Metabolic syndrome makes one prone to heart disease, diabetes, and other disorders. It includes at least three of the following: high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, large waist.
One of the intervention for preventing or managing metabolic syndrome is consuming a well-balanced diet with a healthy amount of vegetables. Vegetables contain fibre, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals which can help in reducing the blood sugar level, pressure, cholesterol levels, increasing insulin sensitivity, and inflammation too.
But what are the best vegetables to eat with metabolic syndrome? Here are six of them, together with their benefits and some tips on how to include them in your diet.
1. Broccoli
Broccoli is among a group of cruciferous vegetables and contains sulforaphane, one of the compounds to affect insulin sensitivity while protecting against oxidative stress and inflammation. Broccoli is also a source of vitamin C, folate, and potassium for heart health.
Broccoli can enjoy being eaten raw, steamed, or roasted or even sautéed. Great for adding to salad, soups, stir-fries, casseroles, or omelettes. You could also pulse cauliflower in your food processor and cook the cauliflower rice in a skillet with some oil and seasonings.
2. Artichokes
Artichoke is a thistle-like vegetable filled with high fiber, particularly inulin - a type of prebiotic fiber that can nourish the good bacteria in your gut to boost the blood sugar control. Artichoke also contains manganese, a nutrient required for carbohydrate metabolism and plays a role in promoting normal blood sugar control.
Boil it, steam it, bake or grill them and eat it with a dip or sauce. You can also use canned or frozen artichoke hearts in salads, pizzas, pastas or dips. Try this for a healthy yet tasty snacks.
3. Spinach
Spinach is a green leafy vegetable, less in calories and antioxidant-rich vegetables with lutein and zeaxanthin for protecting your eyes and blood vessels from damage occurring out of high blood sugar. The nitrates present in spinach are converted into nitric oxide in your body that helps in maintaining lower blood pressure by improving the functioning of blood vessels.
The beauty of this is that it blends into your meals in so many different ways and with great ease too. You can use them raw by adding them to your salads or smoothies, otherwise cooked using soups, curries, quiches, frittatas or stir-fried. Another choice has become very popular recently with fair results if done well is preparing spinach pesto where you blend it with basil, garlic, nuts, cheese, and olive oil.
4. Cabbage
Another cruciferous vegetable that may be helpful to individuals with metabolic syndrome is the use of cabbage. It has glucosinolates, which are phytochemicals with abilities to modulate the enzymes for glucose and lipid metabolism. The cabbage is of low calories and a great source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, and folate.
Cabbage can be eaten raw, cooked or even fermented. Applied for coleslaws when shredded and finds application in salads, sandwiches, or wraps. You can also use it when cooking soups and stews or simply added into a stir-fry. You can also have fermented cabbage such as sauerkraut or kimchi to give you probiotics which will enhance your gut health and your immunity.
5. Chili
Chili is a spicy vegetable that contains capsaicin, which is a beneficial compound that can increase your metabolism so you can burn off excess calories. Capsaicin may also lower blood sugar and insulin level as well as appetite reducer and anti-inflammatory. Chili peppers are also rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, and antioxidants.
You can use fresh chili peppers, dried chili peppers, or powdered chili peppers to spice up your dishes. They can also be included into soups, sauces, salsas, or marinades. If stuffed with cheese, meat or rice, they can be good for being baked in the oven. But please, pay attention when washing them away: you should never touch your eyes, mouth, or any other sensitive body parts afterwards – peppers might leave their burning trace on your body.
6. Kale
Kale is one of the leafy green vegetables that either prevent or helps manage the metabolic syndrome. It contains alpha-lipoic acid which is an antioxidant and helps reduce blood sugar and also increases insulin sensitive. In addition to this its high in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, and iron.
Kale is edible in form of cooked or raw. You could massage it as you drizzle a bit of oil and lemon juice into it which you then harmonize it to make a salad, or even blend it together with some fruits plus milk and make juice. Kale can also be cooked in soups, stews, or stir fries and even backed in the oven to make kale chips.
Conclusion
Vegetables must be part of a must-have food when it comes to diet as a measure of controlling metabolic syndrome. They can help in reducing blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels besides improving the insulin sensitivity and reducing inflammation.
The above six vegetables are among the good ones to eat for metabolic syndrome, but besides that one can also enjoy other low-starch vegetables high in fibre such as asparagus, celery, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, mushrooms, peppers, radishes, tomatoes, and zucchini.
Aim to eat at least five servings of vegetables in a day and vary with types and colors in order to get the different variety of nutritional value or rather nutrients and those-with-antioxidants. –(IVNTV)