Why Indians Abroad Are Switching to Millets (And You Should Too)?

Why Are Indians Abroad Bringing Millets Back Into Their Diet?

We are often sorted out in our eating routine in India—fresh, balanced, homemade breakfast, a proper lunch with veggies, carbs, fibre, protein, and a light dinner. But once Indians settle abroad, everything changes. Food habits shift because we are always rushing to work and adjusting to a new environment.

We start choosing ready-to-eat bread aisles, cereals, frozen meals, and ready-to-cook items. With long commutes, grabbing a small burger outside feels easier, and cooking fresh meals becomes less frequent. Slowly, late-night cravings become more common, along with the stress of living away from family.

We begin experiencing weight gain, gas, bloating, and feeling hungry even after heavy meals, which leads to underlying health issues. Many of us believe healthy eating abroad is expensive, quinoa, organic foods, gluten-free bread, and similar items cost more.

But we often forget that Indian foods can easily replace these expensive options, especially millets. Millets are traditional, nutrient-rich, easy to cook, great for digestion, and helpful for weight management. They can replace rice, oats, bread, and more.

You don’t need to rely on costly healthy foods when affordable millets are available, and you can source them from top Indian brands or local shops delivered to your doorstep.
It’s great you’re planning to prioritise your health, read on to know 5 Reasons to Have Millets in Your Diet.

5 Reasons to Have Millet Seeds in Your Daily Routine:



REASON 1: The “Indian Abroad” Diet Is Silently Harming You

Every time you grab a small burger, pasta, sandwiches for lunch, pasta for dinner, or even a frozen roti, have you ever paused for a minute and thought: Is this food causing some disturbance to my health and lifestyle? Why doesn’t my body feel as energetic and happy as before?

This happens because you’re frequently consuming food that is low in fibre, which leads to bloating, irregular bowel movements, acid reflux, and more. You’re also eating foods with hidden sugars and processed carbs that spike your blood sugar levels. 

Incorporating millets into your diet helps you naturally eat more fibre-rich food. They improve digestion, and millets like browntop millet even have prebiotic properties.

Millets keep you full for a longer time because they are slow-release carbs. This isn’t a major lifestyle shift, you’re simply replacing rice or wheat with a better alternative in your daily routine.

REASON 2: They Fix the 3 Most Common NRI Health Problems

Here are the three most common health problems millets fix:

Weight gain: One of the most common health problems Indians abroad complain about is unexpected weight gain. We might have experienced it ourselves, gaining 10 kgs or more in just a few months abroad. Even when eating the same quantity, the food we choose matters a lot. We experience fat mostly around the tummy area.

Early Signs of Prediabetes: The major shift in food habits, mostly shifting to pasta, burgers, pizzas, and more, has high GI and hidden sugars in it, which leads to pre-diabetes.

Digestion Issues: Another frequent health problem complained about by Indians abroad is digestion issues like gas, bloating, acidity, constipation, and a constant feeling of heaviness and major gut issues. These are often caused by eating low-fibre, high-carb foods.

Now that you’re silently experiencing one of these health issues, you have to know millets have a low glycemic index, as they release sugar slowly into your blood, which helps prevent sudden blood glucose spikes, making them a great option for diabetes prevention.

Millets are also gut-friendly as they improve healthy gut bacteria, which reduces all of the above health issues. Millets are also rich in minerals like iron, magnesium, and calcium that support the overall health of an individual.

Comparison Table Between Rice, Wheat, and Millets:

REASON 3: They Fit Both Indian & Western Meals Perfectly

Indians abroad often follow a hybrid diet, including both Indian and Western dishes. They prefer Indian food for breakfast, Western options for lunch, and a mix of both for dinner. 

Millets like foxtail millet, finger millet, pearl millet, sorghum, little millet, kodo millet, barnyard millet, and proso millet go well with both Indian and Western dishes, making them a versatile choice for all styles of food.

1. You can cook millet dishes like dosa, idli, upma, pongal, khichdi, and even millet rotis using different types of millets.

2. These millets also go well with Western cuisines like salads, grain bowls, pancakes, smoothies, and porridge.

You can choose one millet of your choice and taste, and it works great for every dish.

REASON 4: Clean Eating Abroad Is Expensive — Millets Make It Affordable

One of the biggest challenges Indians abroad face is when they want to transition to healthy food habits. In countries like the US and UK, nutritious foods like quinoa, gluten-free bread, organic oats, chia seeds, and protein-rich foods are often a costly affair. Even though they wish to follow a clean and balanced diet, these types of foods always demotivate with their costly nature.

And we give up and continue with our old way of eating unhealthy food. Millet benefits help solve this problem very easily. Millets provide equal or even better nutrition and are affordable compared to so-called “superfoods.” They are rich in fibre, protein, slow carbs, minerals, and more

The fact is, millets are available from top Indian brands and local farmer shops, and these are delivered to your doorstep wherever you are in countries like the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and 40+ other countries through many legitimate platforms like Dista.

REASON 5: They Help Indian Parents Abroad Raise Healthier Kids

Indian kids abroad are usually attracted to tasty cereals, nuggets, fried chicken, fries, pastas, pizzas, and bread-heavy meals, as they feel convenient and more tasty, as these foods are high in carbs, sugars, and salts.

It’s always a big task for Indian parents to convince their kids to eat healthy. What if foods that they like are prepared with healthy millet flour? Millet pizza, millet bread, and more. You can make traditional millet recipes for breakfast like dosa, idli, and upma, and Western foods like pancakes too. It is your effort to make the best nutritious food for your kids.

Millets are naturally rich in minerals, which support bone development, improve focus, and help them get used to choosing healthier options. This also helps Indian kids stay connected to their roots and Indian food culture.

Wrapping Up

Millets are the smartest and simplest way to include in your daily routine. They are affordable, easy to cook, and rich in nutrients. If you’re planning to stay healthy and fit, it is always affordable and best to include these in your diet.

And thinking about how to source the best kind of millets? Yes, this can be the obvious question. They are available in the country you stay in through direct doorstep delivery from platforms like Dista. And your healthy routine is now fixed at an affordable price and with convenient delivery options.