"Flowers bloom year after year, yet the mooncakes change with each season." This saying is a vivid description of this year's Mid-Autumn mooncake market. Although the competition in this year's Mid-Autumn mooncake market is as fierce as ever, there is a difference this year: the expansion of the sugar-free mooncake market. Seeing mooncakes in the supermarket, Xiao Xiao thought, Mid-Autumn is almost here. Being far from home, she really wanted to eat the five-nut mooncakes from her childhood.
A phone call home, and her mom quickly bought five-nut mooncakes from different pastry shops and had someone bring them over. She couldn't wait to take a bite. Although the texture wasn't as good as that from famous pastry shops, the taste of her hometown from childhood was enough for her to savor. Three mooncakes for lunch and an evening snack. While her taste buds and nerves were satisfied, her stomach started to feel uncomfortable, sour as if a belly full of vinegar had been fermented. That's when she saw the note her mom left in the box: "Eat less, your stomach isn't good." Sugar-free mooncakes use sweeteners instead of sucrose.
For elderly people with diabetes, they could only watch their families eat mooncakes. Others got tired of them, but they could only look on with envy. Thus, so-called "sugar-free" mooncakes emerged. How can they be sweet without sugar? That's the work of sweeteners like xylitol. Although replacing sucrose with sweeteners greatly reduces the risk for diabetic patients, don't forget that some fillings themselves contain a large amount of sugar, and the pastry crust contains starch that can be converted into sugar. While you get the sweet taste, it can harm the human liver and nervous system. So, you can't just indulge your taste buds.
Additionally, there are reports that some "sugar-free" mooncakes are just a marketing gimmick, where the sucrose inside is simply replaced with maltose. These mooncakes are also harmful to some people with diabetes.
Now, there are also crystal-clear snow skin mooncakes, made with glutinous rice flour, which are very cute. Some people think that without the greasy, sugary traditional pastry crust, they will be much easier to digest. In reality, glutinous rice is also hard to digest. Plus, it tastes better when frozen, which is even harder on the stomach. Diabetics should be cautious about eating sugar-free mooncakes.
Regardless of the type of mooncake, you shouldn't eat them freely just because they are claimed to be healthy or natural. Especially don't eat them for convenience as a substitute for breakfast or a late-night snack. In the morning, the digestive system is just starting its work, and filling it with something so hard to digest will increase stomach acid and other issues. Eating before bedtime not only leads to weight gain but also forces the digestive system to work overtime.
For diabetic patients, they can eat a small amount of sugar-free mooncakes, such as those made with xylitol, but remember not to overindulge. Also, when eating mooncakes, don't eat greasy meat at the same time to avoid making digestion even more difficult. Try to drink more soup and water. Furthermore, it's best not to eat more than one per day. For people with a weak stomach, it's better to eat them in several portions. Mooncakes are high in oil and sugar.
Patients with stomach ailments, gallbladder diseases, high blood lipids, etc., should not eat too many.
The mooncakes in major pastry shops and supermarkets tempt people with their more exquisite "makeup" and flavors compared to "homemade" mooncakes, but high-end does not equal healthy. A relevant expert said that if you know your stomach is weak, you should still eat fewer mooncakes. Because mooncakes contain a large amount of sugar and oil, as well as various hard-to-digest fillings, all of which can lead to excessive stomach acid secretion. People with stomach problems often experience acid reflux, and sweets can easily worsen this symptom. Besides people with stomach issues, the elderly and children should also eat less, as their digestive functions are either declining or not yet fully developed.
Furthermore, Director Lin reminded people with liver disease to also eat fewer mooncakes. In patients with liver disease, the veins at the bottom of the esophagus or the stomach can become varicose. When eating dry, coarse mooncakes, the gastrointestinal burden is too heavy, which can lead to the danger of ruptured blood vessels and major bleeding. In addition, patients with gallbladder diseases such as cholecystitis and gallstones are the same. The heavy burden on the digestive system increases the risk of acute pancreatitis.
Also, for patients with high blood lipids and high blood pressure, don't be too greedy for meat or yolk-filled mooncakes. These mooncakes are particularly high in fat, which can easily lead to thicker blood, elevated blood pressure, and a burden on the heart.