Elevated blood sugar, can you tell by looking at your feet? There are 3 kinds of foot changes, it may be that blood sugar is 'out of control'

A few days ago, Xiao Jiu received a private message from a fan in the background:

I love pumpkin very much, but I have suffered from type 2 diabetes for more than ten years, and my wife always restricts my intake of vegetables with high sugar content.

But that morning, I ate a bowl of rice and saw that the old pumpkin was golden, soft, glutinous and sweet, very attractive, so I secretly ate a bowl without telling my wife, but I didn’t expect my blood sugar to soar to 14.5mmol/L 2 hours after the meal .

Does Pumpkin Really Raise Blood Sugar? Or is my condition getting worse? But why do I hear others say that pumpkin can lower blood sugar instead?

1. Does eating pumpkin lower blood sugar or raise blood sugar?

Autumn is here, and the pumpkins in this season are the most sweet and soft. Pumpkin can not only be matched with staple food, but also can be fried or made into dessert. However, some friends are always worried that it contains too much sugar, which can cause blood sugar to soar.

Pumpkin is very rich in protein, polysaccharides, pectin, cellulose and trace elements . Not only that, but the protein it contains has a high proportion of immune active protein.

In addition, the polysaccharide component in pumpkin is also an immune enhancer, and these substances can regulate and strengthen the human immune system to a certain extent.

Pumpkin gives people the feeling that it is sweet and waxy, but I don’t know when, there is a saying that "eat pumpkin to lower blood sugar". Can pumpkin really lower blood sugar? In fact, the statement that "pumpkin lowers blood sugar" is a misunderstanding of the research .

A mouse model study found that by feeding pumpkin polysaccharides, the blood sugar of mice was reduced.

But please pay attention to two details: first, the experiment was carried out on mice, which does not mean that it is equally effective on humans; second, the purified pumpkin polysaccharide was used in the study instead of eating pumpkin directly. Therefore, the conclusion that "pumpkin lowers blood sugar" cannot be hastily drawn.

Although "pumpkin polysaccharide" has been shown to regulate blood sugar in animal experiments, the sugar and calories contained in pumpkin itself are not low.

The glycemic index of pumpkin is 75, which is twice that of grapes, apples and other fruits, and belongs to high glycemic index food. Therefore, for diabetic patients, if they eat a lot of pumpkins, and the staple food is not reduced, blood sugar is likely to rise .

It is recommended that sugar lovers should pay attention to the amount of pumpkin they eat, and try to choose tender pumpkins with high water content, low sugar content, and more vitamins .

2. There are 3 kinds of abnormalities on the feet, or the blood sugar is out of control

Diabetes is a metabolic disease with typical clinical manifestations of polyuria, polyphagia, polydipsia, and weight loss. In addition, there is another complication of diabetes that is very harmful to the health of patients, that is, diabetic foot.

Diabetic foot is a lesion in which the foot or lower extremity tissues of diabetic patients are destroyed due to factors such as diabetic vascular disease or neuropathy and infection. The incidence of this complication is not low, accounting for 20%-30% of diabetic patients .

How to judge whether you have diabetic foot, generally have these symptoms:

1. Purple skin on feet

Due to poor blood circulation and slow blood flow, when the color of the blood penetrates the skin, it will appear purple on the skin of the feet.

2. Intermittent claudication

Due to insufficient blood supply to the feet, the patient feels weak when walking, and intermittent claudication will occur.

3. Joint deformation

Excessive blood sugar for a long time is prone to foot neurological lesions, and the patient's muscles and bones will change, eventually causing joint deformation.

Once suffering from diabetic foot, the patient's daily activities are severely hindered, and the quality of life is also reduced. In severe cases, the patient may even face the risk of amputation . Therefore, more attention should be paid to diabetic patients with a course of more than 10 years, diabetic peripheral vascular disease, diabetic nephropathy, or long-term smoking.

3. Rice, noodles or steamed buns, which one is easier to raise blood sugar?

Rice, noodles, and steamed buns are all staple foods that Chinese people like very much, but these foods all contain high sugar content. So, which one is more likely to raise blood sugar?

Just ordinary steamed buns (GI is 88), rice (GI is 83) and noodles (GI is 55), then the GI value (glycemic index) of noodles is the lowest. But different cooking methods will also affect the rate of sugar rise .

For example, the calories and GI value of fried noodles will be several times higher than that of a bowl of ordinary rice. Therefore, for steamed buns, noodles, and rice, we should not only pay attention to their glycemic index, but also consider their cooking methods and matching ingredients .

In fact, eating the right staple food for diabetes can also stabilize blood sugar and even lower blood sugar. So how should you eat it?

1. Mixing of coarse and fine grains

It is recommended to eat multigrain rice, such as white rice with mung beans, corn, oats, etc., which can effectively complement amino acids and help sugar lovers control sugar.

2. Eat less meat and eat right meat

The traditional eating habits of Chinese residents are still dominated by red meat. It is recommended that the amount of red meat should be reduced to no more than three times a week, and fish, chicken and other white meat should be used instead of red meat as much as possible.

3. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables

Diabetics need to ensure that they consume enough vegetables, but they should pay attention to choosing vegetables with low sugar content, such as bitter gourd, spinach, rape, cabbage, chicken feathers, cucumber, winter melon, eggplant, etc., and choose fruits that can help lower blood sugar, such as Apple, grapefruit, etc.

4. Choose the right oil

Use various vegetable oils in daily cooking, such as rice oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc., and use less animal fats, such as butter and lard.

There are no absolute taboos for diabetics. As long as they eat healthy, they don't have to worry too much about the rapid spike in blood sugar. Moreover, sugar control needs to vary from person to person, as long as the amount is grasped, there is no big problem.

References:

[1] "Is pumpkin a good health product?" People with diabetes should not eat too much pumpkin". People's Daily Online Science Popularization. 2019-09-20

[2] "Three Symptoms Appear on Feet, You Should Be Alert to Diabetic Foot!" ". Medical Endocrinology Channel. 2019-05-29

[3] "These 9 Types of Diabetics Should Be Vigilant, These Symptoms May Be Diabetic Foot". Human Health. 2022-05-27

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