Oatmeal

[jclaude]

On the fence with oatmeal for breakfast. It does increase the sugar level and it seems to drop it also to a healthy level. And fibre content is a plus. Is this good or bad? Eat or ditch?

 

[Mbaker]

On the fence with oatmeal for breakfast. It does increase the sugar level and it seems to drop it also to a healthy level. And fibre content is a plus. Is this good or bad? Eat or ditch?

Depends what you are trying to achieve. If it is effortless remission then a product with circa 60 grams of carbs per 100 has several issues. The first is that as I found out you really can't eat enough to be satisfied. I dropped to 35 - 40 grams which was a child's amount maybe. The second issue is that the reward is not worth it in my view, its oats not birthday cake, so why waste carb limits on bland food, especially one that hinders remission.

 

[bulkbiker]

What @Mbaker says 100%
Have some bacon instead or ditch breakfast completely.

 

[Dr Snoddy]

I found that porridge at breakfast set off carb cravings for the rest of the day. I can cope with 5g of carbohydrate from 1 slice of HiLo toast but not the carb hit of porridge.

 

[jaywak]

Oatmeal is very carby and sends my bg up , I for a long time now have had a poached egg on a 20 carb crumpet it seems to work well for me .

 

[pre-predb]

Depends what you are trying to achieve. If it is effortless remission then a product with circa 60 grams of carbs per 100 has several issues. The first is that as I found out you really can't eat enough to be satisfied. I dropped to 35 - 40 grams which was a child's amount maybe. The second issue is that the reward is not worth it in my view, its oats not birthday cake, so why waste carb limits on bland food, especially one that hinders remission.

I see what you're getting at, but don't oats have more nutritional benefit such as fibre, beta glucan etc?

 

[ert]

I ditched breakfast entirely.

 

[Mbaker]

I see what you're getting at, but don't oats have more nutritional benefit such as fibre, beta glucan etc?

Fibre has a modern focus, as it is a partial antidote to the mainstream advice to eat 55-60% carbohydrates in the daily allowance, as for some it will slow down the sugar hit, but your pancreas still has to deal with the area under the curve. We are essentially being told to eat cardboard.

The perceived benefit of beta glucan is mainly the cholesterol lowering effect. Again when the evidence linking cholesterol to heart attacks / stroke / all cause mortality is reviewed, relying on the diet heart hypothesis, promoted by someone paid off by the sugar industry, a guessimate of risk from Framingham (shown up by the much more physically look at the disease CAC scan), the best "their" evidence can show is circa 50% of people who have high cholesterol suffer and 50% with so called normal cholesterol suffer. What has been agreed is that older females in particular benefit from higher cholesterol. The works of Dave Feldman, Nina Teichols, Paul Mason, Nadia Ali and Ivor Cummims are of interest. I will stick with my so called high cholesterol, as I believe those mentioned that it is damaged LDL (sugar / veg oils) that causes problems. The Maasi and Init know nothing of Oats.

This is a great less than 5 mins video that states the facts on fibre:

Incidentally a well formulated Ketogenic diet hits the fibre goal recommendations anyway (if i can find the video by an Australian lady who detailed this, I will post (might be Dr. Caryn Zinn)).

 

[Geordie_P]

Oats, like fruit, are nutritious but jam-packed with carbs to the point they will cause serious raises in blood glucose levels for most T2s. Frankly, I would steer well clear.

 

[Deediabetic]

On the fence with oatmeal for breakfast. It does increase the sugar level and it seems to drop it also to a healthy level. And fibre content is a plus. Is this good or bad? Eat or ditch?

I eat porridge oats about 4 mornings a week but I buy the ones that are less carbs per serve because they are cut with other grains, seeds and lots of nuts. I have 35g of the oats with a 100ml unsweetened almond and coconut mixed milk and 30g fresh berries, 1 tsp chia seeds, 12g natural no salt or sugar peanut butter and cinnamon. It comes in at around 20g of carbs for my breakfast. It's usually my biggest carb meal for the day. I was diagnosed as a diabetic in June with a really high hba1c of 13.3%. My hba1c within 3 months was down into normal range to 5.6% or 38mmol/mol.

It really does depend on you as to how many carbs you can have in a serve. Many people here obviously find that oats or 20g of carbs in one serve can push their bgls over limits but I thought I'd add my situation so that you can see it's not necessarily the case for all of us. Test yourself and work out what works best for you. If you like oats then try source the lowest carb option that is cut with other puffed grains and lots of seeds and nuts. I personally enjoy my oats and find that they are good for my bowels and that they leave me feeling siated and full for longer than eggs and bacon for breakfast. I'm in Australia so my recommendation for brands of oats/ porridge are likely not available for wherever you live but I'm certain they sell a multigrain or nut heavy type porridge mix wherever you live.

