CHENNAI: Upma, idlis, dosas and other dishes made of

sold in the

, most of which are polished, may push up blood

levels more than

white rice, a series of studies done by a Chennai-based

research centre has shown. But adding the right ingredients such as defatted soy, fenugreek fibre, or vegetables, can slow down digestion and metabolism, scientists say.

The glycemic index — or the relative ability of carbohydrate to increase the level of glucose in the blood – of dishes (upma) made from millets were up to 15 points higher than cooked polished white rice according to published studies by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. “This also means these millets are quickly digested and processed by the body. It increases sugar levels and makes you feel hungry sooner,” said nutrition scientist Sudha Vasudevan of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation.

Dishes made from millets are becoming increasingly popular as they are touted to be magic ingredients for healthy meals and weight loss. Nutritionists agree that

millets have all the right ingredients – fibre, protein, vitamins, minerals and fat besides other micronutrients. Yet, most products available in the market aren’t whole grains.

Whole grains have three parts – the hard outer layer or the bran and germ that are rich in fibre, fat, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, and the large part of the

called the endosperm that contains carbohydrates in the form of starch and protein. “The bran is removed from most millets and in some, a part of the germ is also knocked off,” said Vasudevan.

Agriculturists and food manufacturers say removing oil-rich bran increases shelf life of the products as flour of whole grain can go rancid quickly. “We advise manufacturers to remove just the seed coat because it is not easily digestible. So most manufacturers remove them,” said Coimbatore Agricultural Engineering College dean S V Kottiswaran.

So, when such processed millets are cooked, it leads to gelatinization of kernel starch making digestion easy. Manufacturers have the option of adding functional ingredients such as guar gums and functional fibre like resistant maltodextrin, galactomannans (from fenugreek) and beta glucan (from oats) to slow down digestion and the metabolic process.

But dieticians and nutritionists say adding vegetables, legume and fibre to processed millets while cooking is one of way to keep it healthy. “Stuffing idli and dosa made of millet with veggies and greens is one way of making it healthy,” said food scientist Shobana Shanmugam, one of the authors of the

.