1. The Importance of ‘Eating Together’
One of the effective strategies for controlling blood sugar in a diabetic diet is not to eat carbohydrate foods alone, but to consume them ‘together’ with foods rich in protein, healthy fats, and dietary fiber.
2. The Principle of Moderating Blood Sugar Rise
– Delayed Digestion: Protein and fat take much longer to digest than carbohydrates. When you eat a carbohydrate (like tteok) together with nuts, which are rich in protein, fat, and fiber, the overall time the food stays in the stomach is prolonged.
– Reduced Absorption Speed: This naturally slows down the rate at which the carbohydrates from the tteok are broken down into glucose and absorbed in the small intestine.
– The Result: Consequently, you can transform the steep blood sugar spike that occurs when eating tteok alone into a much more gradual blood sugar curve.
3. Specific Examples
– Worst Combination: Tteok + Honey/Sugar (Carb + Simple Sugar)
– Slightly Better Combination: Tteok + Milk (Carb + Protein/Fat)
– Better Combination: Tteok + Almonds/Walnuts (Carb + Protein/Healthy Fat/Fiber)
4. The Meaning of ‘Helpful’
Of course, eating nuts with tteok does not suddenly make it a good food for blood sugar. The high glycemic index and carbohydrate content of tteok do not change. This method only ‘mitigates’ the glycemic response; it never means you can eat a lot of tteok. The intake of tteok should still be strictly limited to one or two small pieces.
Summary: When eating a high-carbohydrate snack like tteok, consuming a small amount of nuts with it can definitely help to moderate the sharp rise in blood sugar, thanks to the healthy fats, protein, and fiber in the nuts.
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