The Lantern Festival is approaching, and tangyuan in the south and yuanxiao in the north signify reunion and completeness.Thus, they naturally become the theme of these days.However, how to eat this sweet and sticky, soft and glutinous tangyuan healthily has long been a mystery for many people.Breakfast

is not advisable.Tangyuan contains much sugar and is high in calories; hence, many believe that eating them at night may lead to weight gain, making breakfast the better choice.Some even think that boiling tangyuan in water is a perfect way to have a hot and soupy breakfast.However, Dr. Yu Kang from the Department of Nutrition at Peking Union Medical College Hospital points out that tangyuan is not suitable for breakfast, let alone eating only them as breakfast.Let's first look at what tangyuan really is.

Tangyuan is a food primarily made ofglutinous riceand sugar, with the glutinous rice flour containing large amounts of starch and the filling rich in sugar.Therefore, it can be considered as a main dish.Unlike steamed buns,rice, etc., which are also main dishes, yuanxiao contains much fat in its filling, even more than the sugar.Traditionally, pork oil is used for making tangyuan fillings; southern versions use pig's trotters and meat, while northern ones use pig's trotters with various nuts or fruits.Now there are higher-end varieties that usebutterorvegetablemargarinefor the filling.Why is tangyuan not suitable for breakfast?The main ingredient in tangyuan, refined glutinous rice flour, has high stickiness and is very difficult to digest.Adding to this, the large amount of fat in the filling further burdens the digestive tract.In the morning when people first wake up, their digestive system is weakest; eating so much indigestible food at once will certainly burden the stomach and intestines excessively.For those with poor digestion, it may lead to symptoms such as acid reflux and heartburn, affecting daily work and life.Additionally, from a nutritional standpoint, having tangyuan for breakfast is unreasonable.Because tangyuan primarily contains carbohydrates and fat, but protein, minerals, dietary fiber, etc., are very little.Such a breakfast cannot meet the body's full morning nutrition requirements.

Experts suggest that eating tangyuan at noon is better as this time the digestive system is strongest, allowing adequate time to digest its excessive calories.Pair it with spicy condiments to protect your spleen and stomach.According to Professor Zhao Enxiang from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at China-Japan Friendship Hospital, tangyuan has particularly high sugar content, and very sweet foods can affect the spleen and stomach."Sweetness enters the spleen," he says. Foods like tangyuan have a "stabilizing" effect; moderate consumption can provide energy to the digestive tract, aiding in digestion and absorption of food ingested, but excessive consumption will slow down intestinal peristalsis, causing belching, bloating, diarrhea, poor appetite, indigestion, etc.Therefore, when eating tangyuan, pair it with some pungent foods like garlic, ginger, scallions, or chili peppers to balance the stabilizing effect of tangyuan and reduce damage to the spleen and stomach.

Thus, eat tangyuan with some side dishes such as pickled eggplant, onion stir-fried with black fungus, etc., which are not only refreshing but also more nutritionally balanced.Eating three tangyuan is equivalent to half a bowl of rice.Generally speaking, the glutinous rice flour used in making three tangyuan equals 1 jin (about 50 grams) of rice, i.e., half a bowl of cooked rice.Although there are now sugar-free versions of tangyuan and yuanxiao, they cannot truly be without sugar due to the difficulty in removing it from both the dough and filling.Therefore, for people with diabetes, even these "sugar-free" varieties should not be consumed.If you must eat them, do so no more than three at a time and reduce your daily rice intake by half a bowl.

Seasoned dishes preserve the spleen and stomach.Professor Zhao Enxiang of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department at Friendship Hospital pointed out that Tangyuan is particularly high in sugar, and overly sweet foods can affect the spleen and stomach.According to traditional Chinese medicine, "sweetness enters the spleen." Sweet foods like Tangyuan have a "slowing" effect; moderate consumption can provide energy for the intestines and help digest and absorb food. However, eating too much can slow down intestinal peristalsis, causing belching, bloating, diarrhea, poor appetite, and indigestion.Therefore, when eating Tangyuan, you can pair them with pungent foods such asginger,garlic,chili peppersto balance the slowing effect of Tangyuan and reduce harm to the spleen and stomach.Thus, when eating Tangyuan, it is best to pair them with some small dishes like pickled garliceggplantoronion,mixed withblack fungus,providing a fresher taste and more balanced nutrition.

Eat three Tangyuan, half a bowl of rice less.Generally, the amount of glutinous rice flour used for one to two Tangyuan is equivalent to about half a cup of cooked rice.Although there are now "sugar-free" Tangyuan and Yuanxiao, they are actually difficult to achieve true sugar-free because both the skin and filling cannot completely eliminate the sugar content.Therefore, for diabetes patients, even "sugar-free" Tangyuan should not be consumed.If you must eat them, do not exceed three at a time, and always reduce half a bowl of rice from your daily main meal intake.