There’s little doubt that diet is important. The foods you eat and don’t eat impact your health in endless ways, influencing your risk of obesity, diabetes, and many other conditions.
For people with type 2 diabetes, dietary decisions are even more critical. To manage your condition well, you need to look for foods that will keep your blood sugar levels stable.
So then, are egg noodles good for diabetes?
The name suggests that they should be, as eggs don’t affect your blood sugar levels nearly as much as wheat flour does. But… there’s more to the story than just that.
What Are Egg Noodles?
Egg noodles can be purchased fresh, dried, or made at home yourself. They’re often flat and can be used in the same recipes as regular noodles.
As the name suggests, egg noodles are made using eggs.
But… not just eggs.
Most versions still use wheat flour and water as well. Some commercial products may use preservatives and other ingredients to improve the shelf stability and flavor of the noodles.
Effects on Blood Sugar
The inclusion of wheat flour in the recipe means that egg noodles will influence your blood sugar levels. In fact, their glycemic index (GI) is around 57. Regular noodles fall somewhere from 42 to 48.
This is partly because egg noodles are high in carbs, with a cup of the cooked noodles containing roughly 40 grams of carbs.
That’s not at all encouraging.
Now, GI isn’t the only factor to think about. There’s also glycemic load (GL), which considers both GI and serving size. GL is a better predictor of blood sugar impact than GI, but egg noodles don’t fare well here either – with a GL of 18 (vs 21 for regular noodles and 16 for whole wheat ones).
Based on the GL, egg noodles are slightly better than white pasta, but not dramatically so. Both types are likely to increase your blood sugar levels.
So, Are Egg Noodles Good For Diabetes?
Egg noodles aren’t great for diabetes. Their GI and GL levels make that clear. Plus, just like regular wheat noodles, egg noodles don’t provide that many nutrients.
Does this mean you need to avoid egg noodles entirely?
Not necessarily.
Staying healthy as a diabetic doesn’t have to involve cutting out all your favorites. You may still be able to enjoy egg noodles, as long as you follow the following tips.
Watch Your Portion Size
It’s incredibly easy to overdo it with pasta. But, as a diabetic, you need to be more cautious than normal.
Keeping your portion sizes low will help to reduce the blood sugar impact of your pasta, making it much better for you. You’ll be keeping your carb and calorie intake in check too.
The best approach is to measure out your noodles carefully. Don’t judge by eye or estimate, as it’s too easy to consume more than you mean to.
Serve With Healthy Ingredients
Most of us don’t eat egg noodles on their own. We normally use them as part of a recipe. Each of the other ingredients changes the way the noodles impact our blood sugar levels.
Having a small serving of noodles along with plenty of vegetables and some lean protein should decrease the blood sugar impact dramatically, making the noodles much better for diabetes.
Look for Low Carb Egg Noodles
Some types of egg noodles are better than others. One of my favorites is Carba-nada Egg Fettuccini. This relies on semolina flour rather than wheat flour, a choice that makes it lower in carbs than regular egg noodles.
Be cautious, however, as these noodles aren’t free from carbs at all. Instead, a serving contains 24 grams of carbs, only 7 of which come from fiber.
If you want truly low carb noodles, you could make your own instead. Keto egg noodle recipes are particularly good, as these are guaranteed to be very low in carbs.
Here are a few options to try:
- Homemade Keto Egg Noodles with Almond Flour from Low Carb No Carb
- Keto Egg Noodles from Wholesome Yum
- Low Carb Egg Noodles from Step Away from The Carbs
Alternatives to Egg Noodles
Even if you’re being careful with your serving size, egg noodles might be too high in carbs for your need.
What do you do then?
Thankfully, there are plenty of noodles that are good for people with diabetes.
If you’re looking for something to buy in the store, check out our post on the best noodles for diabetics. In it, I highlighted 10 stand-out products and included details from my own at-home experiments.
Alternatively, you can make your own noodle alternatives using fresh vegetables.
Zucchini Noodles
Zoodles, or zucchini noodles, are the most popular option here. These are simply strips of zucchini. You can make them with a knife, although many people prefer using a spiralizer instead.
Zoodles don’t have the same flavor or texture as pasta, but they’re a good source of nutrients and antioxidants, and are also very low in carbs. You can make some pretty amazing meals with zoodles too, including Peanut Chicken Zucchini Noodles and Chicken Pesto Zoodles Salad.
Other Spiralized Vegetables
While zucchini is spiralized more than any other vegetable, it’s certainly not your only option. You can do something similar with many other vegetables, including butternut squash, bell peppers, cucumbers, beets, and celeriac.
Some of these vegetables can easily be used as noodles, either instead of zucchini noodles or as well as them.
For that matter, you can even use a combination of spiralized vegetables and pasta in the same dish. Doing so decreases the amount of pasta you’re using and increases your fiber intake, which should help with the blood sugar effect.
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash is another interesting choice. This winter squash is a decent source of fiber and is relatively low in calories and carbs, making it much better than pasta.
The most notable thing is that the flesh of the squash forms pasta-like strands once it’s cooked. Very little work is required on your part, especially as you can simply cook the spaghetti squash in the microwave for around 10 to 15 minutes (be sure to pierce the skin first).
Once again, spaghetti squash won’t taste exactly the same as pasta, but it can be an excellent substitute.
Final Thoughts
If you’re careful with your serving sizes and other ingredients then, yes, egg noodles can be included on a diabetic diet.
As for our original question – are egg noodles good for diabetes? – the simple answer is no. They contain far too many carbs to ever be an ideal choice.
Want More Diabetes Support? For more tools to help track your diabetes supplies, check out our tracking sheet, or our ultimate guide for diabetes care.
You’ll see more benefits and a lower blood sugar effect by focusing on some of the other noodles we’ve talked about instead, including spiralized vegetables. Anything promoted as being keto friendly could be an excellent choice too, as keto dieters need to keep their carb intake very low.
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