Do pumpkins help me lose weight or gain weight?

corinasue1143

Ok, so I was curious and had to look it up. Comparing apples to bananas to pumpkin.

Glycemic load. Apples = 3; bananas = 8, pumpkin= 1
Sugar, more for banana, comparable sucrose and fructose for apples and bananas, glucose= bananas have about twice as much as apples. Pumpkin is so low in sugar they didn’t break it down.
Could glucose be the culprit?

MelanieCN77

This poster is gonna also get "you again" woos. Is there a rule about that?

corinasue1143

Zinka61 wrote: »

Calories are calories, so just count them, and you should be fine. Pumpkin is so good for you, loaded with potassium, which most people don't get enough of, and vitamin A, fiber...And if it doesn't bother your GERD, that's a plus. Interesting side note. 3 years ago I was told I had GERD. After learning how to live with it, sort of, I had some testing done in the digestive clinic at our hospital. It turns out I don't have GERD at all, but rather, a hypersensitive esophagus which has begun over reacting to completely normal amounts of stomach acid. The specialist commented that they believe this may be very common but that most people are never tested to find out if they really have GERD or not. Just thought I'd throw that out there, because dealing with "GERD" for those 3 years really was a struggle. Now I don't have to take antacids, worry about what I eat, or keep the head of my bed up on risers. (Pumpkin was never on my forbidden list anyway, though). So now I've got to ask: What are your best pumpkin recipes?

Favorite easy pumpkin recipe.
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
1/2 cup nut butter
1 egg.
Mix it up. Add what you like, a touch of vanilla, some sweet (suggested starting point =1/4 cup sugar), choc chips, dried fruits, nuts, etc. make as cookies or cookie bars.
It’s a good, easy, somewhat healthy treat to up your calories just a little.

lemurcat2

corinasue1143 wrote: »

Ok, so I was curious and had to look it up. Comparing apples to bananas to pumpkin.

Glycemic load. Apples = 3; bananas = 8, pumpkin= 1
Sugar, more for banana, comparable sucrose and fructose for apples and bananas, glucose= bananas have about twice as much as apples. Pumpkin is so low in sugar they didn’t break it down.
Could glucose be the culprit?

I'm skeptical about the claim that bananas are the hardest food for diabetics to moderate (moderate to me means "not eat excessive amounts of" and also from what I've heard and read different T2Ds have different responses to different high carb foods and need to experiment), but the glucose is relevant to the effect of the food. Fructose doesn't tend to be a problem wrt spiking blood sugar, whereas fructose is (fructose in excessive amounts is bad for the liver, but that's not an issue with some fruit).

Sucrose is just glucose + fructose in equal amounts and is quickly broken down.

But the problem with any such broad claim about an individual food is that it depends on the amount consumed and what it's eaten with. (Often, but not always, bananas and apples might be eaten on their own, of course, but for a T2D in particular, they could be told to limit portion size and combine with other sources of protein and fat and fiber, like a nut butter or eating it with dinner.)

I have no particular brief for bananas, btw, they are quite low down on my list of preferred fruits, and I dislike them in smoothies. (Banana bread is good, though, and I like a plantain.)

kshama2001

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

This poster is gonna also get "you again" woos. Is there a rule about that?

Yes, that's not wooable either:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/43568226/#Comment_43568226

Woo: Woo is a term for pseudoscientific explanations that share certain common characteristics, often being too good to be true (aside from being unscientific). Woo is understood specifically as dressing itself in the trappings of science (but not the substance) while involving unscientific concepts, such as anecdotal evidence and sciencey-sounding words.

What is woo: Any claim that is too good to be true, such as ingesting a certain substance will cause weight loss independent of diet and exercise. This is for outlandish claims - keyword being "claims."

What is not woo:

• A user asking a question about a topic they heard about (ex. I heard fenugreek causes weight loss, is that true?). Even if what they are asking about is not true, they are asking to learn more, not telling people to take it.
• Someone mentioning a way of eating, especially an established way of eating, someone else does not prefer.
• Someone discussing a way of eating or tool to assist in weight loss in normal conversation without going into very specific detail about calorie deficits.
• Someone recommending a group on MFP for more information.
• Someone you don't like making a post.

MelanieCN77

Well I was being facetious.

kshama2001

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

Well I was being facetious.

Maybe so, but I'm sure that happens.