8 Best Reasons to Eat Slow Digesting Foods

In this post, you’ll learn about the benefits of eating slow-digesting foods.

What is slow-digesting food?

Slow-digesting foods are one of the dietary components necessary for your health.

A food is considered slow disgesting based on how slowly the food causes an increase in blood glucose level.

Unlike fast-digesting foods, slow-digesting foods take a lot of time to digest and diffuse into the blood.

As a result, they release an increased number of fullness hormones to lower your appetite. And this in turn keeps your body fuller for a longer period.

Examples of slow digesting foods

Let’s have a look at some of the examples of slow-digesting foods:

• Vegetables: carrots, celery, eggplant, cucumber, mushroom, cabbage, peas, spinach, kale, lettuce, etc. 
• Grains: barley, whole wheat, oats, black rice, whole grain pasta, buckwheat, etc.
• Lentils: kidney beans, lentils red split, chickpeas, etc.
• Dairy products: low-fat milk, yogurt, soy milk, cottage cheese, etc.
• Nuts: cashew, peanut, walnuts, hazelnut, almonds.
• Seeds: sunflower seed, flaxseed, chia seed, pumpkin seed.
• Fruits: peach, apple, oranges, grapefruit, plum, pears, etc. 

Benefits of slow digesting foods

1. Helps in weight loss

Study shows that intake of slow digesting food results in less appetite and high energy for a long time. 

On contrary, if you eat fast-digesting food you will feel hungry frequently.

This is because foods with a high Glycemic index produce a hormonal sequence that stimulates an increase in food intake in obese people. 

Slow-digesting foods like grains can be considered slow carbs and have important benefits. They digest slowly into the blood and maintain sugar levels. 

Hence, digesting carbs can be helpful for you to shed those extra pounds!

2. Controls diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic illness followed by high glucose levels in the blood and an uneven metabolism of proteins and fats in the human body. 

The β-glucan present in barley and other grains has affirmative health-promoting effects on diabetes. You can add grains to your diet for controlling blood sugar levels. 

Carrots and green vegetables have a role in regulating the sugar level of diabetic patients.

Research suggests that almonds have a positive effect on the serum lipids of diabetic patients.

Thus, having an adequate amount of almonds daily can help in keeping your diabetes under control.

Besides almonds, you can also have other nuts like walnuts, peanuts, and cashews to maintain your health.

3. Maintains cholesterol level

The imbalance of cholesterol levels leads to a variety of diseases like heart attack, stroke, peripheral arterial diseases, and cancer development.

Therefore, balancing the level of cholesterol is extremely important for your health.

It can prevent you from a variety of diseases including several chronic disorders.

You should track your diet and omit the foods that can increase your level of cholesterol.

Almonds and other nuts have a high amount of an amino acid that stimulates the production of nitric oxide; called L-arginine. This acid helps in managing cholesterol in your body. 

Adding grains to your diet can also serve the purpose of barley contain beta-glucan which claims to lower cholesterol in your body.

Related: Eat These 11 Foods If You Want To Increase Good Cholesterol

4. Lowers the risk of cancer

Study shows that ovarian cancer is directly related to the glycemic index of the diet you consume. 

This implies that you can control the risk of cancer by monitoring your diet. 

As slow-digesting foods have a lower glycemic index, they can be consumed to lessen the risk of cancer.

5. Reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases

Dietary patterns have a great impact on your health. 

Having nutritious meals keeps you healthy and active. 

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the main causes of death around the globe. This is an alarming situation for everyone.

But by taking an appropriate diet, you can minimize the risk of CVDs.

Vegetables and fruits are directly related to lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

An analysis shows that intake of fruits (pear, apple, etc.) and vegetables has shown a negative relation with diseases related to the heart. 

You must add slow-digesting foods like grains and lentils to your diet as they are also reported to be favorably associated with cardiovascular diseases. 

6. Maintains weight

Diets that incorporate slow-digesting foods could help maintain your weight. They keep you healthy and prevent you from getting sick frequently.  

Consuming grains, fruits, vegetables, etc. would make you feel full even after long periods. 

In this way, you can restrain yourself from that unnecessary munching. And your body will maintain its weight by eating hygienic food.

Related: How to Maintain Weight Loss Without Dieting

7. Provides antioxidants

A lot of slow-digesting foods contain antioxidants. From fruits to nuts to grains. 

Nuts are highly rich in antioxidant properties. Walnuts are considered to be on top of the list. Followed by peanuts and others. 

Nuts have shown promising results in the prevention of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases. 

Antioxidants have proved to be very beneficial for your body. They are effective in preventing atherosclerosis, cancer, ocular diseases, and skin aging.

8. Improves mood

Anxiety and depression have become common mental health problems globally. Your lifestyles have a great impact on your health. 

Diet and nutrition can improve your physical as well as mental health. Poor diet leads to obesity and can worsen your mental health.

A study shows that consuming vegetables, fruits, and lentils, can improve your mood, making you healthy and positive towards life. 

Related: 5 Surprising Ways Food Affects Mood (Backed by Science)

Takeaway

We have penned down all the benefits that you need to know about slow-digesting foods. 

These foods must be lying in your kitchen randomly. You just need to take the courage to start incorporating them into your diet.

Eating food that is healthy and full of nutrition might seem a difficult task in the beginning.

But once you start getting used to it you will feel a positive change in your body.