It's the season to eat pomegranates again, and the pomegranates at this time grow big and red, with a sweet and delicious taste, and the grains are full, and they look like crystal clear rubies in the sun.
It is said that pomegranates are the king of VC among fruits, so every year when the pomegranate is on the market, it is basically sold out.
Many people also like to take pomegranates to give away, choose a few good-looking pomegranates, decorate them with exquisite gift boxes, and a good-looking and delicious gift will do so. But there are also many sugar friends who are worried about whether they can eat pomegranates? Does eating pomegranates raise or lower blood sugar? Let's take a closer look.
1. Does pomegranate raise or lower blood sugar? Can diabetics eat?
Before answering this question, let's first understand what are the nutritional values of pomegranates?
Pomegranate is rich in VC, and also contains vitamin B group, organic acids, protein and other nutrients, in addition, pomegranate is also rich in calcium, phosphorus, potassium and other mineral elements, with many effects.
Studies have found that eating more pomegranates can protect the heart. This is a study published in the Cardiovascular Research Institute of Catalonia, Spain, which shows that pomegranates contain a large amount of polyphenols, which can help prevent and delay endothelial dysfunction, and have a positive impact on protecting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.
The researchers also found that if the arteries are clogged with cholesterol, drinking a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice a day can increase blood flow to the heart by more than a third, which means that pomegranate juice can improve blood circulation.
There is also a study from United Kingdom that also showed that pomegranate has the effect of delaying Alzheimer's disease.
Because pomegranates contain a large amount of polyphenols, it can inhibit the excessive inflammatory response of microglia in the human brain, thereby preventing Alzheimer's disease. Middle-aged and elderly people can eat more pomegranates appropriately, if they don't like to peel and eat one by one, then they can squeeze pomegranates into pomegranate juice and drink pomegranate juice.
However, it should be noted that it is best to drink the squeezed pomegranate juice immediately, because the polyphenols in the pomegranate juice may be destroyed after contact with the air, so in order to avoid this situation, it is better to drink it early.
In fact, pomegranates are full of treasures, pomegranates are rich in nutrients, and pomegranate peels and pomegranate flowers are no exception.
The ancient book "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica" recorded that pomegranate peel can treat long-term diarrhea, and together with granulated sugar, it can also treat diseases such as dysentery and blood in the stool. This is because pomegranate peel contains substances such as tannins, which can form a dense protective layer on the mucosal surface of our intestines, helping the intestines to avoid irritation, thus effectively treating diarrhea, dysentery and other diseases. However, it should be noted that pomegranate peel is a traditional Chinese medicine, and you should not take it blindly, and it is best to take it under the guidance of a doctor.
Pomegranate flowers also have the effect of clearing heat, reducing swelling, stopping bleeding, etc., people who are often prone to fire, or people who have a poor appetite, can try to use pomegranate flowers to salad, there will be unexpected surprises.
Many people don't like to eat the seeds inside when they eat pomegranates and find it troublesome to eat, but doctors suggest that when you eat pomegranates, it's best to chew the seeds.
Because pomegranate seeds are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, as well as iron, selenium and polyphenols, they are good for softening blood vessels and lowering blood cholesterol. However, it is not recommended for the elderly and children to eat pomegranate seeds, because pomegranate seeds are not easy to digest, the intestines of the elderly and children are relatively weak, and the children's esophagus is relatively small, and there is a possibility of choking after eating.
Eating pomegranates has many benefits for the body, but this does not mean that everyone can eat pomegranates blindly, and must eat them in moderation, otherwise it is easy to cause problems such as irritation and sore throat.
So, can diabetics eat pomegranates? Does pomegranate raise or lower blood sugar?
Under normal circumstances, we judge whether diabetics can eat a certain fruit, from the analysis of the sugar content of the fruit, so, is the sugar content of pomegranate high?
The test results show that every 100g of pomegranate contains about 18g of sugar, which can be seen that the sugar content of pomegranate is not low. Doctors suggest that diabetic patients should not eat more pomegranates, and eat at most half a day, otherwise it may cause blood sugar to rise, and it is easy to induce diabetes complications, which is not conducive to blood sugar control.
There are many trace elements in pomegranates, in addition to the calcium, phosphorus, and potassium we just mentioned, pomegranates also contain chromium.
Chromium is very important for diabetics because it supports the metabolism of sugar and fat, and can maintain blood sugar balance.
