have declined by a combined 51 percent in India and rice and wheat output has almost quadrupled since the 1960s, when a Green Revolution introduced modern seeds, chemicals and irrigation to boost harvests and stave off hunger.
Drought-induced crop failures in recent years in southern India have convinced the 44-year-old American University graduate of the need to return to growing millet.
In these times of climate change, it made sense to encourage farmers to switch to climate-smart crops rather than cultivate the water-intensive rice, Byregowda said in an interview. The post-Green Revolution planning left millet farmers, like my family, in the lurch.
The government of the neighboring southern state of Tamil Nadu has allocated 8 billion rupees ($124 million) to subsidize the cultivation of millets and pulses, and restaurants in the capital, Chennai, are catering for a growing appetite for millets. P. Sathiya Moorthi sells biscuits, biscotti and sweets from the grain to customers working at the local Hyundai Motor India Ltd. factory and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.s offices.
In Hyderabad in Telangana state, Narayana Peesapaty and his wife Pradnya Keskar have found another culinary use for the grain: edible spoons costing a few cents apiece.
The most important market news of the day.
Get our markets daily newsletter.
While millets have gained some international popularity thanks to pop starMadonna and chef Joanne Weir, they are only just gaining traction among health-conscious consumers in the U.S., according to Amrita Hazra. The India-born researcher is part of the Millet Project, a two-year-old University of California, Berkeley program thats working with Californian farmers, chefs and retailers to rediscover the traditions of cultivating and consuming millets.
Ancient grains are making a comeback in peoples diet, and very slowly into the fields, Hazra said.
A farmer cuts millet on the outskirt of Bengaluru.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
A reviewin 2014 of sorghum and millets used as livestock fodder and birdseed in some countries found they contain health-enhancing properties, though more human clinical trials are needed to assess their direct dietary benefits. They contain more fiber, more micro-nutrients and probably have a smaller blood-sugar impact than refined carbohydrates, said Jennie Brand-Miller, professor of human nutrition at the University of Sydney.
As long as the millets are prepared and consumed in traditional ways, I think this is a good suggestion, said Brand-Miller, who is internationally recognized for her research on the bodys absorption of carbohydrates. To maximize the health benefits of millets, consumers need to resist the urge to grind and refine them.
For podiatrist Vinaya, they are much healthier alternative to the fast-foods, sweetened soda drinks and rice more of her patients are consuming. Of the 60 people who turned up for last months free clinicin which her team checks blood flow to the foot, nerve sensitivity and blood-glucose, 27 were found to have diabetes, she said.
Unchecked, that can lead to foot sores that ulcerate. Her hospital in Bangalore does 30 to 35 foot amputations a month because of diabetes. In at least three of these cases, an entire lower limb needs to be amputated to prevent gangrene causing lethal blood poisoning, or sepsis.
Checking for diabetes at a mobile clinic.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
To London-trained Vinaya, who runs the diabetic foot clinic at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital, the link between diet and lifestyle changes and the rising incidence of diabetes has strengthened based on data her team has gathered from 2.4 million people in 350,000 households across 1,700 villages the largest such diabetes study in the world.
Even physically active, slender farmers in their 30s and 40s are being afflicted with the disease in India. She tells them how to replace the rice in their favorite dosa pancakes and idli savory cakes with millets. On her repeat rounds to the rural camps, villagers gather round to titter, Doctor-madam has come to conduct cooking classes.
