Chronic disease patients can happily eat rice dumplings; National Taiwan University Hospital promotes healthy rice dumplings

During the Dragon Boat Festival, everyone can happily eat rice dumplings, but for patients with chronic diseases, they dare not indulge in their appetite and eat rice dumplings with confidence because they are worried about the health impact. The nutritionist team at National Taiwan University Hospital has thoughtfully designed four healthy and clever rice dumplings for patients with chronic diseases and people who need to control their weight, so that everyone can enjoy the rice dumplings while taking into account nutrition and health!

National Taiwan University Hospital The nutritionist team of National Taiwan University Hospital has carefully designed four healthy dumplings for patients with chronic diseases and people who need to control their weight. (Photo courtesy of National Taiwan University Hospital)

The new version of the National Dietary Guidelines emphasizes that one-third of the daily staple food must come from whole grains and root vegetables. Traditional rice dumplings are mainly made of glutinous rice, which not only has a low dietary fiber content, but also has a large portion and a high fat content, which can easily lead to excessive calorie intake and is a huge burden for patients with chronic diseases.

In view of this, the nutritionists of National Taiwan University Hospital designed four kinds of 100-gram dumplings. The icy chewy dumpling has 90 calories, and the other three kinds of meat-free rice dumplings have only about 150 calories, which is 40% less than the traditional dumplings on the market. They use ten-grain rice, oats, buckwheat, coix seed, sweet potato, pumpkin, nuts, vegetables, salmon, cranberry, black sesame oil, olive oil, turmeric and other ingredients to make small dumplings that are low in calories, oil, cholesterol and high in fiber, including the icy chewy dumpling, Mediterranean light meal dumpling, golden toon and wild mushroom dumpling, and multi-grain high-fiber health dumpling.

The three salty rice dumplings designed this time use different kinds of grains to replace the glutinous rice used in traditional rice dumplings, with a proportion of up to 50%, so they are rich in dietary fiber. Among them, the Mediterranean light rice dumpling method subverts the taste of traditional rice dumplings. It uses oats that have the effect of lowering cholesterol, and also wraps salmon rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and adds walnuts and cheese to increase the aroma.

Golden Toona and Wild Mushroom Zongzi uses turmeric, which has antioxidant properties and can prevent the growth of cancer cells, giving it a golden appearance. It also uses toona with a variety of natural ingredients, including a variety of mushrooms rich in polysaccharides, to replace the traditional artificially processed vegetarian ingredients, making the vegetarian zongzi different from other "zongzi" and rich in nutritional value.

The multi-grain high-fiber health-preserving rice dumplings use ten-grain rice, soybeans, konjac and other ingredients. The rich dietary fiber makes the glycemic index of the rice dumplings lower than that of traditional rice dumplings, and the black sesame oil with a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids enhances the aroma. In addition, the nutritionist team has also designed the icy Q rice dumplings to add cranberries rich in various flavonoids and polyphenols, paired with purple sweet potatoes, pumpkins and taro. The colors are crystal clear, not sweet or greasy, and the protein content of the icy Q rice dumplings is extremely low, which is also suitable for patients who need to limit protein as a snack.

Nutritionists at the National Taiwan University Hospital remind the public that when enjoying rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, they should follow the principle of a balanced diet. Diabetic patients should pay attention to the amount of staple food in the rice dumplings and consume them according to the nutritionist's advice so as not to affect blood sugar control. Obese and hyperlipidemia patients should pay attention to the amount of oil in the rice dumplings and can use the "mixing" method instead of the traditional "frying" method to make rice dumplings to reduce the amount of oil used.