Is pumpkin good for diabetics? | The Times of India (2024)

Whether you eat it as a fruit, vegetable, pie, puree, or you consume its seeds, pumpkins are highly nutritious, delicious, and they offer many health benefits. Apart from being loaded with micronutrients and providing many benefits, pumpkins are said to be good for people suffering from diabetes, and can help in lowering the risk of the condition in others.

For anyone suffering from diabetes, it is crucial to control blood sugar levels to prevent more severe complications like vision impairment, skin infections, nerve damage, and heart disease. Essentially, we will review the role of pumpkin in managing the level of blood sugar, and if it actually is a good option for diabetics.

Glycemic index or GI is a scale that indicates the extent to which a particular food may cause blood sugar levels to spike. GL stands for glycemic load and it is a scale that measures the glycemic index along with how much carb-rich foods increase your blood sugar levels. Therefore glycemic load is a more accurate assessment of how much a particular food affects your levels of blood sugar.

Pumpkin ranks high on the glycemic index at 75, but low on the glycemic load at 3. People might assume that it is bad for diabetics because of its high GI, but that is not true. Its low GL rank indicates that having a small portion of pumpkin is perfectly safe and will not drastically increase your blood sugar levels. However, having a large amount of pumpkin in one sitting could be detrimental to diabetes patients.

Pumpkins might be exceptionally beneficial for people with diabetes. It contains carbohydrates called polysaccharides and a compound called puerarin, which when paired, help in lowering blood sugar and preventing diabetes. Pumpkin has also shown to increase the production of insulin, thus helping in regulating blood sugar.

Although pumpkins have been found to contain certain qualities that may be beneficial for diabetics, moderation is the key, and it must only be consumed in small amounts. Pumpkins are a popular choice when it comes to making desserts and drinks, and consuming it in these forms is unhealthy for diabetics. Desserts and drinks often contain substances that cause a spike in blood sugar, like added sugar and preservatives. So only choose healthy recipes and go for small portions when having pumpkin to treat diabetes.