Why should people with diabetes eat walnuts?
People with diabetes are often advised to maintain a healthy lifestyle, with a balanced diet to control symptoms. Nuts, especially walnuts, are considered one of the healthiest foods for sick people.
Low glycemic index
Walnuts have a low glycemic index (GI). For people with diabetes, the addition of foods with a low glycemic index will make blood sugar easier to control because blood sugar will rise slowly after eating, not spike suddenly. In addition, foods with a low glycemic index also help improve lipid metabolism.
Rich in antioxidants
Antioxidants in walnuts include phenolic compounds, luteolin and flavonoids. All of these compounds can prevent atherosclerosis and improve the function of blood vessel walls.
Rich in vitamin E
Vitamin E is an essential vitamin in preventing or delaying the risk of complications related to diabetes such as cardiovascular disease, kidney dysfunction, poor vision …
Fiber
Nuts are a rich source of fiber. A diet high in fiber, especially soluble fiber, will help improve blood sugar, help insulin work more effectively, reduce “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides in people with diabetes.
Does eating walnuts help reduce the risk of diabetes?
To study the effects of walnuts to help people at risk of diabetes control their cholesterol and glycemic index, Dr. David Katz, from the Research Center at Yale University tried it out. experience on 112 people. In that group, there were 31 men and 81 women aged 25-75, all at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
First, the participants were randomly selected to receive dietary advice to limit total caloric intake or eat according to normal habits. After that, a group will eat about 60 grams of walnuts daily.
Researchers evaluate the health of participants in many ways, including measuring height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose …
After analyzing, they revealed that the group that had eaten walnuts had better blood circulation in the blood vessels, regardless of whether the subjects were advised on a calorie-reduction diet or not.
In addition, researchers found that total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol (the fatty components that cause atherosclerosis) were significantly reduced after eating walnuts every day.
The study was published online November 23, 2015 in the journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care.
How to add walnuts to your diet
There are a few ways you can try: mixing walnuts with a salad; Crushed and mixed with fruit, yogurt, oats … to enjoy every day.