Porridge sending me sky high?!

MANY people have had this experience with Porridge.

It is VERY high in carbs (58.4 g carbs per 100g weight. The average portion is shown as 40g) and many can only tolerate a very small portion as it just rockets Bg levels......me included. The results would usually show up well after 2 hrs. Slow acting carbs.

You could cover it with Insulin but is that wise ??

I used to love Porage Oats........just a memory now. :cry:

I don’t know if this is a cf thing or just normal but it may help you. In the morning when I wake my insulin needs are very high.

Example:
I have my breakfast which is 60g of carbs so I would normally take 7 units of novo rapid but because I have just woken my body does not absorb the insulin as it should so I take 40units of novo rapid for a 60g of carb breakfast, 2 hours later my sugars are 5.6 (I'm not suggesting you take 40 units)

when I have my next meal I'm back to normal of around 1.2 units per 10g of carbs

So if I would you, I'd do as cugila suggest cover yourself with extra insulin or have less carbs

You could also delay taking your bolus for the porridge until after you'd eaten to help compensate for the slower release carbs. For example, if you normally bolus straight before or straight after, leave it 30mins before taking your bolus so that your insulin isn't peaking before your carbs are.

I am exactly the same as diabetic tigs. Porridge does the same to me too :shock:

A dietitian tried to lecture me on porridge and how great it was for keeping bg stable :? It's great for people who are prone to going hypo but for those who test regularly, they will find that their bg soars and that they will need to use more bolus to keep bg levels somewhere near a healthy target 2hrs after eating the stuff. :? Skiers use porridge and pasta to keep their bg levels up (sustained engergy release?).

A bit of toast is much better as bg will go up and come down again 2-3hrs after eating it. How much it comes down is all sorted by the bolus though.

As I'm insulin dependant (type 1), don't think I will be a low GI convert. Much better to eat a mixture of low, mid and high GI food on your dinner plate and then you'll know where you are when it comes to injecting insulin and will be able to fit in wherever you happen to be eating wise :mrgreen:

As we keep reiterating time and time again on the forum.........''we are all different''!

I just started eating porridge again after a break of 12 months or more and find that the Scotch Porridge oats have little impact on my bg (no more than 2-3mmol) and falling by the 2 hour mark, I make mine with semi-skimmed milk and add pumpkin seeds and blueberries which keep me full to lunch time.

Perhaps next time opt for the rough porridge oats rather than Readybrek, the less milled the oats the less chance it has of causing huge post-meal spikes.

Nigel

I too was told of the benefits of porridge for breakfast, I am taking mixed insulin, Humulin M3. and take 16 units in th morning and only need 6units in the evening, the porridge oats (just plain -shops own brand, with a dash of honey) keep me full until midday and have no ill effects on my BG,( usually now 5.6) although I have only been diagnosed for 6wks and am expecting it to go haywire anytime now as I think I must be in this 'honeymoon period' , but for now the porridge is working for me. I was told to use plain and simple oats, like scots or just the cheap bags you buy in supermarkets, not the processed stuff like readybrek.

When I make porridge for my son I cook it in water and it ends up with a carb content of 10gm carb for every 100gm (his serving size). If I were to eat it I don't think I would have any more than 200gm so this would only be 20gm carbs. I only add a small spoon of yogurt on top and no sugar added.

How do you make your porridge? You would probably find whole rolled oats better than the readybrekky.

hiya
we are all different for my son it matters not what he has for breakfast he will go from normal 4- 10 but by lunch hes in the 20s and we can add an extra half a unit to his rapid in the morn and find the next day he is low madness lol. it will be interesting to see the difference at lunchtime with ur ready brek tho many diabetics are insulin resistent in the mornings which doesnt help things good luck
anna marie

ams162 said:

hiya
we are all different for my son it matters not what he has for breakfast he will go from normal 4- 10 but by lunch hes in the 20s and we can add an extra half a unit to his rapid in the morn and find the next day he is low madness lol. it will be interesting to see the difference at lunchtime with ur ready brek tho many diabetics are insulin resistent in the mornings which doesnt help things good luck
anna marie

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Hi - this is exactly what I have come on the site to research - my daughter (11 diag Nov 2010) is always shooting up really high mid morning. I haven't heard of 'insulin resistant' what does that mean? Any help welcome as her mid morning/lunch readings are a mystery to us newbies. :roll:

It's possible that it is the amount of carbs eaten for breakfast that is causing this rise. What does she eat for breakfast ?

I am a Scot and I can assure you Ready Break IS NOT porridge. I was actually on this site to look up some info for a friend who is type 1 when I saw your post. I am type 2 if your are wondering and can vouch for porridge v's Ready Break.

We haven't tried porridge since being on the pump but in the injection days Jess could eat porridge and it seemed to be okay for her. We make it with milk and a very small serving of sugar (2g). We do use the Scott's Porridge Oats, can't stand the Ready Brek as the consistency is too fine. Perhaps it's the fineness that makes carb absorbtion too quick resulting in a spike in blood sugars? Also, keep your serving size down as it is high in carbs. Jess has her porridge made with 37g oats and 220ml milk, that gives about 35g carbs for a serving.