Breakfast Cereals

[Michael2457]

Hello. I have recently been diagnosed type 2. I am awaiting appt with diabetic nurse in two weeks and ave ordered a meter to test blood levels. When the doctor first diagnosed me and gave me a quick chat on diabetes I told her I had varied breakfast cereals-Bran flakes,shredded wheat. wholegrain porridge,no sugar alpen,all with a sprinkle of canderel. She told me they are fine. Yet Im told to avoid carbohydrates,which these cereals do have. Surely these healthy cereals cant be bad thing to eat? I can understand not having flour,bread,cakes,biscuits,pasta, but healthy breakfast cereals ???

 

[CapnGrumpy]

Carbs are still carbs - and to be avoided - even if the box they come in looks healthier (not forgetting that any milk you put on them has sugar in it).

Getting a meter is a good move as you will be able to prove to yourself what increases your blood sugar. Not sure about beans, but bacon, egg and tomatoes set me up for the day each morning.

 

[ewelina]

Diabetic diet is not only about what is healthy or not. You need to avoid foods that affect your glucose levels, and sometimes these are healthy foods such as porridge or fruits

 

[PatsyB]

my diabetic nurse also says it is a must to have a cerial for breakfast and that we need certain carbs for energy... never used to eat breakfast at all until i got diabetes

 

[britishpub]

OP. When you get your meter test, and you will get your answer.

Nobody knows what any particular food will do to your own individual BG

However the notion that there are good and bad Carbs is nonsense for a diabetic. Some may be less bad, but overall all carbs will have an affect on your BG

The idea that a DN thinks you must have Carbs for energy is the usual comedy gold nonsense they come out with.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Hello. I have recently been diagnosed type 2. I am awaiting appt with diabetic nurse in two weeks and ave ordered a meter to test blood levels. When the doctor first diagnosed me and gave me a quick chat on diabetes I told her I had varied breakfast cereals-Bran flakes,shredded wheat. wholegrain porridge,no sugar alpen,all with a sprinkle of canderel. She told me they are fine. Yet Im told to avoid carbohydrates,which these cereals do have. Surely these healthy cereals cant be bad thing to eat? I can understand not having flour,bread,cakes,biscuits,pasta, but healthy breakfast cereals ???

As you have a hiatus hernia you will probably need to be a bit more careful with your diet I don't know about cereal but it is said you should avoid high fats amongst other things. Advising you about diet here is more difficult given your additional problem what you eat will have to suit both diabetes and hiatus hernia . You really need to Google it to research it but this is one web site that gives some information about it


http://www.webmd.boots.com/healthy-eating/guide/hiatus-hernia-diet-tips

 

[Michael2457]

Thanks for your replies.

As you have a hiatus hernia you will probably need to be a bit more careful with your diet I don't know about cereal but it is said you should avoid high fats amongst other things. Advising you about diet here is more difficult given your additional problem what you eat will have to suit both diabetes and hiatus hernia . You really need to Google it to research it but this is one web site that gives some information about it


http://www.webmd.boots.com/healthy-eating/guide/hiatus-hernia-diet-tips

Thanks for ALL your replies,appreciated. I have medication for the hiatus hernia before I knew that I had diabetes. So the acid reflux I had before has completely stopped. I was eating chocolate,cakes,biscuits etc with no reflux. So to be honest diet wasnt a Issue with my hiatus hernia once I received medication. Now I have diabetes all those sweet,high carb foods I was having before have gone anyhow. This morning the shredded wheat,milk I had totalled 20 grams of Carbohydrates,and I put no sugar on them. I will obviously take a blood reading once I get my meter to see what difference it makes. I understand carbs are bad,however,surely foods with fibre like shredded wheat,all bran are essential part of a healthy diet too ? We have to eat some carbs dont we? I saw a comment by someone in the "5" club that they eat 120 grams of carbohydrates a day..

 

[Brunneria]

Thanks for your replies.

