In the diet management of diabetes, many diabetics often question whether they can eat nuts. Let’s talk about this in detail today. Nuts, which are a kind of nutritious food, are common almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts, peanuts, etc. They contain high-quality plant proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, dietary fibres, vitamins and minerals. Unsaturated fatty acid helps to reduce cholesterol levels and benefits cardiovascular health; dietary fibres increase abdominal saturation and slow food digestion in the gastrointestinal tract, thus facilitating blood sugar control. In these respects, nuts have some benefits for diabetes patients.
However, nuts are also high-heat food. Owing to their relatively high fat content, over-eating can easily lead to caloric intake exceeding the standard, leading to increased body weight. Insulin resistance is exacerbated and blood sugar is more difficult to control for diabetes patients. So, for diabetics to eat nuts, you have to master a “method” that is, a proper diet.
So, what’s appropriate? In general, it is more appropriate to eat a small set of nuts per day (about 10-15 almonds or 2-3 walnuts, etc.). There are also little tricks in the selection of nuts. To the extent possible, raw nuts are selected to avoid those processed with salt, sugar, etc., as additional salt and sugar additions increase the risk of hypertension and high blood sugar. For example, saline nuts contain more sodium salt, and overingestion of sodium salt is not conducive to the control of blood pressure in diabetes patients; sugary nuts cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, with a greater impact on blood sugar stability.
Diabetes are also involved in the time spent eating nuts. It would be preferable not to eat immediately after the meal, since at this point a certain amount of food is already consumed in itself, and then the consumption of nuts makes it easier to consume too much heat. The option is to eat between meals as an extra meal, so as to supplement nutrition without excessive fluctuations in blood sugar. For example, at around 10 a.m. or 3-4 p.m., when there is a feeling of hunger, eating a small pair of nuts can both alleviate hunger and avoid eating too much for the next meal.
Diabetes patients are able to eat nuts, subject to the principles of proper quantity, choice of original taste, rational timing and enhanced blood sugar monitoring. With these, nuts can be a useful supplement to the healthy diet of people with diabetes, providing multiple nutrients to the body without adversely affecting blood sugar control.
