Is it possible to pumpkin seeds in diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder that results from the body’s inability to properly use and produce insulin, a hormone that helps regulate sugar, starches, and other substances used by the body for energy. This is the most common form of diabetes, accounting for between 90 and 95 percent of all cases. Type 2 diabetes is close to epidemic proportions worldwide due to the high prevalence of obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.

Patients with diabetes should follow a diet to normalize sugar levels, as well as reduce the risk of hyperglycemia. Diet is one of the most important factors in managing diabetes. Patients should carefully follow the recommendations of doctors, and monitor the quality and quantity of food taken, while remembering the importance of the glycemic index (GI). Their daily diet should consist of products with a low GI.

Very often, when recommending approved products for dieting, endocrinologists forget about such a useful product as pumpkin seeds. This is an excellent tool for normalizing glucose levels and preventing diabetes.

Gi pumpkin seeds

The glycemic index shows how quickly and highly this or that food will raise the level of sugar. Diabetes planning for people with diabetes includes choosing foods that have low or medium GI.

Foods with high GI values ​​are those that quickly decompose into glucose. Typical examples of high GI foods are: white bread, sweetened beverages, biscuits, potatoes and oranges. Products with low GI values ​​are those that break down more slowly over time. Typical examples of these are: whole grain bread, milk, beans, leafy vegetables and berries.

The increase in GI is significantly affected by the heat treatment of products. This can be seen in the example of fruit or carrots. Raw carrots have an indicator of GI 33, and boiled - 86. If you make juice from fruits with a small GI, then the indicator of GI will increase dramatically, as the fiber is removed from the juice, which is responsible for the even and slow glucose supply.The lower the GI, the less food causes blood sugar jumps.

In order not to get lost in permissible indicators of GI, there is its classification:

• 50 or less - low;
• 51-69 - medium;
• from 70 - high.

To diversify food, twice a week it is allowed to supplement the menu with products with an average GI. You also need to pay special attention to the caloric intake of consumed foods. It is desirable to exclude from the menu fatty foods that adversely affect the state of the liver, and lead to weight gain, which is unacceptable for diabetics.

Any seeds - a product with a high content of calories, but with a low rate of GI. Due to this, their daily use is allowed, only in small quantities. The calorie content of pumpkin seeds is 556 kcal, and GI is only 25.

Beneficial features

For diabetics, pumpkin seeds are beneficial in that they, due to their high fiber content, help to normalize sugar levels. Studies have shown that drinking pumpkin seeds can help prevent further development of diabetes and its complications.

Pumpkin seeds are no less useful for maintaining healthy nutrients than in the pumpkin itself. This is a very important fact for patients with diabetes, as due to the high value of GI, the consumption of pumpkin in them is limited.

Pumpkin seeds are rich in:

• carotene;
• vitamin PP;
• iron;
• vitamin E;
• zinc;
• manganese;
• B vitamins;
• phosphorus;
• copper;
• polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The answer to the question of whether pumpkin seeds are allowed for diabetics can only be in the affirmative. The main thing - you need to remember about the high caloric content of this product, and use it in small quantities.

Pumpkin seeds contain antioxidants, such as carotenoids and vitamin E, which act on free radicals and can help reduce inflammation in the body. Pumpkin seeds are ideal for postmenopausal women because they contain natural phytoestrogens, which cause an increase in good cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and reduce hot flashes.

Eating pumpkin seeds prevents the enlargement and inflammation of the prostate gland.In the Balkan countries, where many pumpkin seeds are consumed, prostate disease is extremely rare. Pumpkin seeds are also sometimes used to produce ready-made medicines for the treatment of common prostate diseases.

Recent studies have shown that trace elements contained in the seeds are useful for heart disease. Effective antioxidant vitamin E helps to strengthen and rejuvenate the entire body. Pumpkin seeds - an excellent anthelmintic agent.

Note! To preserve the beneficial properties of the seeds and not destroy the vitamins, they need to be consumed raw. With any heat treatment all the useful substances are destroyed.

In traditional medicine, you can find many recipes that, along with conservative treatment, promise to help with type 2 diabetes. The most effective ones will be discussed below.

Pumpkin Seed Treatment

Diabetes mellitus negatively affects many organs and body functions. Most often kidneys suffer from it. In order to prevent the occurrence of this problem, traditional medicine offers to prepare a tool from pumpkin seeds.This will help not only to eliminate toxins and slags from the body, but also protect and improve the functioning of the kidneys.

For the preparation of funds will need peeled pumpkin seeds, which need to be crushed to a powder and pour a glass of boiling water not too steep. This decoction is infused for an hour. After complete cooling, it is filtered, take a glass in the morning and evening. To prepare a daily portion of broth, you need to take 500 ml of water and 65 g of ground pumpkin seeds.

Atherosclerosis is also a concomitant disease of diabetics. In large blood vessels, cholesterol is deposited, it forms a cholesterol plaque. This is due to impaired lipid and fat metabolism in the body. Herbal infusion with pumpkin seeds can help prevent this disease. For its preparation will require:

• 10 g pumpkin seeds;
• 10 g dry leaves of lingonberry;
• 10 g dry raspberry leaves;
• 10 g dry herb oregano;
• 10 g dry leaves of Badana;
• water.

Only a handful of pumpkin seeds, consumed regularly for one month, will restore the disturbed balance of minerals, as well as improve the appearance of hair, skin, internal organs, and general well-being. Even the early stages of baldness can recede under the beneficial effects of the complex of vitamins A, C and K contained in pumpkin seeds.

Together with hemp seeds, 85 g pumpkin seeds and 85 g flax seeds, pounded in a mortar, give excellent results from pain in the kidneys, as well as liver. The long-term consumption of pumpkin seeds in food reduces overweight in people with obesity.

General recommendations

Pumpkin seeds should be included in our diet as soon as possible, because they supply the body with a number of trace elements and vitamins.

1. They are recommended especially for people who want to support the processes preventing atherosclerosis, because in view of the content of phytosterols they are important for the prevention of this disease.
2. In addition, they contain phytoestrogens, which are especially useful for women during menopause, to reduce hot flashes, headaches and cramps.
3. Due to the high content of healthy fats, fiber and antioxidants, they are recommended for anyone who is struggling with heart disease.
4. Pumpkin seeds are recommended for people who care about the proper functioning of the nervous system, because they help in the production of chemical compounds occurring in the brain.
5. Their regular use should also be remembered by people who want to control insulin, as well as reduce oxidative stress. Thanks to this, it is possible to support the prevention of complications associated with diabetes. Proteins contained in pumpkin seeds stabilize sugar levels.
6. Pumpkin seeds will also be very useful for people who want to strengthen the work of their immune system, as well as reduce the risk of viral infections.
7. Due to their high iron content, they are also recommended for people who are struggling with anemia.

Of course, in addition to the use for medicinal purposes, pumpkin seeds can also be successfully used in culinary art. They will give a special taste to yogurt or salads.They are also very tasty as an addition to bread or cake.

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