Can a diabetic eat Green beans?
Yes, a diabetic can eat green beans daily as a source of great nutrition. Green beans have low glycaemic index (GI) and do not cause spikes in blood sugar levels. Eating green beans regularly helps regulate blood sugar levels, manage diabetes and prevent diabetes complications. Green beans are low in calories and help regulate body weight. Good body weight is important for a diabetic’s well being in the short and long run. Green beans are almost free of any fat but provide you with dietary fibre which helps boost metabolism, digestion and bowel movements.
Do green beans spike blood sugar?
Green beans contain complex carbohydrates and are low in GI. Low GI foods like green beans do not cause serious blood sugar spikes. Complex carbohydrates in green beans take longer to digest. Fibre in green beans also contributes to slower digestion. As complex carbohydrates digest at a slower rate, your blood sugar levels also remain stable while slow digestion takes place. Any rise in blood sugar levels happens slowly and steadily. This is true for any kind of beans including soya beans, garbanzo beans, black beans, green beans, kidney beans etc. So, a diabetic can eat beans of any type with no fear of diabetic complications.
Moreover, the amount of carbohydrates in green beans is much on the lower side which means only low amounts of sugar can be generated from digestion.
What are the benefits of eating green beans?
Green beans are high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, dietary fibre and protein. Anti-inflammatory compounds in green beans help fight inflammation. Green beans have almost no saturated fat or cholesterol. This means they can help combat health complications that arise from fat or cholesterol such as hypertension, heart or brain health issues.
Green beans are nice and crunchy to eat as a snack or part of a main meal for a diabetic. A diabetic can get many nutrients including vitamin C, vitamin K, dietary fibre, folate, etc. from crunchy green beans. With such great nutrients green beans can take good care of your bones, skin and hair etc.
Eating green beans helps you stop sugar cravings. The secret is the dense nutrients that green beans give you. For a diabetic, stopping sugar cravings is important to regulate blood sugar levels and keep sugar consumption to minimum.
