Watermelon and Diabetes are Shockingly Compatible
During summer, everyone’s favorite fruit is watermelon. Everyone has watermelon, and here you are, googling if you can eat watermelon or not. The answer is yes, and you can eat it. You need proper guidance on how to eat, when, and What to add.
Just go through this article to know the answers to all your queries.
How can a person with diabetes eat watermelon; when it raises blood glucose?
Like other fruits, watermelon contains carbohydrates. Carbohydrates then get digested and converted into sugar. The more carbohydrate you consume, the more rise in glucose will occur; in other words.
Carbohydrate consumption is directly proportional to sugar level.
So, a patient should keep an eye on his carbs intake.
Fruits have a high GI.
Scores are assigned to every food that ranges from 0-100.
High GI foods = score above 70
Medium GI foods = 56-69
Low GI foods = 1-55
Watermelon has a high GI and won a 72 score, so it raises blood glucose levels quickly.
Ripe apples, mangoes, pineapples, and watermelon have a high GI. Here you will ask a question yourself.
Do You Know, What is GI?
This article is dedicated to helping you.
GI means how quickly a food raises the body’s glucose level.
The rise in glucose levels depends on portion sizes.
Serving size for the patient (Diabetics)
One serving size for a diabetic patient is one cup per day, which contains:
- Calcium = 46g
- Sugar = 9g
- Fiber = 0.6g
- Carbs = 12g
How is the serving mentioned above size suitable for everyone?
A patient should check glucose level; after two hours of eating watermelon, it should not exceed 180mg/dl.
If the glucose level rises to 50 points after eating it, the person should decrease the portion size to half a cup.
Keep in mind
No doubt that watermelon contains natural sugar. Sugar is not solely responsible for raising your blood glucose level. Keep a proper check on the intake of carbohydrates.
Nutrients in Watermelon
Watermelon is much more than just sugar and carbs. It contains beneficial nutrients and vitamins. Let’s have a look:
- Vitamin – C
- Vitamin – A
- Lycopene
- Potassium
- Calcium
- Zinc
- Copper
- Manganese
- Choline
Vitamin – A
- Good for eyesight
- It helps in hair growth
Vitamin – C
- Improves heart health
- Prevent cancer
- Growth and development of body tissue
- Maintenance of the body’s tissue
A study showed that a Vit-C supplement could help lower post-meal blood glucose levels. It also lessens the complication of diabetes.
Manganese
- It helps in the formation of connective tissue
- Plays a role in blood clotting
- Sex hormones
Lycopene
It is an antioxidant. The pigment gives food its color, and lycopene can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
About 68 percent of diabetic patients die due to CHD. And 16 percent die due to stroke. So the goal is to prevent CHD, increasing the survival rate among diabetic patients.
Benefits of Watermelon
Watermelon can help to fight dehydration. It also acts as a detoxifier. It has a large amount of fiber.
Arginine is responsible for boosting the fat-burning process. Watermelon has lycopene that increases arginine levels. So you can get lean muscles with only one cup of watermelon daily.
Does excess intake of fruit cause type 2 diabetes?
Eating any food more excellent than the body needs causes problems. Eating watermelon in excess turns the skin an orange color. Eating watermelon as a part of a healthful diet does not cause diabetes.
Watermelon juice has more sugar than fresh watermelon. Some exciting information is that fresh fruits have more sugar than unripened fruits. Diabetic patients can have juice in 1 cup of per day.
Diabetic-Friendly Watermelon Recipes:
Detox Watermelon Juice
Ingredient
- Chia seeds
- Frozen strawberries
- Honey
- Frozen watermelon
- Lime juice
Soak one tsp of chia seeds in half a cup of water.
As 60 grams of watermelon, 3o grams of frozen blueberries, and three drops of lime juice are in a blender, blend everything, pour into a glass, and squeeze half a lemon in it .now you are done; it is so easy to make.
Low-carb Watermelon Smoothie
Ingredients
- Ice
- Mint
- Low-fat milk
- Watermelon
Add half a cup of watermelon, three leaves of mint, and 250 ml of water into a blender. Blend everything until you get a smooth paste, then add a few ice cubes to the blender. Blend once again, and the smoothie is ready.
Watermelon salad
Ingredients
- Basil
- Blueberries
- Fresh lime
- Mint
- Cucumber
- Watermelon mini and seedless
- Olive oil
- Feta cheese
Cut a small cucumber and 50 g of watermelon into small cubes, and add them to a bowl. Add half a cup of blueberries into a bowl. Cut three leaves of mint and sprinkle on them. Squeeze the juice of the half lemon on the salad, add three drops of olive oil, and finally, add3 oz of feta cheese, and you are ready to eat.
FAQs
How do I know about the calories in watermelon?
Watermelon consists of 92% water. The primary macronutrient found in it is carbohydrates.
There are only 0.6 grams of protein in 100 grams of watermelon, a low protein concentration.
Additionally, because it contains a variety of lipids, it has little saturated fat, no trans fat, and no cholesterol. So it is clear that watermelon does not cause any weight gain.
Watermelon contains only 30 calories per 100 grams.
Watermelon seeds include
- Protein (8%)
- Lipids (17%)
- Fiber (40%)
Citrulline, a non-essential amino acid in the fruit’s flesh, and the rind are particularly abundant in this fruit.
Don’t consume watermelon with these fruits.
Apple, apricot, peach, strawberry, and pomegranate, if taken with watermelon, can cause stomach pain and aches, resulting in digestive problems.
Don’t eat watermelon at night.
At night people don’t engage in any activity due to the acidic property of watermelon. It can cause digestive problems. So the best time to eat watermelon is during a hot summer day.
Can pre-diabetic patients eat watermelon?
Patients can eat every fruit; the difference is only sugar; some fruits have high or low sugar. That is what you have to keep an eye on.
100 g of watermelon contains only 9 g of carbs. By just keeping an eye on carbs intake, patients can enjoy pre-watermelon.
Final Words:
People who consume 20 different foods daily are less susceptible to getting any chronic disease. Diabetic Patients should keep this golden line in their minds and eat watermelon in a balanced way.
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