 

[Mbaker]

I eat porridge oats about 4 mornings a week but I buy the ones that are less carbs per serve because they are cut with other grains, seeds and lots of nuts. I have 35g of the oats with a 100ml unsweetened almond and coconut mixed milk and 30g fresh berries, 1 tsp chia seeds, 12g natural no salt or sugar peanut butter and cinnamon. It comes in at around 20g of carbs for my breakfast. It's usually my biggest carb meal for the day. I was diagnosed as a diabetic in June with a really high hba1c of 13.3%. My hba1c within 3 months was down into normal range to 5.6% or 38mmol/mol.

It really does depend on you as to how many carbs you can have in a serve. Many people here obviously find that oats or 20g of carbs in one serve can push their bgls over limits but I thought I'd add my situation so that you can see it's not necessarily the case for all of us. Test yourself and work out what works best for you. If you like oats then try source the lowest carb option that is cut with other puffed grains and lots of seeds and nuts. I personally enjoy my oats and find that they are good for my bowels and that they leave me feeling siated and full for longer than eggs and bacon for breakfast. I'm in Australia so my recommendation for brands of oats/ porridge are likely not available for wherever you live but I'm certain they sell a multigrain or nut heavy type porridge mix wherever you live.

Good point, however this is only a small portion. I used to have a papa bear size, really creamy with cows milk and cinnamon. I cut down twice with diagnosis, but this still didn't work.

I think most would settle on a portion that say matches soup served in a restaurant.

Not being critical of your inclusive method, just pointing out that essentially the same minimal amounts could be done for most high carb foods. I think the context here is where oats are the star of the show.

 

[pre-predb]

Fibre has a modern focus, as it is a partial antidote to the mainstream advice to eat 55-60% carbohydrates in the daily allowance, as for some it will slow down the sugar hit, but your pancreas still has to deal with the area under the curve. We are essentially being told to eat cardboard.

The perceived benefit of beta glucan is mainly the cholesterol lowering effect. Again when the evidence linking cholesterol to heart attacks / stroke / all cause mortality is reviewed, relying on the diet heart hypothesis, promoted by someone paid off by the sugar industry, a guessimate of risk from Framingham (shown up by the much more physically look at the disease CAC scan), the best "their" evidence can show is circa 50% of people who have high cholesterol suffer and 50% with so called normal cholesterol suffer. What has been agreed is that older females in particular benefit from higher cholesterol. The works of Dave Feldman, Nina Teichols, Paul Mason, Nadia Ali and Ivor Cummims are of interest. I will stick with my so called high cholesterol, as I believe those mentioned that it is damaged LDL (sugar / veg oils) that causes problems. The Maasi and Init know nothing of Oats.

This is a great less than 5 mins video that states the facts on fibre:

Incidentally a well formulated Ketogenic diet hits the fibre goal recommendations anyway (if i can find the video by an Australian lady who detailed this, I will post (might be Dr. Caryn Zinn)).

Very interesting. Thanks

 

[MrsA2]

My body hasn't watched the right videos, as it does need soluble fibre to keep me regular.
I make sure I have 1-3 tablespoons of milled seeds at least 3-4 times a week.
They can be heated in milk of your choice to thicken like porridge, or left overnight in yoghurt or coconut milk with added berries to be like a muesli
Or added to eggs to make a bread or waffle type thing.
Plenty of options to get seeds/fibre in to a body in a low carb way. No oats required

 

[Riva_Roxaban]

Pigs like eating oats, that's why bacon is so nice and nutritious and low carb if they get it in their feed.
Chickens like oats in their feed, they lay low carb eggs that are full of protein as well.

Cows, oh wait we have been there...

 

[Oldvatr]

My breakfast which I have eaten regularly for some 5 years now consists of a large dinner plate piled high with bacon, sausage, egg, a single slice of low carb toast with butter and a slice of cheese, and a handfull of mushroom, tomatoes, cucumber radish, beetroot and possibly lettuce too.. I find that for me this raisess my bgl by between 1 to 2 mmol/l for about hour, then it drops back to FBG of between 5 and 6 some 2 hours later. Keeps me satisfied all day, no lunch, and a large meal at 7 pm. No snacks, no cravings,

conversly, a bowl of porridge oats with milk and salt (not sugar) pushes my bgl up to about 9 mmol/l and it stays high till evening. After 2 days of this i was crawling up the wall desperate for crisps and crumpets. Not a good choice for me.