In the case of stable blood sugar in diabetic patients, diabetic patients can eat pomegranates, but it is not advisable to eat more, it is best not to try not to exceed half, otherwise it will cause blood sugar recurrence.
Note that when diabetics eat pomegranates, don't squeeze the juice, eat them directly!
Although we have mentioned the various benefits of pomegranate juice earlier, pomegranate juice is not suitable for diabetics.
Because after the fruit is freshly squeezed, it will increase the sugar content, increase the glycemic index, make the blood sugar rise sharply, and in severe cases, it will also induce diabetic complications.
Diabetic patients need to pay great attention to their diet, but many diabetics don't know what to do, in fact, it's very simple, just remember the "four musts".
2. Diabetic diet, remember the "four musts"
The four elements are: eat three meals a day, choose a compound type of carbohydrates, eat a variety of foods, and eat light.
Many diabetic patients do not eat three meals regularly, do not eat breakfast if they can't get up in the morning, and don't eat dinner when they are not hungry at night, but this practice is very harmful to the body and is not conducive to blood sugar control.
Diabetic patients must eat a regular diet and eat three meals a day on time, with an interval of about 4-5 hours between meals.
Some diabetic patients have special physical conditions, such as patients who need to inject insulin, patients who are prone to hypoglycemia, these patients need to add additional meals in addition to the three meals a day, and you can choose this additional meal according to your physical condition, 2-3 times. Choosing an extra meal can prevent hypoglycemia.
It should be noted that diabetic patients must chew slowly when eating, because the food after chewing slowly is conducive to digestion and absorption after being fully mixed with saliva.
If diabetic patients are hungry before going to bed, they can choose to eat a small amount of food to prevent low blood sugar in the early morning, but they should not eat too much, otherwise the total amount of food eaten every day is too large, which will make blood sugar easy to rise.
The daily intake of staple food for diabetic patients should not exceed 100g, and do not eat white rice alone, and can eat more coarse grains such as corn and sweet potatoes.
Compared with fine grains, whole grains are richer in dietary fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis and are also good for blood sugar control. Diabetic patients should choose complex carbohydrates in the choice of staple foods, which have the greatest benefits to the body, such as legumes, whole grains, etc.
Because the glycemic index of rice is relatively high, with 87, while other compound staple foods, the glycemic index is not so high, such as the well-known sweet potato, the glycemic index is only 54. Moreover, sweet potatoes are also very low in calories, only 29% of rice, and the dietary fiber content of sweet potatoes is also much more than that of rice, about 2 times.
Diabetics must keep the principle of diversity in mind when choosing their diets! Don't be a picky eater, don't eat meat every day just because you like meat, and don't eat vegetarian food at all.
You can't eat vegetarian every day and don't eat meat just because you like to be vegetarian; Long-term picky eating and picky eating can easily lead to an increase in blood sugar and malnutrition.
Whether it is cereals, vegetables, fruits, legumes, or meat, diabetics should consume them appropriately so that they can meet the nutritional needs of the human body.
If family conditions allow, diabetic patients should eat more foods such as eggs, beef, soy products, vegetables and fruits, and eat marine fish 2-3 times a week. Marine fish is rich in protein and low in fat, making it especially suitable for diabetics.
At the same time, the daily diet of diabetic patients should also be light, with less oil and less salt.
When cooking, many people like to put a lot of oil and salt, and think that the food made by this is delicious, but the food that comes out of this way has a high fat content, which is easy to make people fat, and the accumulation of volume fat after becoming fat is easy to lead to increased cholesterol, which is not good for blood sugar control.
Diabetic patients must have a light diet, and must strictly limit salt intake, and try not to exceed 5g of salt intake per day. If you don't know how much 5g is, you can buy a graduated spoon and use this graduated spoon to dig salt.
Diabetics should also eat more vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, greens, and so on. Don't eat too greasy food, eat less fried and fried foods, and eat less starchy foods that can raise blood sugar, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, taro, etc.
There are also some pastries, cakes, biscuits and other foods that diabetics should also eat less, these foods are not only high in sugar, but also high in starch, which is not good for blood sugar control.
In addition to eating, diabetic patients should also have regular check-ups, take medicine on time, and insist on exercising several times a week, so that they can control their blood sugar well and keep their blood sugar at a stable level.
Diabetic patients can eat half a pomegranate appropriately if their blood sugar is stable, but if their blood sugar is unstable, it is not recommended to eat pomegranates. Pomegranates have a high sugar content, which will still affect blood sugar, so diabetics should not believe in evil and try it easily.
Bibliography:
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