Millets as a powerhouse of nutrients, plausible health benefits and its challenges: A review

This comprehensive review paper scrutinizes into the nutritional value of millets and their multifaceted role in global nutrition and health. Through an exhaustive investigation, we unveil the health advantages of millets, indicating their ability to manage chronic conditions. Millet grains are a drought-resistant crop with high output in water-scarce places. They are also highly nutritious and considering as super food. They are store house of high nutrition like protein, mineral, fiber as well as various phytochemicals which included therapeutic properties owing to their anti- inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. Sorghum, finger millets, pearl millets, foxtail, tiny kudo, proso and barnyard millet are among the major millet. The sheer affordability of millets also known as ‘poor men’s food grains. Millets have been used in India since ancient time and Govt. of India also focusing on millets and 2018 declared as millets years to encourage and promote millets production. Because of their nutritional quality and health boosting factors it can be ‘miracle grains’ and hon’ble PM of India addressed it as ‘Shree Anna’ in 2023. Millets can be contributed to addressing some of the burning issues of the world: poor diet (malnutrition to obesity), food security, good health and well-being. The goal of this study was to analyse recent breakthroughs in research for evaluating the nutritional content and possible health advantages of millet grains.