The Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner, and the variety of mooncakes is a feast for the eyes. In addition to traditional mooncakes, there are also ketogenic mooncakes which are sugar-free and low-calorie. However, a nutritionist cautioned that ketogenic mooncakes are not weight-reducing mooncakes. If people overindulge in them, they will not only gain belly fat but also harm their cardiovascular health.
Taiwanese nutritionist Nina Hsu R.D. introduced on her Facebook post that ketogenic mooncakes replace the ingredients of traditional mooncakes and reduce the proportion of carbohydrates.
The crusts are made of almond flour, roasted soybean flour, or flaxseed flour instead of wheat flour; the fillings are made of sesame flour and coconut flour or cream cheese; the source of sweetness is from erythritol and monk fruit, replacing granulated sugar and maltose.
She summarized three major benefits of ketogenic mooncakes, including low glycemic index (GI), slow rise in blood sugar after meals; more satiety after eating; and more nutrients than traditional mooncakes.
However, she emphasized that the main ingredient of ketogenic mooncakes is fat, and 1g of fat provides about 9kcal of energy, twice that of carbohydrates.
If people take in excessive amounts of saturated fatty acids, it causes their cholesterol to deposit on the walls of blood vessels, increasing the risk of embolism.
She also reminded the public that ketogenic mooncakes are rich in fat and protein, and the nature of the food will be “dry and hot” after baking, which may cause the body to become inflamed and have the symptoms of an “imbalance in internal energy”. If you are prone to dry mouth and poor defecation, you should be careful about the number of mooncakes you eat to avoid insomnia, irritability, acne breakouts, and other symptoms of “imbalance in internal energy.”
