Have recently been diagnosed with type 2 and have to control by diet. Have been doing a lot of research on site about what I can eat and what I can't. Am getting bogged down about which cereals I can eat or not eat. I like porridge which is I have a lot but was wondering what other cereals I can eat apart from Weetabix and bran? I was eating special K but have been told by nurse this not very good. Can anybody let me know what other cereals I can use as I don't like bread, muffins etc for breakfast. Thanks
Another Newbie
- Thread starter Katieb
- Start Date
Vern
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- 54
- Type of diabetes
- Prediabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
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Hi! Why don't you try a small serving of Rolled Oats? It's a medium Low GI food supposedly known for its Glucose Control attributes. It has a lot of Fibre that is essential in a Diabetic Diet.
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Hi Katieb!!! I'm also Type 2 and, after reading this forum loads, I think you might find the recipe section really useful!! There's no denying that porridge can be a bit boring at times!! Have you tried livening it up with various chopped up fruits and/or nuts and seeds? Good luck with it all!!
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daisy1
Legend
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- Tablets (oral)
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Hi Katieb and welcome to the forum 
Here is the information we give to new members on the forum which I think you will find helpful. Ask more questions as there are bound to be many and someone will come and help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Here is the information we give to new members on the forum which I think you will find helpful. Ask more questions as there are bound to be many and someone will come and help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
- structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
- self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Sid Bonkers
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,976
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Customer helplines that use recorded menus that promise to put me through to the right person but never do - and being ill. Oh, and did I mention customer helplines :)
Hi Katieb and welcome to the forum, unfortunately breakfast cereals of any kind can be hard for most T2 to eat without raising their blood glucose (bg) levels, I eat Cornflakes most mornings but I wouldnt recommend them as like most cereals they are very high in carbs and are high on the Glycemic Index as well which means their sugars are absorbed fast and hard.
I can eat them now I am well controlled but even then I only eat them in very small portions of 16g to 20g. When first diagnosed I ate grapefruit every morning which hardly moved my bg levels at all. Some people eat porridge for breakfast and I understand that the best is made from real oats not the processed stuff often sold by cereal companies but you will need to test before and after eating them to know what effect they will have on your bg levels as what one diabetic person can tolerate another quite often can not especially until well controlled.
Until your bg levels are under good control It might be better for you to look for a lower carb breakfast.
I can eat them now I am well controlled but even then I only eat them in very small portions of 16g to 20g. When first diagnosed I ate grapefruit every morning which hardly moved my bg levels at all. Some people eat porridge for breakfast and I understand that the best is made from real oats not the processed stuff often sold by cereal companies but you will need to test before and after eating them to know what effect they will have on your bg levels as what one diabetic person can tolerate another quite often can not especially until well controlled.
Until your bg levels are under good control It might be better for you to look for a lower carb breakfast.
As others have posted all cereals have a high carb content but my wife makes home-made muesli, obviously with no sugar added, but she adds seeds, nuts and no-sugar added fruit bits to the basic oats. If you keep the portion size down it can be a good compromise. Obviously avoid any branded cereal where sugar has been added but some come with fruit and it's OK if this is the source of the sugar content. I also have egg and bacon with a small muesli portion beforehand for my breakfast.
Hi
Thanks for all postings, is much appreciated. I will have lookie at receipes on this site and hopefully find something other than porridge which might help.
A friend suggested Kelloggs Granola? Will keep having a look at different things and hopefully find something which will bring my levels down.
Thanks for all postings, is much appreciated. I will have lookie at receipes on this site and hopefully find something other than porridge which might help.
A friend suggested Kelloggs Granola? Will keep having a look at different things and hopefully find something which will bring my levels down.
elaine77
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 561
Hi Katie,
Both Weetabix and Cheerios bring me down as both are whole grain. I'm not sure how Cheerios will effect you, I might be an anomaly on that as they do have sugar but they are also multigrain.... I was shocked that they brought my morning readings down but pleased as I'm a real cereal person too
Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.
Both Weetabix and Cheerios bring me down as both are whole grain. I'm not sure how Cheerios will effect you, I might be an anomaly on that as they do have sugar but they are also multigrain.... I was shocked that they brought my morning readings down but pleased as I'm a real cereal person too
Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.
