Cant find a cereal that doesn't shoot my blood sugar right up!

[Diane fluteplayer]

Hi. I get dawn phenomenon so I try not to wait too long before my breakfast insulin. Porridge tends to spike me (with milk and half tsp honey, but I’ve found a brilliant sugar-free almond granola that I buy loose from Refill Revolution. I eat it with a small amount of milk and 2 dessert spoons of full fat Greek yoghurt. Little or no spike and it’s delicious. Usually add a few blueberries- home frozen (no sugar or syrup) and thawed. Refill is in Oundle (on the wharf) or Market Harborough. If you are near Peterborough/East Northants they are worth a trip!

 

[MattMarsden]

Does anyone else have this problem? I need something quick to eat in the morning, I need carbs in the morning as I'm a nurse and mornings are the the most physical time for me. My blood will be sitting at 7mmol, I'll have 30g of bran flakes, 2 units of novo rapid and it still shoots up to the 20s, I cant take any more insulin as I say its physically demanding job and I hypo if I have any more. It does come back down but dont want this huge spike as it makes me tired.

Firstly, don’t give up on eating the food you enjoy! You need to work out how to bolus for certain types of food, which will take time and trial and error, but you shouldn’t restrict your diet (provided you’re eating a normal healthy diet) due to your diabetes.

I would try bolusing in advance of eating (10-15 minutes or to counter the dawn effect, maybe as long as 25 minutes) but only having half your dose. Then have the rest of the bolus as much as an hour or two later as a slow release cereal (Special K, porridge, bran flakes, weetabix etc.) will take quite a long time before it stops having an effect. This time lag between eating and the rise in blood sugar, coupled with the dawn effect, is possibly the reason you rocket up to the 20s.

It is also possible that if you bolus more than two units you have low blood sugar initially by virtue of the fact the carbohydrate is slow release. Is there a pattern of low blood sugar followed by severe hyperglycaemic events? It’s possible you may need more insulin than you’re giving yourself but over a period of hours rather than in a single dose.

Just letting you know what works for me and you should of course discuss this with your doctor before trying anything as it may not be an appropriate approach to your care.

Good luck and I’d be interested to hear how you work through this (which I’m sure you will!).

 

[Dwinteruk]

Hi, I enjoy my own creation ..good handful of nuts plenty of seeds and broken up protein bar occasionally with berries mixed in, pour unsweetened almond milk over and use cinnamon for a sweeter taste ..I really like it and don't tend to see much of a spike, I also use Novorapid may take unto 3units depending on the protein bar or sometimes I use banana protein shake in place of the almond milk ..either way its pretty tasty and fills me up with minimal carbs, if Im low I may add some thinly sliced banana too

 

[Goma5]

Don't eat the carbs would be my advice. You don't need them. The energy they provide doesn't last. And it's because of the carbs that you need the insulin. Add to which, carbs don't do your weight any favours.
Get up 30 minutes earlier...for your own health.
Scrambled eggs or eggs and bacon. They'll keep you going without spiking your b/g.
You hopefully know your own diabetes but one thing is certain...there is no question to which dietary carbohydrates is the healthy answer.

Probably opening a can of worms, but the accepted evidence is that eating processed meat such as bacon and ham on a daily basis is not healthy for your heart (possibly due to the salt?). Cereal may be fast release, but it is high in fibre, and heavily fortified with vitamins that you don't necessarily get elsewhere in your diet unless you take supplements. Personally i think if you can handle it, it is a very useful addition to your diet, but we all must make our own decisions.

 

[colsan]

I hadn’t had cereal for around 5 year until recently when I found high protein granola at Lidl. I gave it a try and although it still causes a slight spike, it’s manageable. If I bloused earlier I’m sure I could flatten that spike. But, I just can’t wait to eat it as it’s so scrummy.

