Is Spinach Good For Diabetics?

You may be a patient of diabetics and have a liking for spinach. Are you sure whether spinach is good for you?

If you have any such confusion, then just continue reading, and you will have an answer to the question can diabetics eat spinach? Also, you can find out the benefits you can derive.

Table of Contents

Common properties of spinach

There are certain common properties of spinach as told by American Diabetic Association. These properties make it the ideal vegetable that all can have.

  • It is a non-starchy vegetable.
  • It is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.
  • Has low glycemic index.

If you consider these properties, then you can easily determine that it is the ideal vegetable that you can have even if you have diabetics. Let us see in details some of the facts in depth. This analysis will help you to have an answer to your queries regarding the various benefits of eating spinach.

Spinach

Calories that you can have

Spinach is a vegetable which has very less amount of calorie. Observations reveal that a cup of spinach contains only 7 calories. You may be thinking what benefit can be derived. The fact is that you will be able to get a diet which will help you to have a healthy weight. If you are overweight then having spinach will help you to lose 5 to 10 percent of your body weight and doing so will also help you to lower the blood sugar level that you have. Not only has that it helped to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Carbohydrate intake that you will have

Every non-starchy vegetable has a low amount of carbohydrate. But spinach is exceptional. Usually, a cup of such vegetable contains 5 grams of carbohydrate, but spinach contains only 0.83 grams of carbohydrate. You must be aware that carbohydrate is the food substance which is responsible for the rise of blood sugar level so if you have spinach, then you do not have such a chance of rising in blood sugar. So, the benefit that you can derive is that having spinach you can fulfill your dietary need but not have a rise in blood sugar.

It is a free food that you can have

According to medical research, you must have three to four servings of non-starchy vegetable. Spinach is such a vegetable which has low carbohydrate level and that makes it the ideal Free food that you can have. So, if you see that you are still hungry after having your meal, then you can easily have spinach. You can have a simple spinach salad and satisfy your hunger.

It is an easy food to have

It is quite easy to have spinach which also makes it the ideal food that you can have as a patient with diabetes. So at any time you can have simple preparations of spinach and curb your hunger.

Protection that you can have

As a diabetic patient, you must be aware that rise in blood sugar tends to lead to various other diseases. You can have a problem with retina and macula. Spinach is a source of vitamin C, beta-carotene and manganese. These act as antioxidants and help to protect you from blood pressure, heart stroke and increase the longevity of yours.

High source of Vitamin K for diabetics

Drinking a cup of spinach juice, you can have sufficient amount of Vitamin K which will help you to be relieved from problems related to thickening of the blood. An ounce of spinach juice will provide you with 156 milligrams of vitamin K which is sufficient for any men or women. Not only that, it also increases the efficiency of the blood-thinning medication that you have.

Supply of macro nutrients that it provides

Having a cup of spinach, you can have the following without increasing your blood sugar level.

  • 29 calories
  • 9 grams of protein
  • 1 gram of fat
  • 1 gram of carbohydrate
  • 7 gram of fiber

Supply of Iron that can be derived

You can also have sufficient amount of iron that you need for a healthy life. It is important to have iron nutrients for menstruating women and growing children.

So, now you can easily understand why spinach is an ideal vegetable that you can have while having diabetes.

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