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I like a very good pie. Yearly for Thanksgiving I make a bourbon chocolate pecan pie, which is each bit as decadent—and scrumptious—because it sounds. Nevertheless it incorporates an ungodly quantity of corn syrup and sugar, so it obtained me considering: Which kind 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, once you take a chew of pie, the carbohydrates get delivered to your bloodstream as glucose that in the end 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 unravel 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 line with the specialists:
Pecan pie
Not all pies are created equally: you might have extra management over the elements in home made pies, so that they are usually more healthy than store-bought ones. On the whole, although, many pecan pies are on the sweeter facet.
“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 nicely and tends to be a little bit bit greater in fiber.”
So regardless that 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, individuals usually add lots of sugar, Arévalo says. In case you’re making the pie at residence, 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 would cut back the quantity of corn syrup and substitute it with chia seeds, for instance.
Another 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 may not want so as to add as a lot sugar. It has a little bit fiber, nevertheless it has zero protein.”
Right here once more, you would serve the pie with some plain yogurt and even some nuts on high for a little bit additional 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 large variability from one shop-bought apple pie to a different shop-bought apple pie to a home made apple pie,” Berry notes. In case you’re making the pie at residence, you should use much less sugar, and you too can 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 need to go for the bottom sugar—the pie that’s going to extend my sugar the least—I’d most likely say apple pie,” she says.
Arévalo agrees: “Apple pie, I’ll say, trying 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 a whole 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 home made 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 may help put together your physique for the large 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 carry you pleasure,” Berry says. “In case you loved the pecan and the pumpkin and the apple, and also you need a lot of sugar in it, I wouldn’t fear about it, personally.”
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