Why do experts not recommend eating 'rice porridge' for breakfast? Is porridge unhealthy? make it clear to you

Oct 27, 2022

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"Why do you only drink porridge in the morning?"

In the breakfast shop, Auntie Wang met her neighbor, Brother Zhang, who was drinking porridge alone.

"A few days ago, it was found that my blood sugar was a little high, and I had to control my diet. I heard that I can eat some millet porridge for diabetes, so I changed to a bowl of porridge in the morning."

"Really? My blood sugar is also high, but I heard that drinking millet porridge is equivalent to drinking sugar water, and some experts do not recommend eating porridge for breakfast, so I have been afraid to eat it,"

Both of them were puzzled. Millet was considered a coarse grain. Logically speaking, it should help stabilize blood sugar. But porridge is easy to raise blood sugar, so does millet porridge raise blood sugar or lower blood sugar? Why don't experts recommend eating porridge in the morning?

Drinking porridge for health preservation has been passed down for two thousand years. It is recorded in the Book of Zhou that people began to "cook grain into porridge" during the Yellow Emperor period. However, the fineness of ancient porridge was relatively low, similar to today's whole-grain porridge, not white rice porridge. Why? Today's experts don't recommend eating porridge in the morning?

When this controversy was the most controversial, it was a passage from Dr. Zhang Wenhong. He said, "Don't give children junk food. Breakfast should be high in nutrition and protein. Try to eat eggs and milk. It is not recommended to eat porridge in the morning." It is not recommended to eat here. The porridge actually refers to white rice porridge. What's wrong with white rice porridge? Why not eat white rice porridge?

The white rice porridge referred to here is actually porridge made of refined white rice. The main component of this porridge is starch, and its nutritional structure is very simple . The human body provides energy and water, and breakfast should be nutrient-dense.

In addition, after the white rice is boiled with water to make porridge, although it is easier to digest and absorb, it is also converted into blood sugar quickly in the body.

So not many people think that porridge is junk food, the key is to mix it well.

2. Can diabetics drink millet porridge?

Millet is an excellent staple food, and eating millet regularly can help prevent indigestion and improve sleep. Moreover, millet contains substances such as antioxidants, high fiber, and polyphenols, which help control blood sugar levels. According to the results of 21 experiments on millet, long-term consumption of millet can help reduce fasting blood sugar levels.

What about millet porridge? Millet porridge made by stewing is easier to be digested and absorbed by the human body, which is more likely to lead to increased blood sugar.

Does that mean diabetics can't eat millet porridge?

In fact, in the diet of diabetics, it is necessary to avoid some misunderstandings: the GI of food cannot determine the postprandial blood sugar level, and the amount of food consumed and its GI together determine the impact of food or meal on blood sugar.

GI refers to the glycemic index. There is also a GL value here, which is the glycemic load. The calculation formula is equal to the GI of the food × the actual available carbohydrate content of the food/100. Generally, the GL value is greater than or equal to 20, indicating that the influence of blood sugar is large, and between 10 and 20, it means that the blood sugar has little effect.

Take Xiaomi as an example, Xiaomi's GI is 61.5. Millet porridge generally contains 6.25% millet, and the carbohydrate content is 75.1%. We can calculate that the GL of 300 ml of millet porridge is 10.38, which has little effect on blood sugar. If 1000 ml of millet porridge is eaten at one time, the GL value is 34.61, which is far greater than 20, which will have a greater impact on blood sugar.

Therefore, if a diabetic person wants to drink millet porridge, it is not impossible to drink it. The key is to control the amount and drink less.

3. Different people drink porridge, each has its own particular attention

A Harvard study found that eating a small bowl of whole-grain multigrain porridge every day can help reduce the risk of heart disease by 9% and reduce the risk of death by 5%. Through a 14-year follow-up survey of 100,000 people, researchers found that volunteers who regularly ate coarse grains such as brown rice, oatmeal, and corn were better at avoiding heart disease.

The research here refers to coarse grain porridge , so for most people, how should they drink porridge?

Porridge is the staple food, and it is recommended to eat it with some vegetables, as well as high-quality protein-containing foods, fruits, etc., which are more conducive to a balanced and comprehensive diet. In addition, it is recommended not to put sugar, salt, alkali and other substances when cooking porridge. Too much salt and sugar is not good for health, and alkali may destroy the B vitamins in porridge.

If some special groups want to drink porridge, it is recommended to choose a special porridge that suits them.

(1) Third high school patients

For people with three highs such as diabetes, it is best to choose coarse grains and whole grains with a low glycemic index to drink porridge.

② People with weak gastrointestinal function

Some people think that drinking porridge to nourish the stomach is suitable for people with weak gastrointestinal function, but if you only drink porridge for a long time, the gastrointestinal function will not be exercised, which may also lead to poor digestion.

People with weak gastrointestinal function should avoid eating too many mung beans, sweet potatoes and other foods that are rich in dietary fiber and difficult to digest, and try to eat as much yam and millet as possible.

③ Obese patients

For obese people, when cooking porridge, you can put more ingredients that are easy to increase satiety, or ingredients that contain more dietary fiber, such as potatoes, grains, vegetables, etc., are good choices, and sugar should be avoided.

Experts do not recommend that people drink white rice porridge in the morning, mainly because the nutritional value of white rice porridge is low, and it is even worse to eat porridge for three meals a day. It is recommended to eat it with other vegetables, fruits, grains, etc. Different people have different types of porridge, and it is recommended that you choose the porridge that is suitable for your own consumption.

References:

[1] "Zhang Wenhong: Do not eat porridge for breakfast. What's wrong with the porridge? How to eat porridge healthy? 》. Ruan Guangfeng Nutritionist. 2020-04-18

[2] "In addition to improving sleep, regulating the spleen and stomach, millet can also lower blood sugar! ". China Medical Tribune. 2021-08-29

[3] "Porridge nourishes the stomach? Be careful the more you drink the more you hurt! Healthy eating porridge, the key to achieve these 5 points! 》. Popular Science China. 2022-10-02

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