Grilling onions immediately after cutting will deactivate the enzyme alliinase responsible for allicin production. If allicin is not produced, it cannot lower blood sugar levels in diabetics.
Onions are a nutritious vegetable containing beneficial phytochemicals and a decent amount of vitamin C, which can assist your body in combating inflammation and regulating blood sugar levels.
Grilling onions is a great way to enhance their flavor, but it’s important to be mindful of the type of oil used and the cooking techniques employed if you’re looking to keep your grilled onions healthy.
Additionally, if you’re keeping track of your calorie and fat intake, don’t forget to include the higher calorie count and fat grams from the grilled onions in your daily allowance.
Calories and Fat:
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Database, one cup of raw onions contains approximately 46 calories, with the majority of those calories stemming from carbohydrates.
Furthermore, raw onions are nearly devoid of fat. On the other hand, a cup of grilled or sautéed onions cooked with oil contains approximately 115 calories, with the additional calories coming from fat.
It’s important to note that if you’re monitoring your fat intake, you’ll need to account for the 9.4 grams of fat present in the cooked onions.
When following diets such as the American Heart Association’s heart-healthy diet, it’s crucial to be mindful of the type of fat you consume.
Grilling onions using partially hydrogenated vegetable oil increases your trans fat consumption and subsequently elevates your risk for high cholesterol.
Instead, opt for onions that are grilled using heart-healthy mono- or polyunsaturated fats like safflower, olive, canola, or macadamia nut oil.
If you’re grilling onions at home, Fred Pescatore and Jeff Harter, authors of “The Hamptons Diet Cookbook,” suggest lightly brushing thickly sliced onions with oil to reduce calories and fat.
Blood Sugar Effects: Are Grilled Onions Good for Diabetics?
Raw onions are considered to be a diet-friendly food due to their ability to lower blood sugar levels, which is attributed to their content of allyl propyl disulfide (APDS) and allicin.
However, the World Health Organization suggests that more research is necessary to confirm this effect and its potential benefits for individuals managing diabetes.
If you grill your onions too quickly, you may inadvertently counteract the effects of allicin, which is produced from the enzyme alliinase when an onion is cut or crushed.
Heat can deactivate this enzyme. To preserve the alliinase and promote the production of allicin, it’s recommended that you let your onions “rest” for roughly 10 minutes before exposing them to heat.
Glycemic Load:
Similar to other vegetables, onions have a low glycemic index.
This index indicates how quickly a food raises your blood sugar in comparison to pure glucose, with a glycemic index of 100 being considered poor (as it’s equivalent to pure sugar) and anything under 50 being considered low or good, according to Harvard Health Publications.
Onions boast a glycemic index of 10, as per Carbs–Information.com. Raw vegetables have a lower glycemic load than grilled vegetables.
However, grilling onions only increases their glycemic load from low to low-moderate.
As a result, individuals who are following a plan that calls for avoiding high-glycemic foods need not worry, as noted by Meri Raffetto and Rosanne Rust, authors of the “Glycemic Index Cookbook for Dummies.”