Continued here:
Birdseed Turned Superfood May Help Curb India's Diabetes Scourge - Bloomberg
- Fresh health warning over common additive used in thousands of ultra-processed foods including mayo and bread - Daily Mail - April 25th, 2024
- Vertex jumps to TreeFrog to enhance production of Type 1 diabetes cell therapy candidates - FiercePharma - April 25th, 2024
- Spotting the warning signs of diabetes in your pets - CBC.ca - April 25th, 2024
- Lexington-Fayette County health department organizing weekend diabetes awareness expo - WEKU - April 25th, 2024
- Preventive effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on incident hypertension in patients with diabetes who do not have hypertension ... - Nature.com - April 25th, 2024
- Curbing the Price of Novel Diabetes and Obesity Medications - Yale School of Medicine - April 25th, 2024
- Stanford Health closing Livermore Diabetes and Bariatric Center - Pleasanton Weekly - April 25th, 2024
- The association of ALT to HDL-C ratio with type 2 diabetes in 5074 years old adults: a population-based study ... - Nature.com - April 25th, 2024
- VERTEX AND TREEFROG THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCE LICENSING AGREEMENT AND COLLABORATION TO ... - PR Newswire - April 25th, 2024
- Understanding the Complexity of Hyperglycemic Emergencies: Exploring the Influence of the Type and Duration of ... - Cureus - April 25th, 2024
- What Every Parent Should Know About Raising a T1D Kid - Health Central - April 25th, 2024
- Healthy Living & Diabetes Awareness Fair 2024 - University of New Mexico - April 25th, 2024
- New findings on pancreatic anatomy may affect diabetes research and treatment - Medical Xpress - April 25th, 2024
- The role of yogurt in diabetes and obesity prevention - News-Medical.Net - April 25th, 2024
- How exercising outdoors can prevent depression and diabetes - inews - April 25th, 2024
- Heart of the Valley: Valley woman discusses how she improved her health following diabetes diagnosis - KRGV - April 25th, 2024
- The Right Amount of Sleep Could Help Prevent This Extremely Common Disease - Inverse - April 25th, 2024
- 'Bread and Butter': Societies Issue T2D Management Guidance - Medscape - April 25th, 2024
- She was fired after not endorsing Splenda-filled salads to people with diabetes. Why? - The Guardian - April 25th, 2024
- Glycemic index of diets: importance beyond diabetes control - The Hindu - April 25th, 2024
- 1 woman thought she was destined for diabetes. This 1 realization helped her lose 70 pounds - Yahoo! Voices - March 29th, 2024
- Franciscan Health offering diabetes education at local churches - The Times of Northwest Indiana - March 29th, 2024
- For diabetes patients, needle-free insulin injections are on the way - ScienceBlog.com - March 29th, 2024
- Las Vegas nonprofit hosting health workshop specifically aimed at local Latinos - KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas - March 29th, 2024
- How Often Do You Really Need to Check Your Blood Sugar Levels? - WSJ - The Wall Street Journal - March 29th, 2024
- Unintended Effects of Caps on Insulin Out-of-Pocket Costs - Managed Healthcare Executive - March 29th, 2024
- Study: Pompe treatment Nexviazyme isn't linked to new or worsening... - Pompe Disease News - March 29th, 2024
- A Smoker With New-Onset Pain in Both Feet - Medscape Reference - March 29th, 2024
- Pre-diabetes leads to Type 2 diabetes; Here's how to prevent and reverse it - WXII12 Winston-Salem - March 29th, 2024
- 'From Interpretation to Action': Using CGM to Manage T2D - Medscape - March 29th, 2024
- March: diabetes-kidney | News and features - University of Bristol - March 29th, 2024
- Health centers attempt to prevent diabetes - WTVM - March 29th, 2024
- Beyond Meat Unveils New and Expanded Line of Beyond Crumbles, Now Certified by the American Heart ... - Yahoo Finance - March 29th, 2024
- Beyond Meat Launches Revamped Plant-Based Crumbles, Earning American Heart and Diabetes Association ... - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine - March 29th, 2024
- Ypsomed hands off insulin pen needle business to focus on smart pump, autoinjector development - Fierce Biotech - March 29th, 2024
- Take the online diabetes test that could help save your life - NBC Connecticut - March 29th, 2024
- Study evaluates the use of tirzepatide in overweight/obese adults with type 1 diabetes - News-Medical.Net - March 29th, 2024
- Risk prediction using genes and gut bacteria can improve early detection of diseases like type 2 diabetes - Medical Xpress - March 29th, 2024
- On a Healthy Vegan Diet, I've Healed My Liver, Reversed Type 2 Diabetes, and Lost 35 Pounds - Forks Over Knives - March 29th, 2024
- Study Links Diet, Diabetes, and Alzheimers - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024
- Novo Nordisk Isn't in The "Magnificent Seven," but Here's Why I Think It Should Be - Yahoo Finance - March 18th, 2024
