Fonio: a food for diabetics

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Extract from the article: Fonio is easy to digest and is often recommended for diabetics and the elderly, thanks to its low glycaemic index. According to Malian dietician and nutritionist Ibrahim Cissoko, fonio is a gluten-free cereal, so it is absorbed slowly by the body an

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Fonio is easy to digest and is often recommended for diabetics and the elderly, thanks to its low glycaemic index.  According to Malian dietician and nutritionist Ibrahim Cissoko, fonio is a gluten-free cereal, so it is absorbed slowly by the body and does not cause spikes in blood sugar levels.  Fonio is 92% carbohydrates (slow sugars), rich in iron, zinc, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, vegetable proteins and dietary fibre. It is a good source of thiamine and riboflavin, vitamins that play an important role in energy metabolism and normal nerve function, and contribute to a healthy cardiovascular system and cell growth.

According to laboratory research carried out by Dr Djibril Traoré, a nutritionist and researcher at the Dakar Institute of Food Technology, and his team, fonio can help in the treatment of diabetes. « Fonio contains, among other things, sulphuric acids that concentrate insulin, a hormone that diabetics lack. This plant is also rich in chromium, which activates insulin in the human body. Research carried out on rodents has shown good results, including a reduction in several aspects of diabetes and obesity-related complications.Its beta-glucan concentration also controls glucose and has immune-boosting properties », he said .

This is also reiterated by Stéphane Besançon, a French nutritionist, who states that fonio is not an anti-diabetic food and cannot be used to treat diabetes. « On the other hand, in the diet of diabetic patients, it has some interesting characteristics compared with other cereals such as rice. Its low fast sugar content and high starch content mean that fonio has a lower glycaemic index (the impact of a food on raising blood sugar levels) than rice, maize or sorghum. Eating fonio often, while not neglecting other types of food and medical supervision, is beneficial for diabetics and, beyond that, for everyone », he insists.

Recommendations

Stephane Besançon recommends eating fonio as a way of reinforcing cereal diversification while increasing consumption of cereals (millet, sorghum), which have a positive impact on health.  However, fonio, like other cereals, should not be eaten more than 50% of the daily calorie intake, i.e. around 300g a day.  The composition of the sauce that accompanies the cereal is very important for maintaining its health benefits.These sauces should contain plenty of vegetables, little sugar, salt and fat. Finally, increasing the consumption of traditional local cereals, which are better adapted to the climates of the countries in which they are produced, will have a positive impact on the environment and will often require fewer chemical inputs, thereby reducing the contamination of cereals placed on the market for consumers.

William O.