Why does eating apples half an hour before meals help to lower postprandial blood sugar?

Apples are known to be healthy, but there are various theories about when to eat them

The so-called saying that fruits cannot be eaten before and after meals is mainly due to the special circumstances of some patients with gastrointestinal diseases

The GI value of eating apples before meals dropped the most, and eating apples and rice at the same time ranked second

To be fair, the comparison of blood sugar responses in this experiment was done on the basis of carbohydrates

The first group ate straight white rice with 50 grams of available carbohydrates

The second group ate an apple with 15 grams of available carbohydrates, along with rice

The third group ate apples containing 15 grams of available carbohydrates, starting from the time of eating the apples, and then eating rice 30 minutes later

The fourth group first drank sugar water containing 15 grams of available carbohydrates.

The research results show that if the GI value of a meal is expressed, then eating rice is 82, eating rice and apples together is 64, and eating apples first is actually reduced to 40! The effect of lowering blood sugar after meals is really a bit fierce

Among the three fruits of orange, apple and pear, apple has the most obvious hypoglycemic effect, and orange is the weakest.

However, many people may ask: should you eat less rice if you eat apples? Who can do it? If I eat an apple before a meal and eat a bite of rice, will it still have this hypoglycemic effect? Is it okay to eat pears? Is it okay to eat oranges?

The researchers also considered these issues

One group was called the equal carbohydrate group, and like the previous study, the total available carbohydrate intake was 50 grams after eating fruit and deducting rice

The other group is called the high-carbohydrate group, which eats extra fruit and eats a lot of rice

In the other carbohydrate group, it was found that apples had the best effect, which was no different from the previous experiment - eating apples 30 minutes before meals reduced the postprandial blood sugar response two hours after rice meals by 40%

From the perspective of postprandial blood sugar fluctuations, eating apples first has a 50% reduction effect

Moreover, even if you eat more fruits, the total amount of carbohydrates is increased to 65 grams.

The diet method of eating fruit first is limited to people with normal gastrointestinal digestive function, and should pay attention to 4 points

1.

2.
The eating method of eating fruit first is limited to people with normal gastrointestinal digestive function
.
Those who are particularly afraid of cold, those who are prone to diarrhea, and those who have irritable bowel syndrome, should be cautious about eating an apple before meals
.
If you feel uncomfortable, don't eat like this
.

3.
When using this method, the accuracy of the time is very important
.
If you're not sure about the meal time, "30 minutes ago" doesn't mean anything
.
For those who control blood sugar, it is necessary to ensure that meals are on time, and the time cannot be suddenly early or late, and the amount is suddenly more or less
.
Never allow yourself to skip meals just because you eat apples
.

4.
For diabetic patients, food cannot be used as a substitute for drug treatment, but it is also necessary to adjust the dosage of drugs according to the effect of food
.
When blood sugar levels drop after a meal, the amount of insulin and hypoglycemic drugs must be reduced, otherwise dangerous hypoglycemia reactions may occur
.

Text / Fan Zhihong (Director of the Chinese Nutrition Society, chief expert of science communication hired by the China Association for Science and Technology)