Eating too much rice, the carbohydrates in it will be converted into glucose, which can easily raise blood sugar; eating too little or not at all leads to insufficient carbohydrate intake, a decrease in insulin function, and can also cause abnormal blood sugar levels.
Rice, a staple on every family's table, poses a dilemma for diabetes patients. Eating too much, the carbohydrates in rice are converted into glucose, easily raising blood sugar; eating too little or not at all leads to insufficient carbohydrate intake, a decrease in insulin function, and can also cause abnormal blood sugar levels. To address this, Gao Shan, Director of the Endocrinology Department at the Jingxi Hospital of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, offers a tip: add some "ingredients" to your rice.
Add some vegetables: Here, vegetables don't refer to leafy greens, but to things like peas, diced carrots, and chunks of white radish. These vegetables provide vitamins, carotenoids, B vitamins, and minerals, which can help delay the onset of complications. For example, carotenoids can improve the symptoms of眼底 (fundus) complications, and the antioxidant components they contain are beneficial for recovery.
Add some legumes: According to personal taste, you can add red beans, mung beans, black beans, or kidney beans to your rice. On one hand, legumes are rich in dietary fiber. The starch in them is digested very slowly, and they also contain some components that slow down the conversion of starch into glucose, which helps with blood sugar control.
Add some whole grains: Whole grains like brown rice, barley, corn, and oats are rich in fiber, which can effectively slow down the digestion of rice, preventing it from being absorbed too quickly. This avoids a situation where blood sugar rises before insulin has had a chance to act.
Eating congee is not as good as eating soaked rice: Of the two cooking methods for rice—fried rice and congee—Director Gao advises diabetes patients to eat them as little as possible. The longer congee is cooked, the thicker it becomes. The plant cell walls of the rice are broken down, making it easily and quickly absorbed by the patient, which in turn can cause blood sugar to rise. If you want something "soupy," you might learn from the people of Shanghai and eat rice soaked in plain boiled water.
As for fried rice, especially sausage fried rice, the excessive fat not only increases the total calories of the food but also prolongs the duration of high blood sugar. For example, after a normal meal, blood sugar rises and then returns to normal after 1-2 hours. However, rice containing fat can extend this high blood sugar period to 3-4 hours. Even if you don't eat much, it can worsen the symptoms of the disease.