4 Guidelines for Diabetics to Eat Hot Pot

　　Many diabetic patients are very careful about their diet and have a love-hate relationship with hot pot. I really want to enjoy the delicious taste of hot pot, but I am afraid that I may accidentally eat too much or eat something I shouldn’t, which may lead to unstable blood sugar or some accidents.

　　Should diabetics refuse this delicious food? What issues should diabetics pay attention to when eating hot pot?

　　Eating hot pot can diversify food

　　There is a certain truth to eating hot pot in winter. The biggest benefit is that it lays the foundation for a balanced diet and food diversity. There are many ingredients used in hot pot, at least 7 to 8 kinds. We rarely get to eat so many kinds of dishes in one meal. In addition, the materials used in hot pot are generally washed and rinsed directly in the pot. The vegetables and meat remain in their original form without additional processing, such as deep-frying, which causes less damage to nutrients. Furthermore, it is more in line with Chinese people's eating habits. It is served with hot soup and rice, and it is warmer when eaten in winter.

　　Diabetics should pay attention to several issues when eating hot pot

　　So, what should diabetics pay attention to when eating hot pot?

　　First, we must pay attention to food safety issues. Some people pay attention to "tenderness" when making hot pot, and do not control the heat well. If the meat is taken out and eaten before it is fully cooked, it will cause gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea.

　　Second, we must pay attention to the issue of time. If the rinsing time is too long, the nutrient content will decrease, especially the damage of vitamin C will be serious.

　　Third, we should pay attention to the proportion of meat and vegetables. Generally, the order of shabu-shabu is meat first and vegetables second, which is actually not recommended for diabetics. If you rinse the meat first, you will consume more meat in a short time. A plate of 4 taels of meat will be eaten quickly. If you eat other dishes, you will eat too much without realizing it, which is very detrimental to diet control.

　　Doctors suggest that when diabetic patients eat hot pot, they should put the amount they can eat beside them and eat only that much without taking extra, so as not to overdo it. A good way to prevent overdosing when eating hot pot is to be as personal as possible and only eat the amount you should eat for this meal.

　　There is a popular saying that "eating hot pot can easily cause gout" because hot pot soup contains a large amount of purine. So, how to avoid purine intake?

　　Dr. Chen Wei believes that purine is not as scary as many people think. If you only eat meat and don’t drink the hot pot soup when making hot pot, there won’t be much purine. Also, the choice of types of shabu-shabu dishes is very important. If you just boil vegetables, the soup can be drunk.

　　What you need to pay attention to is animal offal, seafood, fungus (dried or fresh), and mushrooms. These materials contain relatively high purine content. When eating, you should control the amount and eat less.

　　When eating delicacies and seafood hot pot, people with hyperuricemia should be careful not to consume too much and cause gout. Others who do not have this condition should not worry too much. The incidence of gout is not higher in China than abroad. As for animal offal and seafood, it is not that you cannot eat them at all, but the amount must be controlled.

　　When eating mushroom-based hot pot, patients with hyperuricemia should drink as little soup as possible. When eating meat, they should rinse it in water to remove the soup attached to it. Another reason why soup cannot be drunk is its high fat content. Patients with hyperlipidemia, cholesterolemia, and hyperuricemia should drink less soup. But if it is pure vegetable soup, there will be no problem.

　　The doctor emphasized that what patients with diabetes need is to improve their quality of life, not to set limits everywhere. They just need to pay a little attention when eating.