Can I have pumpkin seeds for diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder resulting 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 to generate 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.

Diabetic patients should follow a diet to normalize their sugar levels, as well as reduce the risk of hyperglycemia. Diet is one of the most important factors in diabetes management. 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 foods that have 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 seed

The glycemic index shows how fast and high a particular food will raise sugar levels. Diet Planning for Diabetes Patients includes choosing foods that have a low or medium GI.

High GI foods are those that quickly decompose into glucose. Typical examples of foods that are high in GI are white bread, sweetened drinks, cookies, potatoes, and oranges. Products with low GI values ​​are those that break down more slowly over time. Typical examples 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 fruits or carrots. Raw carrots have a GI of 33, and boiled carrots have 86. If you make juice from fruits with a small GI, then the GI will increase sharply, since fiber will be removed from the juice, which is responsible for the uniform and slow flow of glucose. The lower the GI, the less food causes blood sugar spikes.

In order not to get confused in the acceptable indicators of GI, there is its classification:

• 50 or less is 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 calorie intake of foods. It is advisable to exclude fatty dishes from the menu that adversely affect the condition of the liver, and lead to weight gain, which is unacceptable for diabetics.

Any seeds are a high-calorie product but low 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, due to their high fiber content, they help normalize sugar levels. Studies have shown that eating pumpkin seeds can help prevent the further development of diabetes and its complications.

Pumpkin seeds are no less useful in maintaining healthy substances than in pumpkin itself. This is a very important fact for patients with diabetes mellitus, since due to the high value of GI, eating 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 it is allowed to eat pumpkin seeds for patients with diabetes can only be affirmatively. The main thing is that you need to remember the high calorie 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 women after menopause, because they contain natural phytoestrogens that 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 they consume a lot of pumpkin seeds, prostate disease is extremely rare. Pumpkin seeds are also sometimes used to make ready-made medicines to treat common prostate diseases.

Recent studies have shown that micronutrients in seeds are useful in heart disease. Effective antioxidant vitamin E helps strengthen and rejuvenate the whole body. Pumpkin seeds are an excellent anthelmintic.

Note! In order to preserve the beneficial properties of seeds and not destroy vitamins, they must be consumed raw. With any heat treatment, all beneficial 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 suggests preparing a remedy from pumpkin seeds. This will help not only remove toxins and toxins from the body, but also protect and improve kidney function.

To prepare the product, you will need peeled pumpkin seeds, which you need to grind to a powder state and pour a glass of not too cool boiling water. Such a decoction is infused for an hour. After complete cooling, it is filtered, taken in a glass in the morning and in the evening. To prepare a daily portion of the broth, you need to take 500 ml of water and 65 g of crushed 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. To prepare it you will need:

• 10 g pumpkin seeds;
• 10 g of dry leaves of lingonberry;
• 10 g of dried raspberry leaves;
• 10 g dry oregano grass;
• 10 g of dry leaves of a berry
• 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, the condition of internal organs and overall 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 of pumpkin seeds and 85 g of flax seeds, ground in a mortar, give excellent results from pain in the kidneys, as well as the liver.Long-term use of pumpkin seeds for food helps reduce overweight in obese people.

General recommendations

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

1. They are recommended especially for people who want to support processes that prevent atherosclerosis, because due to 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 flushing, headaches, and seizures.
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 that occur in the brain.
5. Their regular use should also be remembered by people who want to control insulin and also reduce oxidative stress. Thanks to this, the prevention of diabetes-related complications can be supported. Proteins found in pumpkin seeds stabilize sugar levels.
6. Pumpkin seeds will also be very beneficial for people who want to strengthen their immune system and also reduce the risk of viral infections.
7. Due to their high iron content, they are also recommended for people who struggle with anemia.

Of course, in addition to medicinal uses, pumpkin seeds can also be successfully used in the culinary arts. They will give a special flavor to yoghurts or salads. They are also very tasty as an addition to bread or cake.

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