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Are you allowed Cereal?

J

JordySloan

Member
Messages
11
Location
Northern Ireland
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I was thinking of buying some cereal today and add fresh berries, nuts, and cinnamon to it. I've googled and apparently 99.9% of cereals you're not allowed or they spike your blood sugars up. Anyone tested this? What cereals work for you? how many grams would you eat? or do you avoid them altogether? any help is appreciated. I'm nearly 3 weeks diagnosed as a type 2 so i'm new to this.
 
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It may help if you let us know what type of diabetes you have (you can set it on your profile so it'll show under your avatar) as dependent on type there will be different answers
 
Hi @JordySloan

Agree with @Rokaab can you let us know what diabetes ?

I am a type 1 so on insulin, although I can match the carbs I eat with insulin, I still cannot manage breakfast cereals as I am more insulin resistant in the morning and so it can take till lunch time to get my blood glucose levels back into range, so I avoid cereals and eat full fat plain yoghurt with blueberries now, other type 1's can cope with cereal fine, however if you're type 2 it's best to avoid as cereals are high carb. Protein is a good option, so eggs and bacon, mushrooms, are good
 
Had to look up what type you are in an old post. T2 eh? @Rokaab has a point, you'll get quicker and more adequate responses when you let people know what type you are (and what medication you're on). Lots of different types of diabetes, and treatment varies greatly. A T1 or LADA would just adjust their insulin intake for instance... For a T2, we can just avoid foodgroups and with that also avoid the need for insulin injections.

That said, one of the ones to be avoided.... There's about a hand full of lucky T2's who can process cereal. Personally, I don't touch the stuff. And fresh fruit? I'm hoping you mean berries at most, as the rest of that particular foodgroup consists out of sugar bombs. I know, it's a steep learning curve... Still, there's people who make their own cereal, or coconut porridge. For breakfast though, full fat greek yoghurt with some berries and/or nuts and/or coconut shavings would be alright. And if you don't mind eggs, three or four of those would keep you going all morning, practically no carbs there. (Toss in some bacon, mushrooms and/or tomatoes for good measure. Oh, or cheese!).

You don't have to get it right in one go. Keep asking questions! (I wish I had, when I first started out. Oof!)
 
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We haven't eaten cereals for over six years, since diagnosis. James (the T2 diabetic of the two of us) tested various ones with his meter and I painstakingly picked all the raisons out of the muesli, none of them were "safe" foods. Cereals are complex sugars and, as such, will put up your blood sugar. Best avoided.
Sally
 
If I am really, really craving that type of breakfast I find the lesser of all evils are Fuel biscuits, only 1 per person, very similar to Weetabix but not as bad. We have them warmed up with almond milk, about 4 blueberries and a small amount of double cream. Asda usually stock them.
 
Bacon and eggs far better and tastier too though?
 
I can't eat eggs in the morning so tested like crazy to find alternatives.
I was lucky that I was diagnosed early and went low carb straight away, so managed to get my blood sugar under control by just going down at 100g, then 85g a day. But as I could only tolerate a max of 30g of carbs in one meal that ruled out my usual milky coffee with toast, croissant, muesli or porridge!

I tried mixing porridge with low carb seeds and gradually moved from oat based porridge to a mix of milled flaxseed, chia seeds and a little oatbran - dropping the amount of oatbran and increasing the flaxseed over a few weeks. (Going straight onto flaxseed and chia gave me stomach ache!)
I make it into porridge with water, add some coconut milk, cinnamon and a pinch of salt then swirl double cream on top.

The alternatives are a coconut flour and coconut milk pancake or 90 second bread for toast if I feel like cooking.
 
What type of cereal? None for me. My intolerance to carbs was diagnosed as I had a blood test an hour or two after eating my then usual cereal (a mix of oats, flaked grains and other bit and bobs, but no sugar) and my BG was 11.1. Any grain product spikes my BG to around 8 to 10 mmol, from about 6. So for me bread, which I love, cakes etc are a no-no.
If you haven't got one already, get a BG meter and test to see what foods spike you. It will be well worth the investment.
 
There are a few no grain “granola like” recipes about. Mostly a mix of seeds, chopped nuts, coconut, sometimes chia and a few berries. Add in some coconut or other safe oil. Occasionally things like appropriate sweetener, high cocoa nibs or cinnamon are added. Eat with full fat Greek yogurt, watered down cream, coconut milk or at the very least full fat milk (or alternatives)

I make a batch up every now and then, toasted in the oven on low for a while (watch closely it goes from nothing to burnt quickly. It’s different every time.
 
Only your BG meter can tell you what you are “allowed”.

if I’m really craving cereal, Fiber One works for me. (I’m in the U.S., not sure where all it is sold)

But my favorite breakfast is chia seed pudding. So many options for mix-ins that change up the flavor. This time of year it’s pumpkin pie spices and pecans!
 
omg reading your post - I just realized why I had such bad stomach - aches the two days I had chia seeds in my yogurt!!! I was so wondering..... I never get "bloating" or "cramps" on low-carb, so I was thinking maybe some weird PMS thing (but that is highly unusual for me). Anyway, mystery solved! I need to go easy on the chia!
 
No cereal here either, or indeed breakfast. On the occasions breakfast or brunch is needed, bacon and eggs are perfect.
 
Cereal spikes my blood glucose levels so haven’t eaten it since I started testing. I don’t often have breakfast these days ( and it used to be my favourite meal) but I do have a lot of coffee with a dash of double cream and that keeps me going.
I’ve also made low carb granola and use it mostly as a topping for Greek yoghurt. There are a few on this site:
https://www.ditchthecarbs.com/?s=Granola
 
I have whole wheat cerial, shredded wheat, porridge, shreddies.

I have eaten and tested and had no issues.

Hba1c from 87 to 31 having that as breakfast every day.

Good fibre for the day also. If your doing the keto diet then you will struggle to have it as it's a decent part of your carb portion for the whole day.
 
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