Thanks for ALL your replies,appreciated. I have medication for the hiatus hernia before I knew that I had diabetes. So the acid reflux I had before has completely stopped. I was eating chocolate,cakes,biscuits etc with no reflux. So to be honest diet wasnt a Issue with my hiatus hernia once I received medication. Now I have diabetes all those sweet,high carb foods I was having before have gone anyhow. This morning the shredded wheat,milk I had totalled 20 grams of Carbohydrates,and I put no sugar on them. I will obviously take a blood reading once I get my meter to see what difference it makes. I understand carbs are bad,however,surely foods with fibre like shredded wheat,all bran are essential part of a healthy diet too ? We have to eat some carbs dont we? I saw a comment by someone in the "5" club that they eat 120 grams of carbohydrates a day..

Well, there's a bit of debate on the 'do you need carbs' thing.
The traditional view is that you do.
The new, better educated view based on modern research is that you don't. The body does need a small amount of glucose, but it can be found from non-starchy veg and protein (the digestion of protein releases some glucose - it is called gluconeogenesis). So the human body can manage perfectly well without eating ANY of the starchy carbs so beloved of old-style nutrition thinking. Please don't let other people with dinosaur thinking persuade you otherwise.

Fibre is needed (although again, you get a few people who disagree), but you can easily get all the fibre you need from veg, if you eat good portions of them - and we should all be doing that.

The main thing, at this stage, is to keep an open mind, and test to see what that shredded wheat is doing to your blood glucose levels. It spikes mine something terrible. I avoid all grains, cereals and starchy veg. I don't want the high blood glucose that will lead to diabetic complications in the future.

Your body may be able to tolerate the carbs, in which case I will envy you. but they aren't necessary for a healthy diet.

 

[FloraDora]

I would really love to be able to eat 'healthy' breakfast cereals - unfortunately my BG monitor does not agree with this view. Even traditional porridge oats, the really course kind that you have to soak overnight and cook for hours gives a post meal reading in the near 20s.

I have found a couple of recipes for home made low carb museli and granola which I am going to make in the next couple of days. Maybe that will be the answer to a quick and easy breakfast.

Michael2457 your problem will be solved when you start to test your BG, you may be suprised (and frustrated!)

 

[Pinkorchid]

Thanks for your replies.

Thanks for ALL your replies,appreciated. I have medication for the hiatus hernia before I knew that I had diabetes. So the acid reflux I had before has completely stopped. I was eating chocolate,cakes,biscuits etc with no reflux. So to be honest diet wasnt a Issue with my hiatus hernia once I received medication. Now I have diabetes all those sweet,high carb foods I was having before have gone anyhow. This morning the shredded wheat,milk I had totalled 20 grams of Carbohydrates,and I put no sugar on them. I will obviously take a blood reading once I get my meter to see what difference it makes. I understand carbs are bad,however,surely foods with fibre like shredded wheat,all bran are essential part of a healthy diet too ? We have to eat some carbs dont we? I saw a comment by someone in the "5" club that they eat 120 grams of carbohydrates a day..

That is good then that you can eat most stuff without upsetting your hiatus hernia .My mother had one for years and I know anything to fatty did not agree with her

 

[kcbones]

Hello. I have recently been diagnosed type 2. I am awaiting appt with diabetic nurse in two weeks and ave ordered a meter to test blood levels. When the doctor first diagnosed me and gave me a quick chat on diabetes I told her I had varied breakfast cereals-Bran flakes,shredded wheat. wholegrain porridge,no sugar alpen,all with a sprinkle of canderel. She told me they are fine. Yet Im told to avoid carbohydrates,which these cereals do have. Surely these healthy cereals cant be bad thing to eat? I can understand not having flour,bread,cakes,biscuits,pasta, but healthy breakfast cereals ???

Eating healthy will include cereals, wholemeal breads and pasta, brown rice. These keep you fuller for longer and allow a slow release of energy helping to avoid spikes in your blood sugars. Ask to go on a Diabetic Expert course, these are 6 x 2 hr sessions that are run by people who deal with diabetes every day, unlike your GP who may not be as clued up as they are.

 

[zand]

Unfortunately many of us T2s simply cannot tolerate the list of carbs you mention and whilst they may make you feel full initially they can cause hunger pangs later in the day. Also the Expert Course has been amended recently and I am told it now supports a low carb higher fat approach to controlling T2.

 

[Brunneria]

Eating healthy will include cereals, wholemeal breads and pasta, brown rice. These keep you fuller for longer and allow a slow release of energy helping to avoid spikes in your blood sugars. Ask to go on a Diabetic Expert course, these are 6 x 2 hr sessions that are run by people who deal with diabetes every day, unlike your GP who may not be as clued up as they are.

