High bg and porridge

[Carolyn_Lesley]

Hello there, I am a newbie and still learning to eat to my metre. I have always had porridge for breakfast but sometimes I get a big spike ( up to 13) an hour after going down ( between 5 and 6 sometimes just over 6) 2 hours after. Does this mean I can't eat porridge, I should reduce my portion size perhaps make with whole milk but smaller amount or is this ok. Is a high short lived peak normal!
Thank you in advance
Carolyn

 

[Lamont D]

Hello there, I am a newbie and still learning to eat to my metre. I have always had porridge for breakfast but sometimes I get a big spike ( up to 13) an hour after going down ( between 5 and 6 sometimes just over 6) 2 hours after. Does this mean I can't eat porridge, I should reduce my portion size perhaps make with whole milk but smaller amount or is this ok. Is a high short lived peak normal!
Thank you in advance
Carolyn

If it was me I would avoid the porridge, there is no reason to have something that spikes you so much!
Portion size can reduce your spike but going by your 2 hour post prandial, it shouldn't make much difference!

 

[Carolyn_Lesley]

Thank you, please, why wouldn't it make much difference going by my 2 hour reading? What is 'prandial'? And what would be an acceptable hour reading to get? Sometimes it is much less? Sorry for all the questions, I am still new! Thank you

 

[sally and james]

@Carolyn_Lesley "Prandial" is posh for "eating". Pre-prandial is before eating, post-prandial is after eating.
A truly normal, healthy person will have only the smallest, briefest rise, whatever they eat, so 13 is way out. Our rule is Never over 7 at one hour, never over 6 at two hours. My husband keeps to this, usually del within. (I'm not diabetic, so don't test).
When we started out, we tried every possible permutation to keep porridge on the menu, including portions so small that if you sneezed they disappeared, eating the unrefined porridges that take 20 minutes to cook, adding cinnamon, yoghurt, cream. In the end, scrambled egg (and other non-carb things) turned out to be quicker, easier and better for long term health.
Sally

 

[fred1234]

I have pot of porridge every morning and find it doesn't cause me spikes just a gradual rise within limits. One man's meat is another man's poison lol. Everyone different.

 

[Bluetit1802]

As you are making your porridge with milk it won't be helping I'm afraid. You could try making it with water and see if it makes any difference, but you should never see double figures if you want to control your levels. Milk is full of lactose, which is another form of sugar. I can only manage a small dash in my tea, and use double cream in my coffee.

Its hard to break a habit of a life time, but maybe you should look to changing your breakfasts completely, at least for the time being.

 

[sally and james]

I have pot of porridge every morning and find it doesn't cause me spikes just a gradual rise within limits.

@fred1234 Just out of interest, what are your limits? How long does it take you to get back to a normal level (which I would define as about 5, or less. I note, from your profile, that you are "insulin dependent", which means your experience is not really comparable with a "diet and exercise" controlled diabetic.
Sally

 

[Carolyn_Lesley]

Thank you everyone. Why is milk bad but cream ok? Or have I misunderstood? I've read that Greek yoghurt, cheese, cream etc are good things to be having on a low carb diet but not milk in porridge? Is there lactose in milk but not cream?

 

[CarbsRok]

Hello there, I am a newbie and still learning to eat to my metre. I have always had porridge for breakfast but sometimes I get a big spike ( up to 13) an hour after going down ( between 5 and 6 sometimes just over 6) 2 hours after. Does this mean I can't eat porridge, I should reduce my portion size perhaps make with whole milk but smaller amount or is this ok. Is a high short lived peak normal!
Thank you in advance
Carolyn

As a matter of interest what type of porridge is it? I ask because the best results come from the less refined porridge oats.

 

[Carolyn_Lesley]

It is the largest flaked oat I can find- 3 or 4 times the size of usual oat. Flahavans Jumbo oat.

 

[Jo123]

To me any rise over 7.8 is unacceptable as this is when damage occurs to your blood vessels. Even if the blood sugar went down after 2 hours that would be be unacceptable. As I say that is my view as I prefer to avoid diabetic complications but everyone is different.

 

[Carolyn_Lesley]

Thank you. I so wanna get a grip on this I have a young daughter and I am an older mum.........

 

[DeejayR]

Thank you everyone. Why is milk bad but cream ok? Or have I misunderstood? I've read that Greek yoghurt, cheese, cream etc are good things to be having on a low carb diet but not milk in porridge? Is there lactose in milk but not cream?

Hello. Milk has sugar but cream doesn't, more or less. Skim milk is worst for us because there's less fat in it to slow down the sugar conversion. Yoghurt has some carbs but full fat yoghurt in moderation should be ok (test it!).