I really like an excellent pie. Yearly for Thanksgiving I make a bourbon chocolate pecan pie, which is each bit as decadent—and scrumptious—because it sounds. But it surely incorporates an ungodly quantity of corn syrup and sugar, so it obtained me considering: Which sort of pie spikes your blood sugar the quickest? And is there a “more healthy” pie?
Pie varieties abound, so I centered on a few of the classics: pecan, pumpkin and apple. No matter filling, while you take a chunk of pie, the carbohydrates get delivered to your bloodstream as glucose that finally will get absorbed by cells. The sooner these sugars get into your bloodstream, the faster you expertise a sugar rush. Any guesses on which pie would shuttle probably the most sugars the quickest?
To resolve this gooey puzzle, I talked to Sarah Berry, a professor of dietary sciences at Kings School London, and Sandra Arévalo, director of neighborhood well being and wellness at Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
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Right here’s how the totally different pies actually stack up, in accordance with the consultants:
Pecan pie
Not all pies are created equally: you’ve extra management over the elements in do-it-yourself pies, so that they are typically more healthy than store-bought ones. Basically, although, many pecan pies are on the sweeter aspect.
“If we consider the common apple, pecan or pumpkin pie, on common, the pecan tends to be greater in sugar, adopted by the pumpkin, adopted by the apple pie,” Berry says. “However what we additionally know is the pecan tends to be greater in protein as effectively and tends to be somewhat bit greater in fiber.”
So although pecan pie is excessive in sugar, the protein and fiber decelerate abdomen emptying and, in flip, the discharge of glucose into the bloodstream. Protein additionally stimulates the discharge of the hormone insulin, which strikes sugar into your cells and out of your bloodstream, Berry says. (Rating one level for pecan pie!)
However as a result of pecans aren’t that candy, folks usually add loads of sugar, Arévalo says. In the event you’re making the pie at house, you possibly can add much less sugar or corn syrup. Pecan pie recipes usually have corn syrup in them not just for the sweetness however for the feel, she says. So you can scale back the quantity of corn syrup and substitute it with chia seeds, for instance.
An alternative choice for slowing the sugar rush in pecan pie is to serve it with a scoop of plain yogurt or some unsweetened cream, Berry and Arévalo recommend.
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin pie typically incorporates much less sugar and extra dietary fiber than pecan.
“Pumpkin is fairly candy already,” Arévalo says, “so that you won’t want so as to add as a lot sugar. It has somewhat fiber, however it has zero protein.”
Right here once more, you can serve the pie with some plain yogurt and even some nuts on prime for somewhat further protein. Nuts additionally give the pie some crunch, she says.
Apple pie
Of the three pies talked about, apple pie typically incorporates the least sugar and most fiber.
“The extra fruit it has, the higher. The much less sugar it has, the higher. The extra protein and fiber, the higher,” Arévalo says.
Nonetheless, “there’s big variability from one shop-bought apple pie to a different shop-bought apple pie to a do-it-yourself apple pie,” Berry notes. In the event you’re making the pie at house, you should use much less sugar, and it’s also possible to make a whole-grain crust for the fiber, she says. For the filling, Arévalo recommends utilizing apples with their fiber-rich peels on.
The decision is in …
Total there’s not an enormous distinction within the fiber or protein content material of all three pies, Berry says. “So if I used to be going to must go for the bottom sugar—the pie that’s going to extend my sugar the least—I’d in all probability say apple pie,” she says.
Arévalo agrees: “Apple pie, I’ll say, wanting on the glycemic load of all of those.” Glycemic load is a measure of how a given meals impacts blood sugar.
As talked about already, pecan pies are inclined to pack probably the most highly effective punch, sugar-wise, and pumpkin pie isn’t essentially any higher.
However apple pie isn’t all the time the more healthy possibility right here. “If the pecan pie doesn’t have quite a lot of sugar, then I’ll put pecan pie first. It actually depends upon how candy it’s,” Arévalo says.
You can also make any do-it-yourself pie more healthy by adjusting the quantity of sugar, protein and fiber. And there are different methods to offset the consequences of your pie consumption by taking a brisk stroll after dessert. Consuming breakfast and snacking on protein and fiber all through the day can assist put together your physique for the massive meal and forestall a big sugar spike.
In the end, it is best to simply take pleasure in your Thanksgiving feast. “On the finish of the day, Thanksgiving is there for pleasure, for household, for connection, and the meals that you just eat ought to convey you pleasure,” Berry says. “In the event you loved the pecan and the pumpkin and the apple, and also you need a number of sugar in it, I wouldn’t fear about it, personally.”
