Lantern Festival! Five Tips for a Healthy Celebration
[Introduction] The Lantern Festival is approaching, and major supermarkets are starting to display various kinds of tangyuan (sweet rice balls). When it comes to eating tangyuan and yuanxiao (another type of sweet rice ball), people often think of their difficult-to-digest nature. During this festive season, how can we enjoy the celebrations and the delicious food while taking care of our health?
Tangyuan are refined staple foods
Simply put, tangyuan and yuanxiao are foods mainly made of glutinous rice and sugar. Besides the large amount of starch in refined glutinous rice flour, the fillings also contain a considerable amount of sugar. Therefore, from a nutritional classification, they should be considered a staple food. A staple food is one rich in carbohydrates, especially starch. These foods are made with glutinous rice, and it's very finely milled glutinous rice flour, with very, very little fiber, making them a refined staple food, not a whole grain.
Tip 1: If you eat tangyuan or yuanxiao, be sure to reduce the amount of other staple foods accordingly. Generally, the amount of glutinous rice flour in 3 yuanxiao is equivalent to the amount of rice in 1 liang (50 grams) of cooked rice.
Tangyuan are high in fat
The fillings of tangyuan and yuanxiao contain not just sugar, but also a significant amount of solid fat. Rice and steamed buns have almost no fat, but tangyuan are different. The fat in the filling can even be more than the sugar. Traditionally, lard is used for tangyuan fillings. In the south, lard and meat are used for savory tangyuan, while lard and various nuts are used for sweet ones. Later, products using butter were developed, but from the perspective of saturated fat, the content is even higher than in lard. In recent years, the new trend is to use vegetable cream, or hydrogenated vegetable oil products, to replace butter and lard. However, the health impact of these products is much worse than that of lard and butter. Ingredients like sesame seeds, peanuts, nuts, and chocolate are all high in fat. Combined with the oil used in the filling, the total amount can be quite considerable. Currently, large-fill tangyuan are becoming more popular than small-fill yuanxiao, and the amount of solid fat in tangyuan fillings is greater than the traditional bean paste, hawthorn, or mixed nut fillings from northern China. In one tangyuan, about one-third to one-half can be fat. Eating 3 tangyuan is equivalent to consuming the oil from a plate of stir-fried vegetables.
Tip 2: If you eat tangyuan, be sure to eat less oil during that meal or that day. Otherwise, excessive fat and calories are unavoidable.
Chocolate fillings have low nutritional value
Some fillings do have good ingredients, such as sesame seeds, peanuts, and various nuts, as well as bean paste. Nut ingredients have high nutritional value, and bean paste also contains a fair amount of protein and minerals. In comparison, chocolate fillings have the lowest nutritional value. They likely contain cocoa butter substitutes and chocolate-flavored flavorings. So-called "cream" fillings have a similar problem. As for savory meat fillings, they contain even more fat and have little to offer nutritionally.
Tip 3: Prioritize tangyuan with fillings like nuts, sesame seeds, and bean paste.
Yuanxiao are harder to digest than tangyuan
Yuanxiao and tangyuan are slightly different. Yuanxiao are made by rolling a filling in dry glutinous rice flour, resulting in a smaller filling and more coating. When cooked, they are dense and can easily have a hard center. Tangyuan, on the other hand, are made with a wet dough from scalded glutinous rice, usually with a larger filling, and are soft and delicate when cooked. Glutinous rice flour is already sticky and hard to digest. From the perspective of starch digestion, yuanxiao are a bit harder to digest than tangyuan. However, for people who have difficulty digesting fat, tangyuan can be more troublesome.
Tip 4: If you eat tangyuan, it's best to eat them hot, as they are harder to digest when cold. Tangyuan are soft, so eat them slowly to avoid burning your mouth and to prevent the high fat content from being difficult to digest. When eating yuanxiao, chew them carefully to avoid an upset stomach.
Sugar-free tangyuan are not "sugar-free"
Many diabetics are interested in sugar-free tangyuan, thinking they can eat them without worry. In fact, sugar-free does not mean low-calorie, nor does it mean a low blood sugar response. The glutinous rice flour in tangyuan can raise blood sugar quickly, even faster than honey, and is almost on par with white sugar. Even without added sugar, eating them is still not conducive to blood sugar control, so diabetics must be very cautious. Furthermore, no sugar does not mean less oil. All that saturated fat, and even trans fat, is not good for controlling blood lipids either.
Tip 5: If you are concerned about the sugar and oil, the best thing to do is simply eat less. Don't blindly trust so-called "sugar-free" products. During the wonderful festival, just eating two or three tangyuan as a gesture is enough. To control blood sugar and blood lipids, it's a good idea to pair them with low-fat, high-fiber foods. Legumes, vegetables, and fungi and algae are all excellent choices.