best porridge

[Cath40]

hi all just a quick question which is the best porriage to buy that dosnt spike your BS that much is there a certain one that is better than others

Thanks for any replies

 

[IanD]

Forget the oats - I use a mix of ground almonds,coconut flour/desiccated, milled flax seeds.

I get a one hour spike of 14 with oats - 8 with nuts

 

[Cath40]

hi thanks for ur reply im same ive just had reading of 14 2 hours after im on no medication at the moment tho just waiting to go to clinic

Dont think i could eat what you eat tho as dont like almonds

 

[Beachbag]

hi thanks for ur reply im same ive just had reading of 14 2 hours after im on no medication at the moment tho just waiting to go to clinic

Dont think i could eat what you eat tho as dont like almonds

Porridge was always my breakfast, warm, sustaining and yummy but it causes a huge spike for me. I don't know which brand you use but the lowest carb ones are the cheapest supermarket "own" brand, which if you make with water gives you approx 8.2g per 100g cooked. Low compared to Quaker and Scott's which have at least 55g for a similar portion. Might be worth a try

 

[Yorksman]

hi all just a quick question which is the best porriage to buy that dosnt spike your BS that much is there a certain one that is better than others

Although porridge oats are classed as a complex carbohydrate, they are easily digestible and many people find that they raise BG levels substantially. It's why they were often given to sick people. As with flours, the tendency is for producers to create products which users find quick and simple to use when making a meal. Proper groats, or steel cut oats. take time to took. Most people want to do no more than a few mins in a microwave. If you want to eat them, you really need to eat groats or steel cut oats, not rolled oats and certainly not quick cook oats. Here is a useful explanation of the different terms oatmeal, steel cut oats, rolled oats etc.

Have a try at Scottish porridge oats, not to be confused with the brand Scott's porridge oats which is more a marketing description. All sorts of tricks are used with misleading titles such as Original Oats, Traditional Oats. You're probably better off buying at a good health food shop or online. The pic below is of pinhead oatmeal, basically chopped groats. It takes time to cook and takes time to digest:

 

[Cath40]

Hi thanks for all your replies yes i do use quaker oats the ones in a packet as its easier for me to just grab one of those and make them when i get to work ...

Think i will go and have a look at the supermarkets own branded ones

Had an hba1c check done in nov it was 47 had another one done last week coz i am off my meds and it has gone up to 55 :-(

 

[Yorksman]

Had an hba1c check done in nov it was 47 had another one done last week coz i am off my meds and it has gone up to 55 :-(

That's probably not too bad considering that you have come off meds. You will very probably be able to get that lower and quite possibly back into the sub 40 range just by being careful with what you eat. If you have been eating quick cook Quaker oats, you still have a lot of scope for making improvements. It's not quite as bad as white flour, but it is heading that way.

Ian mentioned other mixes above. I know you said that you don't like almond but the general idea of mixing in other grains is good. Millet was a staple in the medieval period and flax seed is often used, though it has a distinctive taste. You can also mix in things like bran. Although they are high in carbs, they are cellulose based carbs (beta carbs) and you don't digest it. It used to be called roughage. I think the current term is dietary fibre. It doesn't have much nutritional value but it is a stomache filler and helps bind foods together and provide texture. Just don't use too much. Beta carbs are what cows eat and they have four stomaches to digest the stuff.

 

[sally and james]

We have had success with Mornflake Stoneground Oatmeal, which is described as "pinhead". A recommended serving is 40g, but we use 25g per person - not much, but enough and better than nothing. We cook it in water, but serve with a spoon full of full fat yoghurt and some toasted nuts. The down side is that it takes 20 minutes to cook, with a lot of initial stirring.
Mornflake is available in Tesco and other supermarkets, in bags, tucked away between the large boxes of well known brands. You can see more about it here, http://www.mornflake.com/product-range/pinhead-oatmeal.aspx
As I understand it, a pin head oat is not rolled, just broken up. Mornflake then stone grind it to various textures. I would be interested in any comments from those with a fuller understanding of oat technology!
Sally.

 

[Cath40]

thanks for reply.I have gone back on 1 gliclizde a day i take in morning with breakfast but must admit it isnt doing much as i have a hiatus hernia i have to watch what i eat or i get flare ups which are not pleasant i can tell you lol I am not eating any more than 130 carbs a day with probs about 1400 cals a day i have managed to keep my weight down that i lost which is over 3 stone up to now just wish i cud ov stayed on the metformin as it was doing a brilliant job for my BG levels but my stomach didnt like them much

Thanks to all ur replies

 

[noblehead]

.

Keep away from the Instant types in individual packets as they will spike your postprandial bg levels. I eat Scotts Porridge or Tesco's Finest Traditional oats but add seeds, yoghurt and berries to the meal, the fats in the seeds help slow down the digestion of the carbs as does the fat in the yoghurt, porridge isn't for everyone but your bg readings will tell you if it is or not.