The new Expert course (which has not yet filtered through to many health care professionals because they have to pay for updated training), has changed its recommendations. It now promotes low carb eating with the energy replaced by increased fat. (The new revised 2015 Xpert course manual and the companion book Eat Fat are both available from Amazon, if anyone would like to check this. They are both excellent.)

Starchy carbs convert to glucose and send blood glucose up, which should be monitored.
If blood glucose rises above the recommended levels, then over time they will cause diabetic complications such as blindness, nerve death and kidney failure.

All of the starchy carbs you mention will send my blood glucose up above the recommended levels.

How do I know this? I bought a test meter and tested my blood after eating them.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Eating healthy will include cereals, wholemeal breads and pasta, brown rice. These keep you fuller for longer and allow a slow release of energy helping to avoid spikes in your blood sugars. Ask to go on a Diabetic Expert course, these are 6 x 2 hr sessions that are run by people who deal with diabetes every day, unlike your GP who may not be as clued up as they are.

Are you able to tolerate those foods ??

 

[Celeriac]

Breakfast cereals are deemed to be healthy, because they are fortified with vitamins. If they weren't, you might as well eat wood shavings because cereals are heavily processed, high in sugar and often high in salt too.

I couldn't possibly eat them, my BG would soar. Porridge (which I dislike) is another thing that just doesn't work for me.

The bottom line for all of us, is the choice whether to follow NHS advice which puts our BG up or minimise those BG spikes by eating a lower carb diet.

 

[MargaretR]

Breakfast cereals are deemed to be healthy, because they are fortified with vitamins. If they weren't, you might as well eat wood shavings because cereals are heavily processed, high in sugar and often high in salt too.

I couldn't possibly eat them, my BG would soar. Porridge (which I dislike) is another thing that just doesn't work for me.

The bottom line for all of us, is the choice whether to follow NHS advice which puts our BG up or minimise those BG spikes by eating a lower carb diet.

I eat a small amount of spelt bread, which doesn't spike me. I recently found a muesli made by Dorset which is made of spelt. This works well for me, with soya milk or water.

 

[wiseone]

It's very difficult not to eat carbs because they are in everything. I was confused like you as to why I should eat cereals, but swapping white carbs with brown carbs gives a slower release of sugars and doesn't spike my BG. After much research on the internet and listening to all the advice I am aiming to keep under 130g of carbs a day and increase fats as I was avoiding fats. My BG is normally between 6.5 and 7.9 before food and 7.5 to 9 after. I also bought my own meter as my Surgery were against self testing but it has helped me enormously. Increasing fresh veg with meals is also a good idea to help you feel full. Good Luck.

 

[Pinkorchid]

I eat a small amount of spelt bread, which doesn't spike me. I recently found a muesli made by Dorset which is made of spelt. This works well for me, with soya milk or water.

I will look for that one for my T2 husband he has the Dorset porridge which he is fine with but he would like something else for a change. He will only have cereal for breakfast

 

[Michael2457]

PLEASE HELP..I now have a BG Meter.I dont understand why my readings are in mmol/L ? When people are mentioning a HbA1c/Mgdl readings ? Do I have to convert? If so how PLEASE?

My fasting reading- pre breakfast this morning showed 4.8 mmol/L & my two hour after my 40grm bran flakes/canderel sugar/milk showed 6.7 mmol/L . Is this Normal/good?/Bad?

 

[Brunneria]

PLEASE HELP..I now have a BG Meter.I dont understand why my readings are in mmol/L ? When people are mentioning a HbA1c/Mgdl readings ? Do I have to convert? If so how PLEASE?

My fasting reading- pre breakfast this morning showed 4.8 mmol/L & my two hour after my 40grm bran flakes/canderel sugar/milk showed 6.7 mmol/L . Is this Normal/good?/Bad?

Well done for getting a meter.

Have a good rummage round the main website, starting here
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glucose/how-to-test-blood-glucose-levels.html
there is lots of info on blood testing, and links to the different tests, and how to time your testing to get the most info.

Your results look great so far. As with most carbs, portion size is key.