On Valentine's Day, how can we prevent chocolate from becoming an obstacle to the love of diabetics? What are the rules for date dinner?

On Valentine's Day, the most important thing is not what you give, but whether you fully express your love to the other person. Valentine's Day gifts should often cater to the other person's preferences or meet their needs. Giving chocolates to girlfriends on Valentine's Day is a must for most men.

It is said that phenylamine, one of the ingredients in chocolate, can cause hormonal changes in the human body, similar to the feeling of being in love. Therefore, chocolate has become a standard for Valentine's Day. No one can resist its magic, and diabetics find it difficult to give it up. But are chocolate and diabetes enemies or friends? Will diabetics be unable to bear the burden of "sweetness"? This requires scientific comparative analysis~

Whether chocolate is good or not depends on whether its ingredients are dark enough

There is a classic line in the movie "Chocolat": "You can't refuse chocolate, just like you can't refuse love." But even with this popular trend, some diabetic patients still don't know much about chocolate and have concerns in their hearts. Chocolate sounds like it is not very friendly to diabetics, but in fact it is not the case.

Meta-analysis of chocolate intake and diabetes risk showed that chocolate intake and diabetes incidence were in a J-shaped relationship, and moderate chocolate consumption (1-6 servings per week, with researchers defining 1 serving of chocolate as 30 grams) could reduce the risk of diabetes . However, excessive intake does not bring greater benefits, because chocolate is a high-energy food, and excessive consumption leads to weight gain, which in turn increases the risk of chronic diseases.

In this regard, Grassi et al. also conducted a study, and the results showed that supplementing with dark chocolate can increase insulin sensitivity, help improve insulin resistance, and also reduce systolic blood pressure in these people , while consuming white chocolate has no corresponding effect. This is because dark chocolate contains a natural antioxidant flavonoids, which can prevent blood vessels from hardening, increase myocardial vitality, relax muscles, and prevent cholesterol accumulation in blood vessels, which has a certain effect on preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases .

A proper intake of chocolate is good for health , but it is also important to choose it scientifically. When buying dark chocolate, there are certain requirements. If economic conditions allow, we should choose dark chocolate with a cocoa butter content of more than 50% (the ingredient list has it marked, and the cocoa butter content of imported dark chocolate can be found on the front or back of the package), preferably more than 70% dark chocolate. Because only when the cocoa butter content is high can it play a greater role.

7 things to note when dating a diabetic

In addition to giving gifts, when dating and dining with a diabetic, there are 7 things to pay attention to. In addition to giving chocolates and bouquets on Valentine's Day, candles are also a good way to make your date feel more relaxed.

Even dinner is essential, especially for diabetics, who should pay special attention to the following 7 points when eating:

Drink less

Drinking is a must for dating, and wine is very common. It is best not to drink a lot of alcohol on an empty stomach, especially for patients taking hypoglycemic drugs, which can easily cause hypoglycemia.

More vegetables and meat

Drinking some soup first and then eating more vegetables and meat can help occupy the stomach capacity and increase satiety.

Less staple food

Carbohydrates have a high glycemic index, so try to eat less staple food, and even if you do eat it, save it for last, to help prevent a rapid rise in blood sugar.

More variety

Ensuring food diversity is very important for a balanced intake of nutrients needed by the human body. The Chinese Dietary Guidelines recommend that people consume an average of more than 12 types of food per day and more than 25 types of food per week. When you are on a date, you can take this opportunity to enrich the variety of dishes you eat.

Lighter color

It is difficult to avoid excessive intake of sugars, pigments, flavors and other seasonings when eating dishes with dark colors. In addition, white meat is healthier than red meat.

A lighter taste

Try to eat more foods with lighter flavors and avoid excessive salt and sugar.

A little less total

When dining out, there are many varieties and strong flavors, which can easily lead to high calories and a lot of food. Therefore, the total amount of food intake should be lower than at home. A good tip is to pick out the various dishes you want to eat and put them on the plate first, so that you are not likely to eat too much.

Have a healthy and romantic Valentine's Day. May those with diabetes and chocolate become friends and enjoy "sweetness" without burden.

References

[1] Sheng Yuan, Xia Li, Yalei Jin, et al. Chocolate Consumption and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies[J]. Nutrients. 2017 Jul; 9(7): 688.Published online 2017 Jul 2. doi: 10.3390/nu9070688

[2] Cesar G Fraga. Cocoa, diabetes, and hypertension: should we eat more chocolate? [J] Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:541–2.

[3] “Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)” issued by the Chinese Nutrition Society