# Healthy cultivation of wax gourd #
Although wax gourd looks plain and belongs to the category of low price in vegetables, its nutritional value is unusual:
1, high potassium and low sodium, stable blood pressure.
Sodium is an extremely soluble element. The salt we usually eat contains a lot of sodium. When a large amount of sodium in food is absorbed into the blood in the gastrointestinal tract, the soaring sodium content in the blood will lead to the increase of osmotic pressure, which will lead to the increase of human blood pressure.
Potassium can promote sodium metabolism, help sodium excrete through urine, and reduce blood vessel pressure and protect blood vessels by inhibiting renin and angiotensin system.
Therefore, for patients with hypertension, a diet with high potassium and low sodium is recommended.
Winter melon is a combination of high potassium and low sodium. The potassium content of wax gourd per100g is130mg, and the sodium content is1.8mg.
2. Reduce fat and lose weight.
Trigonella foenum-graecum and malonic acid contained in wax gourd can promote metabolism, inhibit the conversion of sugar into fat, and prevent the accumulation of fat in the body, thus reducing the increase of body fat and lowering the level of blood lipid.
Fenugreek mainly exists in the flesh of wax gourd. When eating, you can cook the pulp of wax gourd together, and don't throw it away.
In addition, 95% of the water content of wax gourd is almost free of protein, carbohydrate and fat, and the calorie of wax gourd is only 12 calories per100g. Eating more will not increase the burden of blood cholesterol, and it is also a good diet for overweight people.
3, rich in dietary fiber, a good helper to control blood sugar.
Dietary fiber is a kind of carbohydrate that human body can't digest, which can be divided into two categories: water-insoluble fiber and water-soluble fiber. Although indigestible, it is very beneficial to health:
① Reduce postprandial blood sugar. Soluble dietary fiber becomes sticky when it meets water, wrapping food, slowing down the speed of food entering the intestine, thus slowing down the sugar rising speed of starch food and making blood sugar more stable after meals.
2 enhance satiety, dietary fiber can easily make people feel full, which can let the brain receive the signal that they are full and reduce the health burden caused by overeating. At the same time, various fibers can also absorb bile acids, fats and so on. , can achieve the effect of lowering blood fat.
③ Enhance insulin sensitivity. Dietary fiber can enhance insulin secretion and improve insulin resistance to some extent.
The dietary fiber in wax gourd contains 0.9 g per 100 g, which can not only enjoy the satisfaction brought by satiety, but also help to keep blood sugar and blood lipid stable.
# Which is better, green wax gourd or white wax gourd? #
Eating wax gourd has so many benefits. There are two kinds of wax gourd you see in the market: green and white, with a layer of frost on the surface. Which of these two kinds of wax gourd is better?
In fact, there is no difference in nutrition between the two kinds of wax gourd, but there is a difference in taste.
Green-skinned wax gourd has higher water content, closer meat quality and better cooked taste;
White wax gourd is thin and loose and easy to taste.
# Eat melons and don't waste these good things! #
1. Wax gourd skin
Winter melon skin is actually a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, and its diuretic and detumescence effect is stronger than melon meat. If you use wax gourd to cook soup, you might as well leave the melon peel and cook it together, which can play the role of relieving summer heat, strengthening the spleen and diuresis, especially suitable for summer consumption.
2. Wax gourd pulp
The pulp of wax gourd is also a traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effect of clearing away heat and reducing swelling. The trigonelline that we mentioned above can reduce fat mainly exists in the flesh of wax gourd.
3. Winter melon seeds
The white melon seeds that people usually eat are winter melon seeds, which contain 14% oil, most of which are unsaturated fatty acids, and can be said to be a scavenger of blood vessels. When eating wax gourd, you can collect and dry the mature wax gourd seeds, or fry them or eat them raw, which are all good snacks for the cardiovascular system.
Such a melon can be eaten whole, without any waste, and it can be said that the cost performance is very high. Take advantage of the large number of winter melon in summer, and eat it quickly.