Diabetes is complicated and those who suffer from it need to mold their lifestyle and bring about a lot of changes. One such change to be brought is how and what one eats. Eating habits form a very important and crucial part of effective diabetes management.

In this article, let us find the answer to the question “Is Poha Good for Diabetes?”

What is Poha?

Poha is a popular Indian dish that is made of beaten rice or the flaked rice. The nutritional value of this favorite breakfast or snack item comes from and depends on the various additional ingredients that you put into it to make a dish.

In general, about 150 grams of the flaked rice will give you around 350 to around 400 units of calories. However, on adding of certain ingredients such as peanuts, the calorie content certainly sees an increase.

Benefits of Eating Poha in Diabetes

There are a lot of benefits that you can derive when you eat poha. Some of these benefits will directly have a positive impact on those suffering from diabetes. Here are a few advantages of eating poha:

=> Poha is not just about the rice that you use. However, when you make poha, you add a lot of ingredients and vegetables to Some of these such as carrots, beans, peanuts, sprouts, and others can easily be added to get the much-needed nutrients from the poha. It is an excellent lunch which you can also pack for toddlers and yourself.

=> You will often hear everyone say that carbohydrates should completely be avoided. However, the same might not be true. Although it is of primary importance to keep the levels of carbohydrates under control, it is very important that you, after all, do take some amount of carbohydrates. This is required to enhance the energy levels of your body as they help the body to store the much-needed energy. Besides, it is an accepted fact that poha is one of the best sources to intake carbs

=> Poha is also a rich source of fiber which plays a crucial role in diabetes

=> Another important reason to consume poha is that it will help you reduce your weight. When you have diabetes, it is often advised that one of the best ways to manage the disease is to lose all the inadequate weight. When you eat poha in a timely manner, you can certainly achieve this.

=> Another important benefit of poha for all those who want to eat it but are patients with diabetes is that when you eat poha, it digests slowly. Hence, the main fear in all the diabetes patients, which is an increase in the levels of blood sugar is alleviated when you eat poha. You should not worry too much about your blood glucose levels if you incorporate the same in your diet.

=> Poha is a rich source of iron which is required by your body to function efficiently

Risks Associated with Including Poha in Your Diet:

In general, when you add the minimum ingredients in the flaked rice, poha is a safe bet for all the diabetes patients. This is true only after you have not been advised by your medical expert to stay away from the dish.However, you need to be really careful about what additional ingredients do you add in it to make it tastier for your taste buds. You should definitely consult your doctor in order to decide which all are the important ingredients that are safe enough to be added to the flaked rice.

How Can You Incorporate Poha in Your Daily Diet?

Poha, as seen above, can be a good alternative to various breakfast and snack items that you are used to. There are various ways in which you can use the poha grain to incorporate into your diet. Some of this ways are:

• You can use the grain used to make poha and just add a few ingredients of your choice to make a delicious dish
• Apart from that, you can also make healthy oats and poha chivda in this way, you get the benefits of not only poha but also the oats. It is very easy to make as well. all you need is a handful of poha, a handful of oats, a few peanuts, curry leaves, chilies, and a few other Indian spices.
• You can use your favorite onion and a mixture of vegetables to make the famous onion poha which so many people are fond of
• Another item that you can make with poha that too in no time and with very little ingredients is the poha-upma. It is a South-Indian dish that many people love and swear by.

Thus, poha can be a safe breakfast or a snack item for those who have diabetes. However, as is true in the case of other recipes, it is extremely important to first understand how eating poha affects your body.