Eat no more than 2 Yuanxiao per meal! Exercise more to burn calories

Today is the Lantern Festival, commonly known as the "Little New Year". Eating glutinous rice balls is a custom and also symbolizes family reunion. However, nutritionists remind that glutinous rice balls are difficult to digest and high in calories, so no more than 2 pieces should be consumed per meal. Sugar substitutes or vegetables can be used during cooking to prevent calories from accumulating in the body and causing obesity problems.

Nutritionists recommend using wolfberries and sugar substitutes when cooking to reduce calories.

Ji Yizhen, a nutritionist at Tong Hospital, said that glutinous rice balls are made of glutinous rice flour, which is difficult to digest and can easily burden the gastrointestinal tract. They are also high in calories. Four common peanut or sesame glutinous rice balls have 280 calories, which is equivalent to the calories in a bowl of rice. Therefore, it is recommended that people should not eat more than 2 glutinous rice balls per meal, especially those with diabetes, kidney disease, and high blood pressure should eat glutinous rice balls in moderation and not eat too much or reduce the portion of staple food at the main meal.

Nutritionist Ji Yizhen pointed out that the calories, sugar and fat content of commercially available glutinous rice balls are very high. The calories of 20 small glutinous rice balls or 2 peanut glutinous rice balls are equivalent to half a bowl of rice. In addition, there are two ways to cook glutinous rice balls: sweet and salty. It is best to choose sweet glutinous rice balls without fillings. You can also use pumpkin balls, sweet potato balls, etc. as a substitute. For sweet soup, you can use stronger ingredients or sweeteners such as wolfberry, longan, red dates or ginger soup to reduce sugar and calories. When cooking salty glutinous rice balls, you can add Chinese cabbage, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, celery or mushrooms, which can not only reduce calorie intake but also increase fiber content.

In addition to the calories, glutinous rice dumplings are difficult to digest and need to be chewed slowly. If you are giving small dumplings to the elderly or children, you can first cut the dumplings in half with scissors to avoid choking.

Want to eat glutinous rice balls healthily and lose weight? Nutritionists say that in addition to following the principle of eating small amounts and slowly, you should also exercise more to burn calories. Currently, there are lantern festivals being held all over Taiwan, and you can go out to admire the lanterns, take a walk, or engage in more outdoor activities to increase calorie consumption and prevent fat from forming.