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What is a tamale? Tamales are a classic Mexican dish with a corn-based dough mixture filled with various meats, beans, and cheese.
Tamales are wrapped and cooked in corn or banana leaves, but they get removed from the husks before eating.
When Do You Eat Tamales?
Usually made from a starchy, corn-based masa (dough), tamales most commonly get wrapped in corn husks before being steamed and served with spicy salsas drizzled over them.
Street vendors may sell them morning, noon, and night across the country, although they are most famous as breakfast food.
Many people are uncertain about “Are Tamales Good for Diabetics?” So let us look at the benefits that this grain has to provide-
Nutritional Content In A Tamale-
Calories
The average number of calories in a giant chicken tamale is 305. However, the precise number might change based on the components used in the filling.
Fat
More than half of the calories in a giant chicken tamale—19.4 grams of fat—come from fat.
Vitamins And Minerals
Tamales provide healthy micronutrients, including folate, vitamin A, calcium, zinc, phosphorous, potassium, and iron.
Carbohydrates And Fiber
Because the masa dough gets made from maize flour, each giant chicken tamale has 1.7 grams of fiber and 21 grams of carbs.
Protein
Tamales frequently get cooked with protein-rich ingredients like chicken, pig, beef, or beans. The amount of protein in a giant chicken tamale is 12.3 grams.
One drawback: Because salt, baking powder, and chicken broth frequently get used in recipes, a giant tamale may contain as much as 656 mg of sodium.
Are Tamales Low Glycemic?
Tamales developed using classic and ecological nixtamalization procedures are better than tamales prepared using a typical nixtamalization technique.
They have the most significant total, soluble, and insoluble dietary fiber, the highest RS content, and a lower in vivo glycemic index.
Do Tamales Have A Lot Of Sugar?
According to Eating Well, chicken tamales are mostly lower in fat and calories than traditional varieties, which call for adding lard to the corn dough that encases the meat and a pig filling.
However, chicken tamales may still contain a lot of sugar, more importantly, if they are slathered with sauce, as is typical in the US.
How To Make Tamales Healthier?
By adding some thoughtful substitutions to your tamale recipe, there are a few quick and easy methods to increase the health benefits:
- To lower the amount of saturated fat, swap the lard with vegetable oil.
- You should select lean meat for the filling, such as ground turkey or chopped shredded chicken breast.
- Include vegetables and fiber-rich beans in the filling. Please don’t use too much cheese in the filling (or skip it altogether).
- Choose a broth with less salt.
- Increase taste without packing on the calories. Build strong flavor with aromatics like onion, garlic, carrots, and spices like cumin and chile.
Conclusion
According to the experts, traditional tamales are generally not a good idea to consume if you have diabetes or high blood pressure.