The more you eat, the higher your blood sugar level? Beware of these "pseudo-whole grains"

In recent years, as the concept of healthy eating has become more popular, the appearance rate of coarse grains on the table has been increasing.

"Eating more whole grains is good for the body, especially for diabetics. It will not raise blood sugar!" Do you think so too? Stop your impulse order! Not all whole grains are "effective". Some "whole grains" may even make blood sugar more unstable!

How to define whole grains?

In simple terms, whole grains are a general term for grains other than refined rice and refined white flour. Whole grains are less processed and can maintain their natural and complete form.

From the perspective of nutritional content, whole grains are rich in insoluble dietary fiber, which helps to ensure the normal functioning of the digestive system and can also reduce the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In addition, whole grains also retain a relatively high amount of B vitamins and minerals.

Eating these whole grains makes blood sugar more unstable

1

Whole grains with a glutinous taste

The biggest difference between coarse and fine grains is the starch content. Starch is divided into two types: amylose, which decomposes slowly, and amylopectin, which is easier to digest and decompose. Coarse grains generally contain more amylose, which has a relatively small impact on blood sugar. However, foods with a glutinous texture, such as glutinous corn and black glutinous rice, contain more amylopectin, which is easier to digest and decompose, resulting in a relatively faster rise in blood sugar.

2

“Refined” whole grains

Whole grains are rich in insoluble dietary fiber and have a rough taste. In order to pursue a better taste, many people will "refine" the whole grains, such as cooking the whole grain porridge for a longer time, puffing the whole grains, or beating them into powder and adding water to brew for consumption. In the process of "refining", many nutrients in the whole grains will be destroyed, and the starch in the whole grains will also gelatinize and swell, greatly increasing the digestion speed, which is not conducive to the stability of blood sugar.

These whole grains are actually "fake" whole grains

1

Whole grains with the wrong ingredients

Since real whole-wheat foods have a rough texture and taste, some of the popular breads/steamed buns, cereals, biscuits, etc. on the market that are labeled "whole wheat" may actually contain very little coarse grains, or have added a lot of sugar, oil and other ingredients to reduce the taste discomfort, which not only causes blood sugar to rise quickly, but also makes it easy to gain weight.

When choosing whole grain products, be sure to check the ingredient list and try to choose foods with whole wheat or whole grains listed first , and also choose versions with less oil and sugar.

2

European bread with fillings, etc.

The recently popular European bread is actually a kind of bread made from whole grain flour, mainly including brown rice flour, whole wheat flour, oatmeal flour, etc., which is healthy and nutritious. However, in order to adapt to people's tastes, most of the European bread on the market now has stuffing, such as cheese, purple rice, sesame and white sugar. The crust of this kind of European bread is indeed whole grain, but the stuffing is not , and because it contains sugar filling, the overall calorie content of the European bread increases, and it is not possible to control blood sugar and calories well.

3

The “coarse grains” in milk tea

Oats, barley, red beans, taro balls, these milk tea ingredients, at first glance, are they healthy? But it should be noted that milk tea ingredients are not just boiled. In the production process, a large amount of sugar or syrup is usually added to adjust the taste, which can be called a calorie bomb.

Eating real whole grains can stabilize blood sugar

1

Whole grains

Oats, buckwheat, sorghum rice, etc. that retain the endosperm, germ, bran, etc. of the entire grain.

2

Miscellaneous beans

A general term for beans other than soybeans. It is rich in fiber and is also a low glycemic index (GI) food.

3

Grains that are simply ground and pressed

There is a small amount of loss during the processing, and the basic structure is similar to that of complete coarse grains.

References

[1] Lin Nan. Eating whole grains correctly to safely control blood sugar[J]. New World of Diabetes, 2013, (11): 50-51.

[2] Men Lan. Effect of nutrition education on the knowledge, belief and behavior of nutrition and diet in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus[D]. Jilin University, 2013.

[3] Qian Duoduo. Eating whole grains for health[J]. Health Expo, 2019(11):58.

[4] Yu Kang. “Pseudo-coarse grains” increase blood sugar levels quickly[J]. Elderly Education, 2024(4):59.

[5] Yu Yongchao. Is it true that whole grains can “lower blood sugar”? [J]. Science Grand View Garden, 2024(2):46-49.

[6] Scientific consensus on whole grains and health (2021)[J]. Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2021, 55(12): 1383-1386.

Planning and production

Source: Department of Clinical Nutrition, Run Run Shaw Hospital

Author: Wu Jiayi

Editor: He Tong

Proofread by Xu Lai and Lin Lin

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