# Cereals



## Mrs Mad Ronin (Mar 3, 2015)

Has anyone found any cereals that don't push your BS too high?

I have tried most of them, Special K, Weetabix, Shreddies (which i love) Shredded Wheat etc and i start off before breakfast with a nice BS but after, it shoots up to anywhere between 14 and 20. Depending on what i have had. 

So i'm curious as to what cereals are ok really.


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## Northerner (Mar 3, 2015)

I think it is very much down to personal tolerances, and insulin-resistance in the mornings may also play a big part for a lot of people. When I was first diagnosed I used to eat Weetabix or Shredded Wheat, until I started doing more post-meal testing - and found my levels rocketing  I just gave up trying after that. I think some people find Cheerios are OK, surprisingly!


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## BobbieH (Mar 3, 2015)

I eat porridge. Not the sachet, microwave variety but proper porridge soaked from the night before. Also Crunchy bran by weetabix which is ok for me.


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## Northerner (Mar 3, 2015)

BobbieH said:


> I eat porridge. Not the sachet, microwave variety but proper porridge soaked from the night before. Also Crunchy bran by weetabix which is ok for me.



I wish I had the foresight and patience to make proper porridge, yum!  I started off with that Oatso Simple stuff for a while, but it is so refined that it's like the difference between mashed potato and roast sweet potato. I do find it rather annoying that it can be promoted as 'healthy', or even 'porridge' - there is far too much deception in marketing, but I can't imagine it ever being cracked down on  One of my big bugbears has always been that there can be acres of space on packaging for logos and claims, but the actual nutritional content of the food is often printed in tiny fonts that you need a magnifying glass to read


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## BobbieH (Mar 3, 2015)

I found the sachets and wee tubs of porridge have added sugar.
I remember the days before sugar was added to cereals during manufacture. You could not have ate a bowl of cornflakes without adding sugar at the table.  Manufacturers need to be held accountable for the amount of sugar they put in their cereals.


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## Northerner (Mar 3, 2015)

BobbieH said:


> I found the sachets and wee tubs of porridge have added sugar.
> I remember the days before sugar was added to cereals during manufacture. You could not have ate a bowl of cornflakes without adding sugar at the table.  Manufacturers need to be held accountable for the amount of sugar they put in their cereals.



I shudder to think now how me and my sister used to heap tablespoons of sugar on our weetabix and then watch the milk soak into it  

Another bit of deception is where they give sugar/carb content per portion size, when they know darn well that no-one eats portions as small as they are suggesting! 

The trouble is, the whole medical profession has been so obsessed with fat=bad for decades that it is only now (or when you get diagnosed with diabetes) that you begin to notice how much sugar is in everything. It's going to take a long time to change the general public's perception, especially since the food companies will be reluctant to make changes.

...and right on cue, comes this news article:

http://diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=51804


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## DeusXM (Mar 3, 2015)

It's not just the 'added' sugar though.

Cereals are just processed starch. All starch converts to glucose in your body, so the reality is that as far as your body's concerned, a bowl of cereal is just a big bowl of sugar with some milk. 

Worrying about how much raw sugar is in a meal is generally a bit of a red herring. It's the total carbs that affect your blood sugar, not just the actual sugar. There is a school of thought that like to argue that starch is slow releasing and won't affect your blood sugar but this is probably the biggest myth in diabetes around. In my case anyway, it's completely wishful thinking.

In terms of finding cereals which are 'ok', my starter position would be that none of them are, and work from there. If you're finding that most cereals are spiking you up to 14-20mmol/l, I would conclude that that probably your body simply cannot cope with that volume of carbs in the morning and you'll need to look at a completely different approach to breakfast that's more fat and protein-based.


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## KookyCat (Mar 3, 2015)

I find that a bircher muesli type of affair works well, basically greek yoghurt with some stewed or chopped apple (or other fruit but not too much of it) and a table spoon of oats, you soak them in the yoghurt overnight and it goes a bit like porridge but cold.  You could try something like that and see how you go with it?


