"Aren't sweet potatoes hypoglycemic?" Why did I eat for a few months and my blood sugar level actually increased? ”
The 53-year-old Aunt Zhang was diagnosed with high blood sugar half a year ago, and in order to avoid evolving into diabetes, Aunt Zhang has made a lot of efforts in diet control.
Since seeing in many popular science articles, "Sweet potatoes are coarse grains, and eating more sweet potatoes helps lower blood sugar!" So 2 sweet potatoes a day became a must-have menu for Aunt Zhang, but at the same time, Aunt Zhang still ate 2 bowls of rice every day.
After insisting on this for more than 2 months, Aunt Zhang went to the hospital again for review, and found that her fasting blood sugar was as high as 12mmol/L, not only that, Zhang's weight also grew a lot, which made her very devastated.
Aunt Zhang is very puzzled, sweet potatoes are not "sugar reduction households"? Why does eating sweet potatoes raise blood sugar? Can diabetics eat it?
First, is sweet potato a "big sugar reducer" or a "big sugar increase household"?
It is said that sweet potatoes can reduce sugar, but some people think that "sweet potatoes are so sweet, they must be sugar!" ", so is the sweet potato a blood sugar rise or lower blood sugar?
In this regard, Cheng Zhifeng, director of the Department of Endocrinology of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, said that the reason why sweet potatoes will rise sugar is mainly because from the perspective of glycemic index, the glycemic index of boiled sweet potatoes is 76.7, which is a high-GI food.
The statement about sweet potato sugar reduction is mainly because compared with rice and noodles, it is not only low in carbohydrate content and low calories, but also rich in fiber, pectin, dietary fiber and other components, which can also delay the body's absorption of sugar and fat in food and reduce the rate of blood sugar rise.
In general, eating sweet potatoes in moderation will not increase sugar, but after eating sweet potatoes, don't eat rice anymore, otherwise it is easy to lead to excessive sugar intake, and Aunt Zhang is a good example.
So, can diabetics and people with high blood sugar eat sweet potatoes?
China registered nutrition Teacher Zhihong said: Although sweet potatoes are high in sugar, but sugar does not mean that sugar must be fast, such as apples also contain sugar, but its glycemic index is only 36, because it contains dietary fiber, protein and other components will reduce the rate of blood sugar rise, and sweet potatoes are also rich in dietary fiber and other substances, so sugar friends can eat sweet potatoes.
The reason why some people eat sweet potatoes causes blood sugar to soar is often caused by excessive consumption.
In summary, diabetics can eat sweet potatoes, but after eating sweet potatoes, we must pay attention to reducing the intake of refined white rice noodles, so as to help control sugar.
Second, sweet potato is the "king of anti-cancer", can destroy 98.9% of cancer cells?
In addition to the saying that sweet potatoes lower blood sugar, there are also people who call sweet potatoes the "king of cancer", do sweet potatoes really have so many effects?
In fact, there are many benefits to sweet potatoes, because it is a food with high nutritional value, which is rich in β-carotene, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and antioxidants.
So where does the sweet potato anti-cancer argument come from?
The National Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Japan has published a list of "cancer-suppressing vegetables", in which cooked sweet potatoes occupy the top spot with a cancer incidence inhibition rate of 98.7%.
As a result, the idea of sweet potatoes fighting cancer has also spread. In fact, the source of this list is not accurate, because there is no evidence to indicate that the article came from the National Cancer Institute of Japan.
The occurrence of cancer is often caused by the combination of multiple factors, and healthy eating habits can indeed help prevent cancer, but it does not mean eating a specific food alone.
Sweet potatoes are indeed rich in dietary fiber, and taking a moderate amount of sweet potatoes can help improve constipation, but whether it can prevent bowel cancer is still controversial.
Some of the so-called active substances about sweet potatoes have a positive effect on cancer, and most of them are only at the cellular level and cannot be directly equated with people.
Therefore, I would like to remind everyone that it is not advisable to try to achieve the purpose of treatment simply by eating a certain food, and the consequence of doing so is often to delay the disease, but it may bring more trouble.
Third, what is the reason for wanting to fart after eating sweet potatoes?
Many people always want to fart after eating sweet potatoes, why is this? This is mainly because sweet potatoes contain an airening enzyme, and excessive intake is easy to produce a large amount of CO₂ gas in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in farting, bloating, hiccups and other manifestations.
It is not difficult to reduce the occurrence of this situation, such as eating sweet potatoes to eat less main foods, or treating sweet potatoes as a snack, prolonging the cooking time when cooking, which can destroy gasification enzymes and reduce farting, bloating and other situations.
What should we pay attention to when eating sweet potatoes every day?
- Consume in moderation
What to eat too much is not good, sweet potatoes eat more, not only easy to fart, burp, stomach is also uncomfortable, so pay attention to the amount of control, a maximum of not more than 150g.
- Healthy cooking
Cooking methods are different, determine the nutritional value of sweet potatoes, in general, it is recommended to take the way of steaming, boiling, stewing, less use of deep processing methods such as frying, drawing silk, etc., not only can increase additional oil, sugar, but also lose a certain amount of nutrition.
- Reasonable match
Eating sweet potatoes focuses on collocation, because it lacks protein and lipids, and you can choose vegetables and fruits, high-protein foods to eat together, and the nutrition is more balanced.
- Contraindicated people
For example, people with a bad stomach and intestines, eating on an empty stomach can stimulate a large amount of secretion of stomach acid, causing heartburn, bloating and other discomforts; Patients with stomach ulcers and polyacid chronic gastritis are not recommended to eat it, so as not to aggravate the condition.
Sweet potato eating methods, good taste, and affordable price, but eating sweet potatoes is exquisite, eating the right is good for health, eating wrong may hurt health, so we must master the correct way to eat.
Resources:
[1] Why do people eat sweet potatoes to lose weight, and some people eat sweet potatoes to gain weight? The truth is...". Health Times.2021-10-07
[2] Sweet potatoes, yams, taro... Which one can people who control blood sugar eat? 》. Fan Zhihong_Original Nutrition Information.2018-01-29
[3] "Is eating sweet potatoes gaining weight or losing weight?" Is it a blood sugar rise or a lowering blood sugar? What is the difference with purple potato? Finally clear". Popular Science China.2021-11-30
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