To Weetabix or not to Weetabix, that is the question?!

Hi there

Not an expert by any manner of means but newly diagnosed and keeping v close eye on GI of all carbs I am eating and Weetabix comes into the high GI category and is therefore to be avoided on a regular basis, if at all,according to GI principles.

GI principles in very basic terms (forgive me if I am patronising, dont want to assume you do or dont know) are related to how quickly the carbs in your food are broken down and converted to glucose in your blood. There are all sorts of other permutations and things to consider (ironically white bread on its own is higher GI than sugar, gram for gram though I recommend neither! This includes how its cooked, what you eat it with etc. Eg if you eat weetabix with full fat milk and a bit of cheese afterwards it should reduce the GI effect.
On its own gram for gram however it is not good for blood sugar.

All bran is not bad in this context. Or maybe even have only 1 weetabix and test to see if that helps?

However I think you have kind of answered your own question if your sugars still high after five hours? I'd also say that lots of folks advocate low or no carb diets and they certainly do seem to work. GI is kind of hinting at the principles in that it links blood sugar and weight to carbs but doesnt as such restrict carbs. I love weetabix (esp in winter with hot milk and sugar - sigh ) but have pretty much stopped eating it now.

Hope this helps (even a wee bit)

L

Lilibet is bang on the money there I'm afraid.
I don't think there is much between the various breakfast cereals on the shelves theses days. The nutritional blurb on the packets says there's ~70g carb per 100g, so the effect on blood sugar will be pretty similar whether it's Weetabix, Cheerios or Shreddies. The only real difference will be how quickly they raise your blood sugar, not how much.
Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear!

All the best,

fergus

I too used to love weetabix plastered in sugar. Tried it only once post diagnosis with canderel instead of sugar. When I tested my eyebrows nearly shot up as high as my blood glucose reading! Haven't done it since. I never eat cereal now, they all cause high readings.

regards
caitycakes

All breakfast cereals are pretty much pure carb(70% of it available). Cut porridge oats, not the rolled ones are a little better. Essentially breakfast cereals, like bread,rice, potatoes, cakes and biscuits are on the "NO NO!" list.
Why would anyone want to eat them actually?
We don't have a mechanism for digesting unprocessed grains. so breakfast cereals are some of the MOST processed and unnatural foods available.
Yes they do taste nice, smothered in sugar!
BUt WE mustn't unless we dose up.

I have one weetabix in the morning,covered in cinnamon.I don't find this raises BS too much.

I can get away with one Oatibix and on this I have a sprinkling of sweetener and full-fat milk (4.7g carb per 100mls) I get this treat on the days I start work at 7.15 am.

Weetabix send my BS rocketing too.

wiflib

hanadr said:

All breakfast cereals are pretty much pure carb(70% of it available). Cut porridge oats, not the rolled ones are a little better. Essentially breakfast cereals, like bread,rice, potatoes, cakes and biscuits are on the "NO NO!" list.
Why would anyone want to eat them actually?
We don't have a mechanism for digesting unprocessed grains. so breakfast cereals are some of the MOST processed and unnatural foods available.
Yes they do taste nice, smothered in sugar!
BUt WE mustn't unless we dose up.

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Sad thing is, although Karynn doesn't mention it in this thread (you may not have seen her other thread so you may not be aware) she has a condition which means that sometimes the best foods are the very ones, as a diabetic, one should avoid! I have the remnants of ulcerative colitis, despite having my large bowel removed, and Karynn has a similar condition and although she hasn't had surgery, it actually leaves her in a worse position than I am. It means that sometimes her digestive system can only cope with foods such as mash, rice, pasta etc. Knowing how tough it is for me trying to balance the two conditions, I know what a quandary she is in. It is like walking through a minefield. I find that one or two slices of white toast and butter in the morning is enough to keep the hunger at bay, Blood levels fairly predictable and my digestive system happy all in one go! Then again, I use insulin which makes things easier to control, I think, over tablets/diet. But I could kill for a bowl of weetabix, cornflakes, sugar puffs, rice krispies, frosties (need I go on!?). :lol: :lol:

Jackie

Can you do scrambled eggs for breakfast? I like mine with mushrooms. I scramble in the microwave, which can be done without adding fat, but it's nicer with a little cream. you get lovely fluffy egg and delicious.

coming in a bit late again

Was searching for just this info.. been having 2 w/bix with semi milk and sweetner for breakfast most days.

Only starting testing yesterday. and got 11.8 after breakfast, but only 3.6 after evening meal, with
sticky sauces !!

Did again before and after B/fast today ( w/bix again) and got 4.1 and 13.8 .

So off to find some other cereal !!

take care all Chris

sugarless sue said:

I have one weetabix in the morning,covered in cinnamon.I don't find this raises BS too much.

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I agree, cinnamon on my coarse oatmeal in the morning does help keep my BS in control too.

Update on that one,I have changed me breakfast eating habits since I put that on the board and now weetabix are a dim and distant memory!!

I only use Weetabix when I have a low BS - it ups them quickly and stabilises the old BSs for a while. Like others, Im into egg on toast for brekkie, practically plucked from the chickens bits, bless em. But this generally keeps BSs even til lunchtime, on a busy ward at work.

My regular breakfast since being diagnosed 2 years ago, based on the standard dietary advice from my GP about including carbohydrates in my diet, has been two Weetabix with sweetener and semi-skimmed milk, sometimes followed by a slice of toast and Marmite. After reading various postings on this board warning about the adverse effects of cereals on BG levels, I recently tested myself on arriving at work (after a 20-minute cycle ride) and found that my BG about 1 hour or so after such a breakfast was 6.2. Another case of one size does not fit all?

Well done Patrick.
Interested to know what your Bg was after 2 hrs as a lot of these type of Cereals are slow acting Carbohydrates, so it could have been on the way up ?

I wish I could tolerate them. I used to love a couple with semi-skimmed milk and some sugar.

Ken.

PatrickSutton said:

My regular breakfast since being diagnosed 2 years ago, based on the standard dietary advice from my GP about including carbohydrates in my diet, has been two Weetabix with sweetener and semi-skimmed milk, sometimes followed by a slice of toast and Marmite. After reading various postings on this board warning about the adverse effects of cereals on BG levels, I recently tested myself on arriving at work (after a 20-minute cycle ride) and found that my BG about 1 hour or so after such a breakfast was 6.2. Another case of one size does not fit all?

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What is your BG without the cycling? Cycling drops my BGs amazingly

BG about 2 hours after breakfast this morning, no cycling, was 5.7.