Good ingredients that can be bought for a few dollars, rich in nutrition, I really recommend you eat some as a staple food

Are you often tempted by the sugar-roasted chestnuts on the street? That's normal, because sugar-roasted chestnuts can be called the "ancestor" of Maillard. This combination of sugar + hot stone + chestnuts (rich in carbohydrates) will produce Maillard + caramelization reaction, and the result is a caramelized aroma that is unmatched within a radius of dozens of meters.

If it smells so good, it tastes even better. Many people finish a bag of sweet and soft sugar-roasted chestnuts in just a few minutes. However, many people wonder: Are chestnuts healthy? Is it really not easy to make people fat if they are so soft, sweet and fragrant?

Let me give you the answer first: chestnuts are rich in nutrients. If you eat them right, they will not only prevent you from gaining weight, but will also improve the quality of your diet. However, if you eat them wrong, they can easily lead to weight gain and bloating, so you must pay attention to controlling the amount.

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Recommended reason 1

Nutritious and filling, a good substitute for staple food

The chestnut shell is very hard, so it is often classified as a nut, but in terms of nutritional characteristics, it has almost nothing to do with nuts. Instead, it is closer to typical grains, and its starch content in its fresh state is much higher than other cooked grains and potatoes.

The carbohydrate content of chestnuts is as high as 46%, which is relatively high among cooked staple foods. Compared with rice, due to its high water content, its carbohydrate content is less than 26%. The calories of a bag of sugar-fried chestnuts (100g of edible part, about 10 chestnuts) are equivalent to about 180g of cooked rice if converted into rice, which is about 1.5 bowls if you use a 4-inch rice bowl with a diameter of 10 cm at home; if converted into steamed buns, it is equivalent to about 2 steamed buns of 50g.

The table is created by the author

Many people would be "dissuaded" from eating chestnuts when they see the high calorie content. But in fact, the high calorie content of chestnuts is not a disadvantage. It is purely due to the relatively low water content, not because it contains more sugar or oil. So you cannot think that it is easy to make you fat just because its calorie content per unit weight seems to be higher than that of rice. In fact, considering its slow digestion and strong satiety, it is a very suitable weight-loss food to replace refined staple foods.

In addition, the most important point is that chestnuts are rich in nutrients. Compared with the same weight of cooked white rice, chestnuts are rich in carotene and dietary fiber, and also contain vitamin A and vitamin C, which are almost absent in white rice. The content of VB1, VB2, potassium and magnesium is also more than ten times that of white rice.

It can be seen that if you eat it incorrectly, treat it as a snack, eat a lot of it between meals, and eat it as a staple food as usual, it will also make you fat. The most recommended way to eat it is to use chestnuts to replace part of white rice and white flour products as a staple food, which is delicious and healthy.

Recommended reason 2

It has a stable effect on blood sugar, but it is not easy to gain weight

Next, let's look at another indicator that must be analyzed for staple foods in nutrition - blood sugar response. The GI of steamed and roasted chestnuts is 58 and 54 respectively, and the blood sugar response is not high. The main reasons are as follows:

The starch composition of chestnuts is very special, most of which are slowly digested starch and resistant starch. The resistant starch content of raw chestnuts is as high as 61% to 76%, and the resistant starch content of cooked chestnuts is also about 13%, which is considered high among natural foods.

Slowly digestible starch refers to the process of being converted into blood sugar very slowly, usually more than 30 minutes, so blood sugar fluctuations are smooth. Resistant starch is basically not absorbed in the small intestine at all and belongs to the category of dietary fiber, so it almost does not cause blood sugar fluctuations, but mostly enters the large intestine and is fermented and utilized by intestinal microorganisms.

Therefore, replacing part of refined white rice and flour with chestnuts is actually very suitable for people who need to control blood sugar and lose weight. This will make blood sugar more stable after meals and the insulin response lower. It is an effective staple food upgrade plan to maintain blood sugar and body shape.

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Although chestnuts are good, we also recommend that you use them to replace part of the refined white rice and flour. However, it should be noted that it is not advisable to eat too much at one time. If you consume too much, there will be certain hidden dangers.

Hidden danger 1

Easy to get bloated and have difficulty digesting

I believe that many of my friends will experience a phenomenon after eating a lot of chestnuts at one time, that is, they fart a lot.

This is caused by two reasons:

The first is that chestnuts are high in both slowly digestible and resistant starch.

Second, chestnut starch granules are dense, and the sugar-roasted chestnut method does not make it easy for the starch in them to fully come into contact with the amylase in the small intestine.

Under the interaction of these two factors, many of the carbohydrates in the sugar-roasted chestnuts cannot be digested in the small intestine, but will directly reach the large intestine. The microorganisms in the large intestine will then ferment and produce a lot of gas, so the chance of bloating and excessive flatulence will greatly increase.

For people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the amount of chestnuts consumed needs to be strictly limited, otherwise the large amount of resistant starch in chestnuts will aggravate intestinal discomfort.

Hidden danger 2

It's so delicious, it's addictive.

Chestnuts are fragrant and attractive, especially chestnuts fried with sugar. Once the sugar is fried into caramel, the aroma will rise rapidly. At the same time, chestnuts are rich in starch, and after the Maillard reaction, they will have an irresistible caramelized flavor.

Sugar + Maillard reaction + the softness of starch are enough to make many people unable to stop eating sugar-fried chestnuts, so that they end up eating too much without realizing it, resulting in excessive calories throughout the day, as well as problems such as bloating and discomfort.

Therefore, this is also the reason why you have to be careful when eating sugar-roasted chestnuts, because its taste is a delicacy that is addictive for humans, and you will eat too much if you don't control yourself.

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Conclusion

Chestnuts are high-carb, high-satisfaction foods that contain more carotene and dietary fiber, making them a better choice for staple foods. In addition, chestnuts are rich in slowly digestible starch and resistant starch, so it is very suitable for people who want to control their sugar intake and lose weight to use them to replace some refined white rice and flour.

But it is recommended that you do not treat chestnuts as snacks. After eating a lot of chestnuts, you still eat a lot of staple food for dinner, which is equivalent to eating two staple meals. 4 chestnuts ≈ 1 serving of staple food, 10 chestnuts ≈ 1.5 bowls of rice. Eating too much is not only easy to gain weight, but also difficult to digest, causing bloating, etc. Therefore, chestnuts are very fragrant, but don't be "greedy".

References

[1] University of Sydney GI Database

[2]Guo, Q. Zheng, B., Zeng,

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Luo Xiao, registered dietitian in China/Australia, author of "Quit Sugar"

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center