"Eating pumpkin can lower blood sugar," this saying has been circulating among the people for a long time, leading many diabetic patients to regard pumpkin as a must-have food for every meal, even treating it as a medicine, thinking that the more they eat, the faster their blood sugar will drop. Due to this blind and extreme approach, the blood sugar of these patients not only fails to decrease but actually rises, giving pumpkin a bad reputation. So, what is the actual effect of pumpkin on diabetes?
In the "Compendium of Materia Medica," Li Shizhen placed pumpkin alongside reishi mushroom, stating that it has the effect of "nourishing the center, replenishing liver qi, benefiting heart qi, benefiting lung qi, and benefiting vital qi."
Years of research have shown that pumpkin fruit is rich in nutrients such as citrulline, aspartic acid, trigonelline, adenine, pectin, mannitol, and various vitamins and trace elements like chromium, zinc, and copper, possessing certain health benefits. Recent research has found that pumpkin polysaccharide, extracted from pumpkin, is its main active ingredient for lowering blood sugar. It can significantly lower blood sugar levels in diabetic model mice and also has a certain effect on lowering blood lipids.
Therefore, it is certain that pumpkin contains blood sugar-lowering components. The issue lies in how to consume it scientifically and effectively. Pumpkin is a food with a high Glycemic Index (GI), with a value of 75, which is also the main reason for its criticism. However, diabetic patients should also be aware of another concept: the Glycemic Load (GL)—the product of a food's GI value and its carbohydrate content. This index tells us that when choosing foods, we should also consider the amount of carbohydrates they contain. Depending on the variety and ripeness, pumpkin's sugar content ranges from 3% to 15%. Therefore, although its glycemic index is high, its glycemic load is not. For every 100 grams, it is 2 to 11, whereas the same weight of rice made into rice is 80. This means that 100 grams of pumpkin has an effect on blood sugar equivalent to 10 to 15 grams of rice.
If you choose to include pumpkin in your diet, you can simply reduce a corresponding amount of your staple food. This way, you don't have to worry about causing a spike in blood sugar, you can obtain the beneficial components of pumpkin for your body, and you will also feel fuller. This is a viable option for diabetic patients. However, it is also important to note that while pumpkin is rich in nutrients and has certain therapeutic effects, it can absolutely not replace medication. It can be used as an auxiliary method but should not steal the show.