Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, all kinds of large and small zongzi have already occupied the major supermarkets. In addition to the traditional clear water white zongzi, jujube zongzi, meat zongzi and other classic tastes, merchants have also introduced various new varieties of coarse cereal zongzi, fruit zongzi, chocolate zongzi and so on.
Zongzi smells fragrant after cooking, which often makes the index finger of people with loss of appetite move greatly in summer.
Glutinous rice, the main ingredient of zongzi, has a higher content of B vitamins and minerals than ordinary refined white rice. Jujube or bean paste as stuffing is rich in potassium, iron and flavonoids. Bamboo leaves or reed leaves used for wrapping are rich in polyphenols and potassium. After cooking, some of them are transferred to rice, which is also conducive to increasing health value to a certain extent.
All kinds of traditional zongzi on the market have their own characteristics because of different fillings and nutritional values. Today, I’d like to talk about the nutrition and choices of different zongzi.
White zongzi
The so-called white zongzi is also called [light zongzi], which is zongzi with glutinous rice and no other ingredients, no oil, salt and sugar.
Its main ingredient is glutinous rice, which is different from polished round-grained rice used in white rice, of which more than 99% is amylopectin, with fast digestion speed and high postprandial blood sugar reaction in loose and soft state, which is not conducive to blood sugar control of diabetics.
Guangzongzi usually has the faint scent of glutinous rice and bamboo leaves. It is dipped in white sugar, honey or sweet osmanthus. When eaten warm, Guangzongzi’s blood sugar index reaches more than 90, which is more suitable for people with weak digestion.
Zongzi with jujube
Jujube zongzi is a classic eating method in the north, which is to add jujube to soaked glutinous rice and wrap it with bamboo leaves or reed leaves.
Studies in our laboratory have proved that the blood sugar reaction of dried jujube that has not been cooked is lower than that of rice and even lower than that of glutinous rice. However, after jujube is cooked until its texture is soft and rotten, the digestion speed is accelerated and the blood sugar reaction will be greatly increased.
Therefore, fruit zongzi and dried fruit zongzi are similar to this. If they are heated and eaten, zongzi with jujube is also a food with ultra-high glycemic index, which is more suitable for people with weak digestion ability, but it is taboo for diabetics.
Zongzi with bean paste
Bean paste zongzi is also a popular way to eat, which is to replace small dates or candied dates with bean paste.
Adzuki bean itself is a kind of food with high fiber, low fat and hypoglycemia reaction. Even after being boiled soft, the blood sugar index is only 24. However, a large amount of sugar and fat are added to the bean paste stuffing currently used, which greatly discounts the nutritional value and is also not suitable for patients with diabetes and hyperlipidemia.
Chocolate rice dumplings, similar to this, also contain quite high refined sugar and saturated fat.
Zongzi with meat
Meat dumplings, whether added with stew, bacon or barbecued pork, usually contain quite high fat.
This is because the meat added to zongzi is not pure thin, but half fat. After cooking, the fat is transparent and melted, and the oil seeps into glutinous rice, producing a fragrant flavor and oily and elastic taste. If salted egg yolk is added again, the content of various B vitamins will be increased, but the fat content will be even higher.
A large amount of saturated fat is wrapped around glutinous rice, which makes it difficult for digestive juice to contact glutinous rice and slows down the overall digestion speed of zongzi, which is not suitable for people with dyspepsia. At the same time, it is also not suitable for patients with gallbladder diseases and hyperlipidemia to eat more.
Is it suitable for diabetics to eat meat dumplings?
This is not appropriate. This is because studies have found that after lard is added, the time when the blood sugar of glutinous rice food rises to the peak after meal is delayed, but the blood sugar peak is still large and lasting. Higher fat will also reduce the blood sugar control ability of the following meal.
Coarse cereal zongzi
At present, there are zongzi made of purple rice, waxy corn, lotus seeds, kidney beans and other coarse cereals on the market.
Their vitamin and mineral content is higher, not as greasy as ordinary glutinous rice, and their blood sugar reaction has decreased to a certain extent, which is more suitable for patients with diabetes, hyperlipidemia and gallbladder diseases.
However, because amylopectin is not as high as 99%, it may harden after cooling. For people with poor digestion ability, it needs to be steamed again and softened before eating.
Tips for Healthy Eating Zongzi
Step 1 Replace some staple foods
Zongzi, after all, is rich in carbohydrates and belongs to the staple food of grain. If you eat zongzi, you must reduce the intake of staple food on that day to avoid excess energy and obesity.
In particular, glutinous rice will be squeezed during the process of making zongzi, so the density of zongzi is not small. A medium-sized zongzi may be equivalent to 1 or 2 bowls of rice.
This is also one of the reasons why many people think zongzi is easy to support after eating.
2. Selection of People with Hyperlipidemia and Gallbladder Diseases
People with hyperlipidemia and gallbladder diseases should try their best to avoid meat zongzi and egg yolk zongzi with high fat content, and should choose original or small jujube zongzi, preferably zongzi with coarse cereals.
3. It is good for diabetics to have a little taste.
Since the blood sugar index of most zongzi exceeds that of white sugar, diabetics should try zongzi, such as a mini zongzi or only one third of a larger zongzi.
If you really want to eat more, you should choose zongzi with more whole grain miscellaneous beans, and avoid dipping with white sugar, jam, sweet osmanthus and other ingredients.
4. Match with fresh leafy vegetables
When eating zongzi, you should eat some fresh green leafy vegetables first.
Studies have shown that a diet rich in vegetables plays an important role in controlling diabetes and reducing the risk of diabetes. Studies in China and Japan have found that eating a large amount of vegetables before eating staple food can significantly reduce the postprandial blood sugar response.
Step 5 Eat as hot as possible
For people with dyspepsia, they should try to eat fresh hot zongzi. Priority should be given to small jujube zongzi, avoiding cold zongzi and greasy meat zongzi.
In any case, there should be a peaceful atmosphere during the holidays. Gastrointestinal discomfort and index rise cannot be caused by greed, but there is no need to use zongzi as a forbidden substance to affect the mood.
As long as you choose and match wisely, the suitable Dragon Boat Festival zongzi can bring delicious food and happiness to everyone.