 

[Cath40]

thanks noblehead think i will give the tesco ones a go as yes ur right the packet one do spike my BG levels ie:level this morning was 6.4 first thing after my breakfast of porridge it was 14.0 ....have to be careful of the fats as it could cause my hernia a problem

 

[noblehead]

thanks noblehead think i will give the tesco ones a go as yes ur right the packet one do spike my BG levels ie:level this morning was 6.4 first thing after my breakfast of porridge it was 14.0 ....have to be careful of the fats as it could cause my hernia a problem

A 8mmol spike is quite big Cath, it might just be you can't handle porridge oats in a morning being diet controlled.

 

[Cath40]

yes ur probs right i should try to find something else to eat for breakfast ....i do take one gliclizde a day with breakfast but it dosnt seem to be having any effect ....what i cant understand is i can go to bed with levels of around 14 and in the morning they are back to normal hmm if u any ideas on that that would be great sorry for the questions as i was only diagnosed in june and was basically given tablets and told get on with it which im trying to do with not much luck at the moment im wating for my first app with the diabetic clinic which i insisted on being referred to by my gp coz of so many side effects of diabetic meds i dnt think my gp knows what to do with me now

 

[Riri]

Thanks all for this thread. Just ordered some steel cut oats as I do miss my morning porridge. Read an article in the guardian about Golspie oats being very good but so far can't seem to get them online (unless I pay an awful amount for postage!)

 

[CollieBoy]

I would say that your best bet would be the pin-head oatmeal, which is steel cut, rather than the ordinary porridge whuch is pounded flat and hence more broken up. I would never touch the "pre-digested" instant pap as it is just like eating oat flour!

 

[iHs]

yes ur probs right i should try to find something else to eat for breakfast ....i do take one gliclizde a day with breakfast but it dosnt seem to be having any effect ....what i cant understand is i can go to bed with levels of around 14 and in the morning they are back to normal hmm if u any ideas on that that would be great sorry for the questions as i was only diagnosed in june and was basically given tablets and told get on with it which im trying to do with not much luck at the moment im wating for my first app with the diabetic clinic which i insisted on being referred to by my gp coz of so many side effects of diabetic meds i dnt think my gp knows what to do with me now

Ideally, you need to eat less in the way of carb based food for your evening meal so that when you go to bed, your bg levels are lower than 14mmol which is a bit too high to be ok. Do have a good look at the carb content of the food you are eating and try to cut down and use other stuff like green type veg, cauli, broccoli, carrots etc. Celeriac is lowish in carb and makes a good alternative to potatoe. Most supermarkets sell it but Lidl seems to be the cheapest. Celeriac can be wrapped in clingfilm and stored in bottom of fridge and will keep for about 7 days.

Regarding porridge......... I tend to do ok now with the basic brands of porridge (Aldi everyday value) and just use 2 dsp of porridge in bowl with 2dsp of crushed up almonds, add boiling water from kettle to cover, leave to stand for 10mins, then add 1dsp of full fat plain yogurt , mix together and enjoy.

 

[Cath40]

thanks all for the info i really appreciate your replies and i will try some of the supermarkets own brand porridge and see how i go

im looking forward to going to the diabetic clinic to see someone who actually knows a bit about it as my GP is a little clueless and dosnt seem to intrested in the fact my hbac1 has gone up from 47 to 55 in a very short space of time

 

[Yorksman]

As I understand it, a pin head oat is not rolled, just broken up. Mornflake then stone grind it to various textures.

Yes, stone grinding is an ancient technology for milling grains which has been replaced by higher speed steel rollers which mill more quickly but generating higher temperatures which changes the properties of the milled flour. With mustard grains for example, it runs so high that the sharpness of the mustard is lost and has to be added back in. For this they use radish which gives steel rolled mustard that sharp hit at the back of the nose. You don't get that with stoneground mustard. But, the millstones run much more slowly and it is simply not possible to produce the commercial amounts required today.

Old millstones litter the landscape in the places they were produced such as Stanage Edge. It's why that type of sandstone is called millstone grit.

The bigger ones started to be introduced with mechanisation, wind/water/steam engine. Before that grains were ground by hand using quern stones. Even these still lay on the ground, such as this iron age stone at nearby carl Wark hillfort:

Steel cut oats are not milled at all. They are literally sliced or chopped. Most of the processes affect the chemical composition and the particle size and the characteristics of the end product can vary trememdously. Grinding by stone is generally much kinder for all grains.

For photos of what different processes do to the oat grain, see this page on the Whole Grains Council site.

 

[Riri]

Well the steel cut oats arrived and I've had porridge for lunch I made the recommended serving for 1 person using 50g and 1 cup of water and some salt and simmered them for 15-20 mins (not a super-fast snack). Started with BG before lunch of 9.2 (high for me but had a hypo so was rebounding). After 1 hour still at 9 so no spike with these. Will report back the 2 and 3 hour readings later when I hope my BSs will have come down with the correction included in the bolus. Loved the taste and the chewiness of them - nothing like the packs of quaker rolled oats so not to everybody's taste I guess.

 

[Riri]

5.7 after the 2 hour mark. Result!