Noodles, fruits, and health foods commonly enjoyed in summer can sharply raise blood sugar in diabetic patients and adults with prediabetes, experts have warned.
EBS recently examined how popular summer dishes affect blood sugar management in its broadcast "EBS Collection - Science." The program featured representative summer noodle dishes such as kongguksu (cold soybean noodle soup) and bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles), summer fruits including watermelon, Korean melon, and peaches, along with samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn. It addressed how amylopectin, abundant in wheat starch, rapidly breaks down into glucose in the body to quickly raise blood sugar, and why blood sugar responses vary depending on cooking and consumption methods.
Wheat noodle dishes such as kongguksu and bibim guksu are prime examples. Amylopectin, abundant in wheat starch, breaks down rapidly into glucose in the body and is absorbed into the blood. When blood sugar rises suddenly, the pancreas oversecretes insulin, and the glucose that is not used accumulates as fat.
Summer fruits such as watermelon, Korean melon, and peaches also produce different blood sugar responses depending on how they are eaten. Drinking them as juice, rather than chewing them whole, shortens the time they spend passing through the stomach, making sugar absorption faster. Eating in smaller portions rather than large amounts at once is better for blood sugar management.
Samgyetang, a health food, is no exception. With nearly 1,000 kcal per bowl, frequent consumption can burden both blood sugar and weight. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn are known as healthy foods, but their high glycemic index (GI) means diabetic patients must separately regulate their intake.
Specialists point to overeating and consuming sweet foods as the habits diabetic patients should be most careful about. Filling up breakfast with carbohydrate-centered foods such as nurungji (scorched rice) or rice soaked in water tends to spike blood sugar. Eating protein, vegetables, and dietary fiber together slows digestion and absorption, causing post-meal blood sugar to rise more gradually.
Cooking methods are also a variable. Mashing potatoes or finely grinding ingredients increases the surface area exposed to digestive enzymes, raising blood sugar faster. Sugary drinks, being in liquid form and thus quickly absorbed, are also best reduced.
Experts stressed that rather than unconditionally avoiding specific foods, people should consistently maintain habits of reducing noodles, high-calorie health foods, and sugary drinks, eating fruit in divided portions, and pairing meals with vegetables and protein.
