Is Onion Good For Diabetic Patients?
Onions are a low-calorie, healthful food to include in your diabetic diet, providing you with fiber, iron, potassium, vitamin C and other micronutrients. In absence of proper care and attention, diabetes may also lead to obesity, kidney failure and heart complications. Diabetics are often asked to maintain a strict diet that is high on fiber-rich foods.
Fiber
Onions, especially red onions, are rich in fiber content. Spring onions have slightly less fiber content in the family. Fiber takes time to break down and digest, which ensures slow release of sugars in bloodstream. If you are prone to constipation due to diabetes-related nerve problems,fiber helps keep your bowels active, thereby preventing constipation.
Low on Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates metabolise quickly, which results in fast release of sugar in the blood stream, since diabetics are advised to include more low-carb foods to their diet, adding onions to salads, casseroles, soups, stews,and sandwiches, boosts your vegetable intake without adding a large number of carbohydrates to your diet.
Vitamins and Minerals
Onions contain high concentrations оf micronutrients called flavonoids. They are also considered as vеrу good source оf chromium, the mineral component in glucose tolerance factor, a molecule that helps cells respond appropriately tо insulin. Clinical studies оf diabetics hаvе shown that chromium саn decrease fasting blood glucose levels, improve glucose tolerance, lower insulin levels, and decrease total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while increasing good HDL-cholesterol levels.
