Singer Chu introduced how to eat tteokbokki healthily.
Recently, a video was uploaded to Chu's YouTube channel showing her daily life at the end of last year. In the video, Chu said, "It relieves stress and makes me happy" while eating tteokbokki.
Chu also revealed her own tips for tteokbokki. She said, "You must add green onions and cabbage when eating tteokbokki," and added, "Vegetables do not make you gain weight." What impact will the method introduced by Chu have on health?
Consuming Carbohydrates Alone Rapidly Raises Blood Sugar
The spicy and chewy taste of tteokbokki is attractive, but it can raise blood sugar and cause weight gain. Tteokbokki made with white rice cakes is a refined carbohydrate food. White rice cakes, along with white rice, white flour noodles, and bread, are foods with a high glycemic index (GI). They can cause rapid spikes in blood sugar due to quick digestion and absorption. Especially when hungry, overeating tteokbokki can lead to blood sugar spikes.
If you add fried foods or fish cakes to tteokbokki, it can lead to excessive intake of sodium and saturated fats. Therefore, when eating tteokbokki, adding various vegetables like Chu can make it a bit healthier. It is known that consuming carbohydrates alone is the worst. Without interference from other foods, digestion and absorption become faster.
How to Suppress Rapid Blood Sugar Spikes?
The dietary fiber in vegetables slows down the digestion of carbohydrates in tteokbokki, helping to suppress rapid blood sugar spikes. Eating vegetables first can create a feeling of fullness, reducing the number of rice cakes consumed. This helps prevent overeating and is beneficial for weight control. Eating carbohydrates alone is also good for balancing nutrition.
For example, the cabbage that Chu adds helps raise blood sugar slowly. The glucosinolates in cabbage break down into sulforaphane in the body, contributing to blood sugar regulation, as stated in the international journal 《Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism》. Green onions are also high in dietary fiber, which helps gut health and inhibits cholesterol absorption in the body. Vegetables are low in calories, making them easy to consume without burden.
Adding eggs, tofu, and other ingredients is also a good method. The rich protein in eggs and tofu, like dietary fiber, keeps you full longer and slows down carbohydrate absorption. It is also good for balancing nutrition. Even when eating tteokbokki, it is wise to think of it as a meal rather than a snack, adjusting to include carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. When making tteokbokki at home, using konjac rice cakes or brown rice cakes instead of white rice cakes can also be beneficial for weight and blood sugar control.