Mind you before I went low carb I was eating anything and everything, but my sugars were through the roof, up in the 20's and 30's. My HbA1c in those days was over 100 and i was maxed out on diabetic medication. Now it is under 46 on a modicum of medication taken in the evening. I have not suffered any gut problems for the last 5 years, no laxatives necessary. Plenty of fibre even on LC diet.

 

[Deediabetic]

Good point, however this is only a small portion. I used to have a papa bear size, really creamy with cows milk and cinnamon. I cut down twice with diagnosis, but this still didn't work.

I think most would settle on a portion that say matches soup served in a restaurant.

Not being critical of your inclusive method, just pointing out that essentially the same minimal amounts could be done for most high carb foods. I think the context here is where oats are the star of the show.

The back of the majority of porridge or oats packets here actually count a serving size of 40 grams as a serve. A rare few brands count it as 45g. A 35 gram serving that I eat isn't too far off of a serving for me to really recognize as a huge difference. Its literally less than a tablespoon difference of oats in my bowl. Once I add my so good almond and coconuts milk and cook it, you can't even tell what's oat, seeds, triticale, nuts or puffed millet. It's just a bowl of tasty mush! You do however bring up a good point about serving sizes. I honestly previous to my diagnosis was never very mindful of serving sizes and my idea of a serving size was what I felt like eating and not actually usually anywhere close to what was the recommended serving size. My own idea of a serving size was way bigger and as someone with a genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes, me overeating carbs put me here probably a lot earlier than maybe if I'd been more mindful of my diet and overconsumption of carbs.

However I will keep eating my oats as I've found so far it has not impacted my bgl to any detrimental levels. I also think that not all carbs are the same in regards to their impact on my personal bgls. Your idea about limiting any carb to an equally small amount or portion sadly doesn't ring true for my body personally. Highly refined carbs in a 20g serving cause my bgls to skyrocket and drop quicker but to a still elevated level and continue to impact my bgls for 24 hours after its consumption! I'm sure many of us T2 diabetics would find the same. I'd much prefer to eat just a mouthful of a decadent regular chocolate muffin with an equivalent carbohydrate value of 20 grams for breakfast over a bowl of porridge but my body says otherwise in regard to my bgls!

 

[Mbaker]

The back of the majority of porridge or oats packets here actually count a serving size of 40 grams as a serve. A rare few brands count it as 45g. A 35 gram serving that I eat isn't too far off of a serving for me to really recognize as a huge difference. Its literally less than a tablespoon difference of oats in my bowl. Once I add my so good almond and coconuts milk and cook it, you can't even tell what's oat, seeds, triticale, nuts or puffed millet. It's just a bowl of tasty mush! You do however bring up a good point about serving sizes. I honestly previous to my diagnosis was never very mindful of serving sizes and my idea of a serving size was what I felt like eating and not actually usually anywhere close to what was the recommended serving size. My own idea of a serving size was way bigger and as someone with a genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes, me overeating carbs put me here probably a lot earlier than maybe if I'd been more mindful of my diet and overconsumption of carbs.

However I will keep eating my oats as I've found so far it has not impacted my bgl to any detrimental levels. I also think that not all carbs are the same in regards to their impact on my personal bgls. Your idea about limiting any carb to an equally small amount or portion sadly doesn't ring true for my body personally. Highly refined carbs in a 20g serving cause my bgls to skyrocket and drop quicker but to a still elevated level and continue to impact my bgls for 24 hours after its consumption! I'm sure many of us T2 diabetics would find the same. I'd much prefer to eat just a mouthful of a decadent regular chocolate muffin with an equivalent carbohydrate value of 20 grams for breakfast over a bowl of porridge but my body says otherwise in regard to my bgls!

I agree totally with your last paragraph. I would not advocate or follow the everything in moderation nonsense it is unrealistic.

I am able to eat to satiety and stay in range as below:

Breakfast:

Dinner (mostly Nandos with extras):

Fast Blood Glucose:

 

[KennyA]

On the fence with oatmeal for breakfast. It does increase the sugar level and it seems to drop it also to a healthy level. And fibre content is a plus. Is this good or bad? Eat or ditch?

No good for me. A day's allowance of carbs in a small portion, which both leaves me unsatisfied and drives cravings. Fibre is obtainable elsewhere. I usually have nothing for breakfast bar coffee and cream, but when I do it's bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms etc.

I used to really like porridge, but I am not looking for justification to go on eating it. I'd rather have the low BGs. If your testing shows that you can cope with it, good for you. Just be sure that you're basing the decision on your own meter readings and not on "advice" from outside.