Naturally, cutting back on sugar plays a major role in your diet when you have diabetes. Some food groups are less clear to avoid, but it’s easy to avoid obvious no-gos like cakes and candy. For instance, complex carbohydrates can easily turn into sugar, hence diabetics are normally advised to follow a low-carb diet.
Fruits are another type of sugar source that is typically not classified as such but rather as a group that improves health. While some fruits are naturally sweet and easy to overindulge in, most are not. Lemon is a pantry favorite for enhancing flavor.
This acidic fruit appears to go well with everything on the menu, from lightening a thick roast to imparting a citrus flavor to salads. However, the query that interests us now is this: How well do lemons fit into a diabetic’s lifestyle?
The answer is in a nutshell: Yes, they do. And we’ll examine why they do in this piece. Spoiler alert: They are beneficial to people with diabetes and go well with a diet that takes diabetes into account.
What characteristics of lemons, then, make them beneficial for diabetics?
Glycemic index (GI) and lemons
Don’t let the technical flair scare you—the idea is simple. Simply expressed, the glucose index, often known as the GI, is a figure that represents the amount that a particular item raises your blood sugar levels by in the two hours following intake.
As you may know, blood sugar levels are crucial for managing diabetic patients, whose blood sugar tends to be elevated due to insulin insufficiency. The lower a food’s GI, the less it raises blood sugar levels.
However, in the case of a citrus fruit like lemon, which very few people consume raw, how helpful is GI? Actually, what makes lemons unique isn’t their GI rather, it’s how they interact with different GI foods.
The Harvard Health Blog states that eating foods with a moderate or high GI—typically carbohydrates—while also adding lemon juice will slow down the conversion of carbohydrates to glucose. This will lessen the chance of a spike in glucose overpowering your insulin-deficient system.
Merely including a lemon wedge or two with your meals may have positive effects, as the juice of the fruit is sufficient to accomplish this.
There is dietary fiber in lemons
Another nutrient-dense characteristic about lemons that we typically overlook is their high dietary fiber content. Because we don’t eat lemons like oranges, we naturally tend to overlook this characteristic of this citrus fruit!
However, a 2013 study found that dietary fiber not only helps with digestion as is traditionally known, but it also slows down the absorption of sugar into the circulation, which helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. More pertinent to our subject, the researchers discovered that dietary fiber can help prevent type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems, which are frequently linked to the condition.
That’s all well and good, but if lemon flesh isn’t even edible, what use is it to us? Fruit flesh, as we all know, has far more fiber than just the juice.
One suggestion is to use a small spoon to scrape off the flesh and then crush it to make lemon juice with pulps the next time you strain lemon juice rather than just the rind. Save the meat and use the entire concoction. If you break the flesh into small enough pieces, it won’t impact the flavor of whatever you’re cooking because the most of the acidity is in the juice.
Rather than being concerned about the flesh, lemon seeds pose a greater threat to flavor since, even when they are whole, they will impart a significant amount of bitterness when heated. So even if it’s simply a shard of broken glass, be extremely cautious when retrieving them.
Vitamin C
Ah, vitamin C, very powerful. These days, it goes without saying that this essential component has health benefits, which is why we adore oranges so much. However, have you ever thought of lemons as a particularly high-vitamin C food?
Orange juice is widely available for purchase, which facilitates our perception of it as a significant dietary supply. However, lemon juice is only drinkable when converted into lemonade, which has a lot of added sugar and is bitter aftertaste. However, at 88%, lemons and oranges have similar daily vitamin C levels.
Read Aslo: 8 Fantastic Diabetes-Friendly Lunch Ideas That Are Simple Enough for the Work
For diabetics, why is this important?
Although vitamin C is essential for overall health, it turns out that diabetics require it even more. Researchers found that people with diabetes had an increased demand for vitamin C in a 2014 study.
Furthermore, studies conducted in 2007 discovered that a high vitamin C intake (at least 1000 mg) spread over six weeks showed promise as a preventive measure against type 2 diabetes. A different team of researchers discovered this preventive effect of vitamin C against diabetes in 2016.
Lemons are also a superior source of vitamin C than oranges because they only contain 25% of the total sugar content.
Of fact, consuming just oranges won’t even come close to providing the necessary dosage of vitamin C to have the diabetes-preventive effects. Therefore, it would probably be a good idea to use some vitamins in addition to the natural fruit rather than only lemons.
Citrus, diabetes, and obesity
It is commonly known that obese individuals have a higher risk of developing diabetes since their bodies naturally need to produce more insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels due to their excess body weight. Diabetes is not far off if there is not enough insulin.
Keep in mind that the need to produce and use enough insulin increases with the development of diabetes. As a result, maintaining a healthy weight is essential to treating diabetes, and Diabetes Canada’s specialists agree.
What is the relationship between lemons and all these obesity-related facts?
A 2016 study by a team of experts discovered that citrus fruits contain bioactive ingredients that help cure and prevent obesity. You can guard against diabetes and take charge of its management by treating and preventing obesity.
Last word on citrus
All of this being said, though, would be for naught if you were unable to adequately incorporate lemons into your diet plans for people with diabetes.
Making large jars of lemon water is the simplest method to enjoy lemon in a classic manner. The taste is light and pleasant rather than extremely harsh or acidic due to its extreme diluting. This relieves the strain to come up with lemon-conscious meal ideas and enables you to gradually absorb the nutrients in a lemon as you sip water throughout the day.
However, what if you wanted to use lemon in more ways than just water?
Fortunately, lemon tastes great both on its own and when combined with many other meals that are beneficial for those with diabetes.
Omega-3-rich seafood, such salmon and tuna, is one of the food groups. On our website, you can read more about diabetes and tuna by clicking [insert link]. Even though you’re sick of fish, let’s face it—seafood is generally good for diabetics due to its low fat content and flavorful flesh, which means you just need a little salt, pepper, and lemon to make it taste amazing.
The Mediterranean diet is another healthy option that pairs well with lemons for people with diabetes. Many experts recommend the Mediterranean diet for diabetic patients because of its emphasis on vegetables, use of high-quality olive oil (low in saturated fat and high in Omega-3), seldom use of red meat, and natural inclusion of the aforementioned fish.
Do you know of any examples of Mediterranean garlic sauces? The major ingredients of this creamy white sauce are lemon and salt, which emulsify the garlic and give it a mild, fresh acidic tone. Additionally, you would nearly always find that Greek restaurants offer their dishes with a wedge of lemon on the side if you ever paid attention.
The lesson here about cooking and eating lemon is to try to get as much of the flesh as you can to avoid missing out on the health benefits of dietary fiber while adding a little zest to your day. If you’re not sure how to use this citrus fruit, feel free to consult a Mediterranean recipe for ideas.
In summary
According to appearances, lemon might be another superfood that helps prevent or treat diabetes. For those of you who are concerned about sugar intake, lemon is a better source of vitamin C than oranges. Having said that, find out from your physician how much lemon is appropriate for you to eat.
Considering that they are highly acidic, consuming excessive amounts of acidic foods may have other detrimental effects on your health that are unrelated to diabetes.
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