Boost your kid’s immunity by including Ragi in their diets

Ragi (also known as Millet or Nachni) is a rich source of calcium, iron and proteins. It is a whole grain and also a source of fiber. This millet contains several types of amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, phenyl alanine and methionine), vitamin B and folic acid.

With plenty of talks around boosting immunity to fight the coronavirus disease, let us look at the reasons why you should start including Ragi in your little one’s diet to increase your kid’s immunity.

• Rich source of Calcium

The calcium content is beneficial for development of bones in kids and preventing osteoporosis. It helps in reducing the risk of bone fractures and eliminates the unnecessary need of calcium supplements to kids. It also improves the production of blood in human body. Also, there is no kid cereal whose calcium content is close to ragi nutrition

• Helps in Digestion and Makes Babies Feel Full

The amount of fibre in ragi promotes digestion and helps child stay full for a long period of time. The amino acids, methionine and lecithin present in ragi just removes the excess fat around the liver and reduce cholesterol levels in a child’s body, thus avoiding obesity.

• Ragi is also Rich Source of Natural Iron

Being a rich source of Natural Iron, if your kid is suffering from low levels of haemoglobin or anaemia, you should include ragi in his or her diet. Sprouted ragi contains a good amount of Vitamin C, which aids in better absorption of iron. Ragi, due to its high nutritional content, prevents malnutrition in babies.

• Ragi is also a Natural Relaxant

The presence of a significant number of antioxidants in ragi aids in relaxing the body and preventing problems like insomnia, anxiety, and headaches in children.

• Reduces the risk of diabetes in kids

Consumption of ragi helps in reducing the risk of diabetes which is attributed to its high content of fiber and polyphenol. Ragi based meals reduces the risk of diabetes because it contains the highest amount of fiber compared to all other kid’s cereals. Including ragi in your kid’s meals to help reduce the risk to diabetes is very essential as the cases of children and diabetes is on the rise all over the world.

• Ragi Prevents Constipation

Along with ease of digestion due to its higher fiber content for the babies, it also helps to maintain a baby’s body water level and hence promotes the healthy bowel movements and as a result, constipation could be avoided.

• Boosts overall Immunity

The presence of essential nutrients in ragi helps in boosting the overall immunity of the baby. Babies mostly have a weak immune system and are more prone to catching infections. In such a situation, including foods such as ragi in the baby’s diet is of utmost importance to keep diseases and infections at bay. The antimicrobial properties of ragi act against various harmful bacteria.

Ragi can be offered to baby in the form of ragi porridge prepared from ragi flour or ragi atta. The ragi porridge can be served along with curd, fruit juice, vegetable soup, buttermilk, etc.