Bajra Cultivation: The New fad

Did you know that millets have far more nutritional value than rice or wheat? In fact for people who aretrying to avoid gluten or are gluten sensitive millets such as bajra are the healthiest alternatives. As someof you may know gluten is a special protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Gluten is not just bad forpeople who are sensitive to it but rather to people in general as it causes all kinds of health issues such asgut inflammation, trigger heart disease and is even potentially cancer causing and definitely cancerpromoting. Thus the best way of eliminating gluten from your diet is by substituting rice, barley andwheat with millets such as bajra.

Ironically bajra cultivation and consumption is not a new fad. It is one of the oldest millets used by ourancestors. It used to be a part of the regular diet in the olden days especially in places like Rajasthan andGujarat. But they got replaced with polished rice and wheat in the name of agricultural advancement ordevelopment. Bajra or pearl millet is an important coarse grain crop and was dubbed to be the poor man’sstaple nourishment. It is wise not to get carried away with this description as there is nothing poor aboutthis millet’s nutritional value.

Historically bajra or pearl millet has been grown most extensively Africa and Indian subcontinent. It isbelieved to have originated in Africa and then slowly introduced to India. Archaeological evidence pointsto the fact that millet was cultivated here since the 2000BC. Its origin can be traced back to North Africa,to be accurate Ethiopia. Its cultivation slow ly spread to east and southern Africa and south Asia. It was astaple in Africa where it was used to make injera which was their traditional flatbread. In India the milletswere ground to make our flatbread which is roti.

Currently India is the leading commercial producer of bajra closely followed by China and Nigeria. It iscultivated mainly in Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Bajra is highly tolerantto drought, bad soil nutrition and extreme temperature. It requires a rainfall of about 50 –100 cms. Itgrows extremely well in temperatures between 25°C - 30°C and is grown primarily on red soil, sandy

loams and black soil. It is generally grown as a mixed crop along with cotton, jowar or ragi. As it is adrought tolerant crop it is viable for growth in dry farming situations. High salinity and low pH of soilgives good growth of the crop.

Benefits of Bajra

1. It is an excellent source of protein and fiber.2. High in starch content which makes it an energy rich food.3. The amino acids found in millet are easily digestible as compared to those found in wheat4. It consists of essential nutrients such as the amino acid methionine, B complex vitamins, folic

acid, lecithin and salts such as magnesium and manganese and zinc.5. The niacin content reduces cholesterol and magnesium helps maintain overall health of the heart

as it helps lower blood pressure reducing the risk of heart attacks.6. It is a rich source of phosphorus which is an important component of ATP the energy currency of

the cell.7. It offers protection against breast cancer in pre-menopausal women.8. Helps minimize risk of type 2 diabetes.9. Helps move the GI system efficiently thereby elimination GI issues such as constipation, excess

gas, bloating and cramping.

It is best to opt for bajra which is organic food grown as it contains no pesticides or use of anyartificial fertilizer. This gives maximum health benefits and protection against most of the recentlifestyle illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Make yourdiet more nutritious by incorporating organically grown Bajra.

More information please visit once: http://www.earthendelight.com .