Find Out Why This Vegetable is Good for Diabetics

Related Articles

People with diabetes have to follow a strict diet for their every meal. This limits their intake of various vegetables and fruits.

But adding bell pepper or what is known as capsicum, into your diet, helps control the blood glucose level and lowers the risk of various health complications associated with it.

Find Out Why This Vegetable is Good for Diabetics

Carbohydrates in Peppers

Peppers contain about 5-7 grams of carbohydrates per 1 cup of raw vegetable. Also peppers are considered as a non-starchy vegetable, as per the American Diabetes Association. This means that most of the carbohydrates found in peppers are in the form of fiber.

Fiber helps regulate blood sugar levels, while also decreasing the risk of heart disease.

Low in Calories

Being obese and having a family history of diabetes, makes you at high risk of suffering from diabetes. Studies have shown that intake of capsicum, together with a workout routine, helps you lose weight and helps keep blood sugar within control.

Bell peppers contain capsaicin that helps stimulate fat burning and speeds up metabolic rate. This helps control obesity and improves the overall well-being.

Powerful Antioxidant Activity

You will become more prone to oxidative stress, due to an increase blood glucose level and hyperlipidemia. The capsicum content in bell peppers contain high levels of phytochemicals, that act as powerful antioxidants.

These compounds help remove the harmful free radicals released due to oxidative stress and in the process helps lower the risk of various health complications caused by diabetes.

Slows Down Digestion of Lipids and Carbohydrates

The anthocyanins content in bell peppers help inhibits the activity of two key digestive enzymes,  namely lipase and alpha-glucosidase. The alpha-glucosidase enzyme helps in breaking down carbohydrates into glucose, while pancreatic lipase, helps in the degradation of fats into fatty acids. If the digestion of lipids and carbohydrates are  slowed, the concentration of lipids and blood sugar are also reduced, which results in lower risk of hyperglycemia and helps you control your blood glucose level.

See also  7 Health Benefits of Nutmeg You Should Know

More on this topic

Comments

Popular stories