Can Diabetics Eat Semolina Flour?
Choosing food for a diabetic diet can be confusing, especially when it comes to deciding which starches you can safely consume. Diabetics are discouraged from consuming white flour because of its impact on blood sugar, but semolina flour may be permissible in small servings for some diabetic patients.
Choosing food for a diabetic diet can be confusing, especially when it comes to deciding which starches you can safely consume. Diabetics are discouraged from consuming white flour because of its impact on blood sugar, but semolina flour may be permissible in small servings for some diabetic patients. Consult your physician before you begin any diet regimen for diabetes.
About Semolina Flour
Semolina flour is coarsely ground durum wheat. Semolina flour, like durum flour, is made from the ground endosperm of durum wheat, but durum flour is more finely ground. Most commercially sold pastas are made from semolina flour unless they are labelled otherwise. Despite its association with pasta, semolina flour has other uses. Mediterranean cooking employs semolina flour in cakes and other baked goods such as bread. Find semolina flour at any well-stocked grocery store or natural food store.
Semolina Flour and the Glycemic Index
The Glycemic Index is a ranking that lists foods according to their impact on the blood glucose level. While the Glycemic Index is not a magic scale that tells diabetics what to eat, foods that rank lower on the scale have less impact on blood glucose, which generally makes them better choices for diabetics. Semolina flour has a rank of 44 on the Glycemic Index, which is considered a low-GI food. White and wheat flours rank 70 or above, which is in the high-GI range. As a result, semolina flour will cause less impact on the blood glucose level.
Semolina Flour and Diabetes
A serving of semolina pasta is only one starch exchange, which means that many diabetics can enjoy it occasionally. Semolina flour does have an impact on blood glucose levels, which means that diabetics will have to carefully watch their portions and the frequency with which they can consume pasta or other baked goods with semolina flour. You may need to combine the food containing semolina flour with meat or other foods that may stabilize the semolina's impact on blood glucose levels.
Questions
Consult your physician to determine if you are allowed to have products made with semolina flour and how frequently you can consume them. The answer might be more complicated than you think because the physician must consider your type of diabetes, your current blood sugar level and several other factors. If you cannot have foods containing semolina flour, your physician may be able to suggest another option for a starch that will be acceptable for your condition.