 

[agwagw]

Sympathies! I went through this issue for years. In my search I could only find Shredded Wheat and plain porridge don't have added sugar, all other breakfast cereals have added sugar. Sugar-free museli tends to have dried fruit which (for me) is an absolute no no, while some have artificial sweeteners which I try to avoid.

I have settled for a carbo-free breakfast such as cheese and ham, scrambled egg with added cheese; bacon and egg (if there's time). Boiled eggs are great too, but I feel not enjoyable without bread (gave up on bread as the spiking was too great). I do have a Finnecrisp with boiled eggs - they taste great and only have 3g carb. These low-carb breakfasts are very satisfying and really keep you going even with physical work.

I found that when I was spiking following toast or any sort of fruit, cereals etc I would feel quite weak. When you are at 20mM glucose it just isn't getting into one's muscles and so having a carbo breakfast isn't doing any good for stamina if it causes spikes.

I used to have about 10 units of Novorapid which certainly led to the dangers of hypos or eating glucose tabs to prevent them - a terrible sea-saw. Now I just have 1 unit with breakfast (I have my Tresiba at the same time).

Good luck!

 

[lizdeluz]

Not cereal, not very carby: 70g Greek yoghurt (full fat, or fat free), 20g raspberries-about 3 or 4!, 10g toasted flaked almonds, a shake of ground cinnamon.
Plus some cereal in 2 crispbreads with butter and peanut butter.
Coffee and cream at 11am.
This keeps me going until lunch at 2.

 

[tutti]

Does anyone else have this problem? I need something quick to eat in the morning, I need carbs in the morning as I'm a nurse and mornings are the the most physical time for me. My blood will be sitting at 7mmol, I'll have 30g of bran flakes, 2 units of novo rapid and it still shoots up to the 20s, I cant take any more insulin as I say its physically demanding job and I hypo if I have any more. It does come back down but dont want this huge spike as it makes me tired.

After searching for sometime, I found Organic Cornflakes nnd Organic Oats (Both Sainsbury) contain less than 0 suger. Only problem is not every sainsbury sell it

 

[lessci]

Have you tried making your own? Ditchthecarbs.com has 3 or 4 different recipes for "Grain free granola"

 

[arax]

I’m sorry for your troubles. I’m a 63 year old woman with type two diabetes. I have been controlling my glucose intake for the past 6 years with food and doing pretty good job of it. My suggestion is if you can make your own high protein, grain free granola (without sugar). I have a recipe but I’m not good with technology so if anyone can tell me how to post the recipe will be great. I tried uploading a picture of it but was unsuccessful. Good luck

 

[Parisemo]

Does anyone else have this problem? I need something quick to eat in the morning, I need carbs in the morning as I'm a nurse and mornings are the the most physical time for me. My blood will be sitting at 7mmol, I'll have 30g of bran flakes, 2 units of novo rapid and it still shoots up to the 20s, I cant take any more insulin as I say its physically demanding job and I hypo if I have any more. It does come back down but dont want this huge spike as it makes me tired.

I am type1 diabetic and have Quaker 2 minute plain possidg

Does anyone else have this problem? I need something quick to eat in the morning, I need carbs in the morning as I'm a nurse and mornings are the the most physical time for me. My blood will be sitting at 7mmol, I'll have 30g of bran flakes, 2 units of novo rapid and it still shoots up to the 20s, I cant take any more insulin as I say its physically demanding job and I hypo if I have any more. It does come back down but dont want this huge spike as it makes me tired.

I am type1 diabetic and have Quaker 2 minute microwave porridge with a few blueberries in every morning. Lasts till lunchtime

 

[Linnie.2]

I don’t feel my day starts well without some sort of cereal. I agree my sugars can spike too. I have found that Oat Cheerios are the best. Reduced sugar than other cereals

 

[bmorgen]

Does anyone else have this problem? I need something quick to eat in the morning, I need carbs in the morning as I'm a nurse and mornings are the the most physical time for me. My blood will be sitting at 7mmol, I'll have 30g of bran flakes, 2 units of novo rapid and it still shoots up to the 20s, I cant take any more insulin as I say its physically demanding job and I hypo if I have any more. It does come back down but dont want this huge spike as it makes me tired.

