"Food Technology" series special planning | Eating millet rice is better than drinking millet porridge! The molecular mechanism of millet lowering blood sugar has been found

"The first bowl of noodles in the world was made from millet. Some ancient books say that millet can cure 'diabetes', which means it can lower blood sugar, but it lacks theoretical support from modern food science. Our team has conducted research on this." Shen Qun, a professor at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University, shared the molecular mechanism of millet in lowering blood sugar that his team had studied.

Shennong's Herbal Classic and Compendium of Materia Medica record the health benefits of millet: it nourishes kidney qi, removes heat from the stomach and spleen, and replenishes qi. The aged millet tastes bitter, treats stomach heat, quenches thirst, and promotes urination. The aged millet, Shennong Huangdi, is bitter and non-toxic, treats spleen heat and thirst, and millet nourishes kidney qi. Among them, "nourishing kidney qi" refers to improving kidney function, and "quenching thirst" refers to lowering blood sugar.

Can millet really lower blood sugar?

According to the introduction, through the experiment, it was first found that after eating millet porridge, the blood sugar peak was the highest and lasted the longest, indicating that millet porridge has the greatest stimulation on blood sugar and the highest glycemic index, while millet rice is the opposite. It was further found that eating millet rice and (3:1) millet cakes had less stimulation on pancreatic β-cells, that is, less insulin was needed to maintain blood sugar stability.

Therefore, the team conducted an intervention experiment on people with impaired glucose regulation, asking them to consume 50 grams of millet-based foods every day for 6-12 weeks. From blood sugar and other data, it can be seen that consuming 50 grams of millet-based foods every day for 6-12 weeks can show a blood sugar-lowering effect.

Shen Qun explained that millet diet may lower blood sugar by increasing leptin levels and controlling appetite, and enhance insulin function by reducing the body's inflammatory state, thereby exerting its blood sugar lowering effect; millet diet can further improve the renal function of patients with impaired glucose tolerance to a certain extent, which to a certain extent explains the "main function of nourishing kidney qi"; millet diet intervention can significantly improve the intestinal microbial composition and relative abundance of subjects.

What specific ingredients are responsible for the blood sugar lowering effect?

Based on a series of experimental studies, Shen Qun's team proved that millet protein may be an important substance in millet's hypoglycemic effect. Specifically, the isolated protein - alcohol-soluble protein - the component <3kDa in the hydrolysate - three peptides QQLRPF, KTGSGAEGMHGGK, and KAHAALGAK, all of which can inhibit the activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase.

"Finally, we found the molecular mechanism of millet in lowering blood sugar. Therefore, I often recommend that people around me who need to lower blood sugar should eat some millet appropriately, and try to eat millet rice instead of millet porridge." said Professor Shen Qun.

This article was scientifically reviewed by Shen Qun, professor at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University, with contributions from Qiao Jingfang of the Whole Grain Channel of the People's Daily Health Client.