Gluten free bread

Brena55

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Hi everyone, I am newly pre-diabetic and wondering how blood sugar responds to GF bread, since the various ingredients do not appear to be wholegrain. Is it OK to eat this, or is it bad news? What do people use as an alternative if so? Many thanks
 

Guzzler

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Hi @Brena55 and welcome to the finest corner of the web. I am recently diagnosed so I am not 100% sure about GF but bread in general spikes the blood glucose so I would think that GF or not makes little difference.
There are alternatives that are low carb such as Burgen or Hovis Low Carb but even these should be eaten sparingly.
I will tag @daisy1 for you and she will give you lots of advice and maybe know more on Gluten Free bread.
 

Mr_Pot

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To reduce your blood sugar you need low carb bread or no bread. Wholegrain might be slightly better but the effect is marginal. If you need GF because you have Celiac disease or gluten intolerance maybe someone else can help but if you don't, GF has no particular advantage for diabetics. Burgen Soya and Linseed bread has less effect on BS than most breads and Lidl do some High Protein rolls that many people recommend.
 
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Resurgam

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Gluten free is lower in protein than 'normal' breads, so it is not a step in the right direction for diabetics. Neither is wholegrain - unfortunately it has shedloads of carbs, even if they arrive in your bloodstream more slowly.
I can eat one of the protein rolls from Lidl and still stay within the range of blood glucose I allow myself, even though I am very sensitive to all grains, and seeds too.
I don't eat the rolls every day, so I make rolls of meat and lettuce leaves, use celery as a scoop for grated or cream cheese or shrimps or fish.
 
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Hi everyone, I am newly pre-diabetic and wondering how blood sugar responds to GF bread, since the various ingredients do not appear to be wholegrain. Is it OK to eat this, or is it bad news? What do people use as an alternative if so? Many thanks

Hi, gluten free bread is expensive, most are quite tasteless and tiny in size too. I hope you find something you like and your body cope's with it, good luck.
 

daisy1

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@Brena55

Hello Brena and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope it will be useful to you. Ask more questions and someone will try 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 245,000 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
Reduce your 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

Tony337

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Not being on holiday....
Gluten free bread is ghastly.
Its got more carbs than bread with gluten in it and 3 times the price.
It looks like cardboard and tastes like cardboard.
Toasted makes it just about tolerable.
I am coeliac and type 1 and been dealt a cruel blow as I used to love French bread with lashings of butter.........

Rant over

good luck

Tony
 
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mo53

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@Brena55 hello and welcome to the forum. I have been trying a new gluten free bread Schar vitality bread. It is tasty. There are 12g of carbohydrate in each slice but I find it doesn't spike my blood sugar. I find with low carb you need to decide what you use your carb allowance for. I tend to use it on strawberries, raspberries or blackberries. I track my carb and calorie intake with myfitnesspal. Hope this helps.
 
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Hpetal

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I have recently found a Warbetons gluten free, wheat free milk free bread in Lidl. Only small 300g loaves but it as close as I have found to "proper bread" it does not go crunchy when toasted though. it comes in white and multigrain. and carb value is white 10.2g per slice multigrain 9.0g per slice. (27g weight per slice) I know that is not low but for ceolic and other allergic conditions it is there. I found it does not give me a bloated tummy or spike my bg. cautious but edible.
 
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Ellenw

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Since my type 2 diabetes diagnosis I have thrown all of my gluten free bread out. I believe it has more sugar to make it more palatable..So I never/rarely eat it now.....I kinda miss the good stuff (hard to find) a bit..
 

Hpetal

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found a warbatons tiger bloomer unsliced in the gluten free range! (morrisons) it is a very good alternative to "normal bread". good for toast. I was looking at carb values of the free from range in tesco and many have more than with gluten, it just depends what you want from a bread. A nice crusty roll is a special treat these days but I feel I can't resist sometimes.
 
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found a warbatons tiger bloomer unsliced in the gluten free range! (morrisons) it is a very good alternative to "normal bread". good for toast. I was looking at carb values of the free from range in tesco and many have more than with gluten, it just depends what you want from a bread. A nice crusty roll is a special treat these days but I feel I can't resist sometimes.

I like the seeded bread, the more seeds the better, not only does it taste nice, but it's often lower in carbs.
 
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