- Doctor warns of strange telltale sign of diabetes which can appear on the legs - The Mirror - March 18th, 2024
- Unraveling the complexities of muscle repair in diabetes: A call for targeted research and therapies - News-Medical.Net - March 18th, 2024
- Popular diabetes and weight loss drugs often hard to get for people who need them - NBC News - March 18th, 2024
- Your Health Matters: The ABCs of diabetes - The Globe | News, weather, sports from Worthington, Minnesota - The Globe - March 18th, 2024
- The Link Between Pancreatic Cancer and Diabetes - Cedars-Sinai - March 18th, 2024
- Nikita Kuzmin diabetes: what was he holding in the CBB house? - Cosmopolitan UK - March 18th, 2024
- FDA Approves Rezdiffra, the First Drug for Diabetes-Related Liver Disease - diaTribe Foundation - March 18th, 2024
- He took up running rather than take diabetes medication. It worked - South China Morning Post - March 18th, 2024
- Can Eating Yogurt Really Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes? - Health.com - March 18th, 2024
- Even short periods of diabetes remission are linked to lower risk of heart attack and stroke - The BMJ - March 18th, 2024
- Kidney stone risk factors and how type 2 diabetes medication may help - WECT - March 18th, 2024
- 'Making the Invisible Visible': CGMs Offer Insights for T2D - Medscape - March 18th, 2024
- Novo Nordisk Discontinues Insulin Medication After Cutting Its Price - The American Prospect - March 18th, 2024
- Infographic: Where GLP-1s Work Now -- and What's Coming - Medscape - March 18th, 2024
- Intermountain Health Experts Say Education Key to Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes | PRUnderground - PR Underground - March 18th, 2024
- International body recommends more sensitive test to indicate risk of developing diabetes - The Hindu - March 18th, 2024
- The importance of knowing your A1C level - KSAT San Antonio - March 18th, 2024
- Tandem Diabetes Care's t:slim X2 Insulin Pump is the First Automated Insulin Delivery System to Integrate with ... - Business Wire - January 9th, 2024
- Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage Occurring Suddenly in a Diabetic Patient With Asthma Exacerbation - Cureus - January 9th, 2024
- Virginia Tech researchers find drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes reduce alcohol cravings - WRIC ABC 8News - January 9th, 2024
- FDA looking into reports of hair loss, suicidal thoughts in people using popular drugs for diabetes and weight loss - CNN - January 9th, 2024
- Glycemic control and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease according to ... - Cardiovascular Diabetology - January 9th, 2024
- Insulin price cap: More Americans will now pay no more than $35 - USA TODAY - January 9th, 2024
- Eli Lilly cracks down on the use of weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound for cosmetic reasons instead of for diabetes and obesity - Fortune - January 9th, 2024
- No Increased Risk of Suicidal Ideation With GLP-1 Drugs - Medpage Today - January 9th, 2024
- Ask the Doctors | New research being conducted to treat diabetes - Eureka Times-Standard - January 9th, 2024
- Salivary Chloride Intracellular Channel 1 (CLIC1) as a Hub of Gene-Gene Interactome of Periodontitis With Diabetes ... - Cureus - January 9th, 2024
- Why Omada's CEO Thinks Amazon Selected His Startup as the 1st Partner for Its New Program - MedCity News - January 9th, 2024
- Researchers find drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity reduce alcohol cravings - Medical Xpress - January 9th, 2024
- Randomized open-label trial of semaglutide and dapagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes of different ... - Nature.com - January 9th, 2024
- CV Safety Profile of TheracosBio's BRENZAVVY (bexagliflozin) Confirmed in Research Published in Diabetes ... - Business Wire - January 9th, 2024
- 6 "Bad" Fruits You Should Be Eating When You Have Diabetes, According to Dietitians - EatingWell - January 9th, 2024
- Children of Women with Type 1 Diabetes Have Increased Heart Defect Risk - Inside Precision Medicine - January 9th, 2024
- Transforming Corporate Health: Fitterfly's Success in Tackling Diabetes and Weight Issues - Business Standard - January 9th, 2024
- Ozempic and weight loss | News and views - Diabetes UK - January 9th, 2024
- Drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes reduce alcohol cravings - ScienceBlog.com - January 9th, 2024
- People taking Wegovy and Ozempic have lower risk of suicidal thoughts vs. older drugs, study finds - ABC News - January 9th, 2024
- For Those With Diabetes On Medicare Part D, Insulin Is $35...If Its Covered - Forbes - October 27th, 2023
- Biologist Douglas Melton: I was studying frogs until my son was diagnosed with diabetes then I started looking for a cure - EL PAS USA - October 27th, 2023