Bananas

[reevos]

should I stop having a banana with my cereal in the morning,will it push sugar readings too high?

 

[bernie.freeman]

Hi Reevos ,

I think that bananas are a no no for diabetics, they contain a high concentration of carbs, be careful with your cereal too as they contain a lot of carbs. It may be an idea to test your blood before your breakfast and two hours later to see what effect your breakfast has on it. You may get away with your cereal if you have a small portion, let us know how you get on.

 

[sally and james]

You should probably give up the banana and the cereal as both are likely to push up blood sugar readings. You should test before and after (usually at 2 hours) to see what effect this breakfast is having on you and then decide what you can manage.
If you want to achieve normal blood sugars through low carb diet, the best sort of breakfasts are eggs/bacon/sausage/mushrooms/ham/fish/cheese based, perhaps along with some vegetable or salad, plus tea/coffee etc.
Sally

 

[jack412]

it would be better if you had a meter and tested after eating, that will show you what works for you
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
if you buy extra boxes of strips there is a discount code
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

 

[VinnyJames]

I occasionally eat a banana as a last resort. They are very high in carbs but also have other health benefits.

Eat to your meter - good luck!

 

[this is too difficult two]

should I stop having a banana with my cereal in the morning,will it push sugar readings too high?

Bananas are one of the thing I miss most.

 

[reevos]

I'm going have to try and give them up : (

 

[this is too difficult two]

Like Jack says, you need a meter. Some people can handle the odd banana apparently. But not me

 

[douglas99]

You need a meter. Without it, you can't say if bananas affect you badly or not.

 

[alliebee]

Some people can eat a small banana. I can't. But you really need a meter

 

[Andrew S]

I have been eating quite a few bananas over the last few months and I have my best HbA1c ever! I think it must be the pressups and long walks...

 

[walk39isl]

Re cereal. I got told by nurse to eat weetabix - v. low in sugar. Bananas do bump your blood sugar; apples less so. It was actually by a non diabetes nurse with thirty or more years experience. All I did was cut out sugar and ate courtesy of the NHS for six days, walked for two hours per day and my blood sugar levels went down to 8-10 mornings. No sugar, no diet coke, coffee, fags or alcohol but good meals with ahem lots of potatoes and pasta and fruit for pud.

 

[VinnyJames]

Weetabix are 12.5g of carbs per biscuit

 

[sanguine]

Re cereal. I got told by nurse to eat weetabix - v. low in sugar. Bananas do bump up your blood sugar; apples less so.

It's the total carbs that is relevant, not just the sugar. DNs often don't seem to get this.

Welcome by the way.

 

[douglas99]

It's the total carbs that is relevant, not just the sugar. DNs often don't seem to get this.

Welcome by the way.

Well, on this thread alone, it seems to be the effects vary from immensely from person to person, so maybe it's the time it takes the individual to utilise the carbs that matters.
DN's see a lot of different people with a lot of different lifestyles.

Eat to your meter is the only way, that's the message we should be telling them.

 

[Yorksman]

It all depends on what your average levels are. I used to avoid them, now I can eat them as my average levels have dropped.

Also slightly unripe bananas are starchier whereas over ripe bananas have more free sugars. The starch from bananas takes much longer to break down and get converted into sugars before it enters the blood stream. Ripe bananas enter the bloods more quickly. The size of the banana is also a signifiant factor.

If your BG is realtively low before your breakfast, try a small, not too ripe banana and measure your bloods after a couple of hours. You have to learn how different foods affect you.

 

[Yorksman]

It's the total carbs that is relevant, not just the sugar. DNs often don't seem to get this.

It's not as simple as that. You could eat a whole tree, about 80% carbs, and it won't affect your BG levels at all. Humans don't produce the cellulase enzymes required to break cellulose down.

On a grass plant, most of the structure is cellulose. Even the grass seeds, rye, wheat, barley etc contain lots of cellulose and it simply passes through the human digestive system. The carbs in beans, lentils etc also contain carbs which contain oligosaccharides which are only partially broken down by enzymes. Mostly, these carbs enter the lower intestine undigested and are broken down by bacteria, hence the wind, but these carbs are also mostly, not turned into simple sugars.

 

[pavlosn]

Although generally too high in carbs, I will sometimes have a small piece of banana, if I am running low and I am about to do some exercise.

Generally, I don't like to think of any food as forbidden.

I prefer to think that some food I can only have on rare and very infrequent occasions. This way, going without/ postponing when I will have the food in question, becomes the result of my own free choice and is easier for me to accept.

Pavlos

 

[sanguine]

It's not as simple as that. You could eat a whole tree, about 80% carbs, and it won't affect your BG levels at all. Humans don't produce the cellulase enzymes required to break cellulose down.

On a grass plant, most of the structure is cellulose. Even the grass seeds, rye, wheat, barley etc contain lots of cellulose and it simply passes through the human digestive system. The carbs in beans, lentils etc also contain carbs which contain oligosaccharides which are only partially broken down by enzymes. Mostly, these carbs enter the lower intestine undigested and are broken down by bacteria, hence the wind, but these carbs are also mostly, not turned into simple sugars.

Thanks, I didn't realise we were now talking about insoluble fibre. 'Carbs and cals' states 14 g carbohydrate and 2 g fibre for a single Weetabix. I know what they do to me. Normally on here total carbohydrates is referred to in the sense they are stated on food labels in the UK (but not in the USA for instance), which do metabolise to sugar at varying rates. If you want to eat them, see how they spike you.

Back to bananas ... (love(d) them but can't eat them).

 

[VinnyJames]

Can we bottle this cellulose you speak of?