Have you tried oat bran?

Also, protein works well for me.

 

[Basil Henriques]

Does anyone else have this problem? I need something quick to eat in the morning, I need carbs in the morning as I'm a nurse and mornings are the the most physical time for me. My blood will be sitting at 7mmol, I'll have 30g of bran flakes, 2 units of novo rapid and it still shoots up to the 20s, I cant take any more insulin as I say its physically demanding job and I hypo if I have any more. It does come back down but dont want this huge spike as it makes me tired.

Flahavans Oats take a long time..

 

[Nuck]

Me too. I skip on cereal. Omelette is good almost no insulin required.

 

[harrisphil]

I’ve been T1 for over 2 years now (am aged 35) but I dropped breakfast cereal years before my diagnosis, substituting for Porridge.
I used to get in to work at 7:30am, eat 1/6 a box of Shreaddies (sp?) - so probably 100g of carbs easily - and then by 9:30am I would be besides myself with hunger, what I later realised was a massive sugar crash. Survive on biscuits until it was a baguette for lunch. Oh how times have changed!

When I get into the office (here in Shanghai, after my 1hr metro commute to work, I make my first task to inject 3-4 units of Novo. Even before properly taking off my jacket or opening my laptop!
Then 20-25min later I am eating my porridge mix:
-50g jumbo rolled oats
- 25g vegan protein powder (whey goes all clumpy in the microwave...)
- handful of nuts (cashew, walnut, almond)
- pinch of dried cranberries
- half handful of fresh blueberries
- table spoon of homemade peanut butter
- pinch of coconut flakes
(All prepared in a circular Tupperware the night before)
And add water to the mix, 3min in the microwave.

I am a big eater, but this breakfast at 8:30am, a coffee at 10:30, and I don’t need to eat again until 12:00. And... critically my sugar goes from 5ish to 8 and then back to low 4’s before lunch.

I hope that helps.

But weekend, or when I’m on holiday with a breakfast buffet... it’s a completely different story! I think I once took 10 shots of novo (in 3 doses) to deal with a fancy 5* breakfast !!

 

[Srpg11]

Does anyone else have this problem? I need something quick to eat in the morning, I need carbs in the morning as I'm a nurse and mornings are the the most physical time for me. My blood will be sitting at 7mmol, I'll have 30g of bran flakes, 2 units of novo rapid and it still shoots up to the 20s, I cant take any more insulin as I say its physically demanding job and I hypo if I have any more. It does come back down but dont want this huge spike as it makes me tired.

I have this problem too. For the past year or so I’ve started eating breakfast and my go to is porridge with almond milk as it’s filling, low cal and all health professionals have told me it’s important to eat carbs. Some days I take 3 units novorapid and by lunch my blood sugars are around 12 and still falling, other days I follow the exact same routine and my blood will be 18. I am going to try to pre bolus.

 

[Resurgam]

After searching for sometime, I found Organic Cornflakes nnd Organic Oats (Both Sainsbury) contain less than 0 suger. Only problem is not every sainsbury sell it

I think that actual problem is that it is high carb. Sorry.

 

[Pat5496]

Check out "keto granola" on Amazon. There are a few to choose from, some with very low carbs.

 

[brookj]

Does anyone else have this problem? I need something quick to eat in the morning, I need carbs in the morning as I'm a nurse and mornings are the the most physical time for me. My blood will be sitting at 7mmol, I'll have 30g of bran flakes, 2 units of novo rapid and it still shoots up to the 20s, I cant take any more insulin as I say its physically demanding job and I hypo if I have any more. It does come back down but dont want this huge spike as it makes me tired.