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## BobbieH (Mar 3, 2015)

To go off at a tangent for a moment. I used to love Heinz tomato and basil soup, until I discovered how much sugar was in a can.  I make my own now.


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## susieq67 (Mar 3, 2015)

I, too, prefer cereal for breakfast - just can't face anything cooked before 1100 am !

The 2 cereals that don't too much damage for me are

Quaker Oat Crisp (3.0g sugar/17g carbohydrate/113kcal per 30g serving)
and
Sainsbury's Puffed Wheat (0.5g sugar/20.9g carbohydrate/113kcal per 30g serving)

I have 2 small handfuls of either (which is slightly less than 30g) with 3 dessertspoonful's of Alpro Soya yoghurt (Simply Plain variety) which is a  lot lower in sugars than the dairy kind (carbohydrate/sugar 2.1g & 50kcal per 100g) and a few raspberries or strawberries.


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## Mrs Mad Ronin (Mar 3, 2015)

I do think you are right DeusXM. I don't think my body handles carbs in a morning. I am Insulin Resistance due to a hormone imbalance and PCOS (as well as the diabetes) so i guess it all plays a part.

I think either i need to learn to make my own porridge etc or just give up on the idea of cereal. I just can't eat something cooked until i have been awake a good hr or so as it always maks me feel sick. So maybe i need to get up even earlier and do that 

It's nice to hear other ideas etc


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## Pumper_Sue (Mar 3, 2015)

Northerner said:


> I wish I had the foresight and patience to make proper porridge, yum!  I started off with that Oatso Simple stuff for a while, but it is so refined that it's like the difference between mashed potato and roast sweet potato. I do find it rather annoying that it can be promoted as 'healthy', or even 'porridge' - there is far too much deception in marketing, but I can't imagine it ever being cracked down on  One of my big bugbears has always been that there can be acres of space on packaging for logos and claims, but the actual nutritional content of the food is often printed in tiny fonts that you need a magnifying glass to read



Buy yourself a slow cooker and use a timer switch to set it going. Breakfast is served when you get up


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## DeusXM (Mar 3, 2015)

It doesn't have to be cooked food. There's no reason why breakfast has to be a straight choice between either cereal or a fry-up. 

The Europeans have got this right. Have breakfast at any European hotel and there will always be a plate of mild thinly sliced cheeses, ham, salami etc, all of which could be put into a bread roll but are often eaten just as they are. 

So don't feel you 'have' to have something cooked...or even something that is a traditional breakfast food for breakfast. There's no reason why you can't actually have a salad or leftovers from dinner for breakfast. You might also find that maybe toast or some fruits have less of an impact on your blood sugar in the morning, or there's always yoghurt. My go-to breakfast is Greek yoghurt with some defrosted frozen berries mixed in to it - low-carb, very filling and if you put frozen berries in, leave it for 30 mins and then start eating it, it's basically like having ice-cream for breakfast but without the sugar issues.

Otherwise, there's loads of other options. Carrot sticks and celery maybe? Dip the celery in peanut butter? I even have just sliced up chorizo, or biltong, or the puffy kind of pork scratchings (the ones that look like Quavers) as a breakfast item. If you can eat it, you can eat it for breakfast.


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## BobbieH (Mar 3, 2015)

It is breakfast time somewhere in the world is my motto when I want to eat something which is considered at the "wrong time"I.e.cereal for tea.
Dues is right. Eat whatever you want regardless of what's "proper"


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## Mrs Mad Ronin (Mar 3, 2015)

Thank you both, much appreciated


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## silentsquirrel (Mar 3, 2015)

BobbieH said:


> It is breakfast time somewhere in the world is my motto when I want to eat something which is considered at the "wrong time"I.e.cereal for tea.
> Dues is right. Eat whatever you want regardless of what's "proper"



I cannot handle cereal or porridge first thing, but sometimes have either as a late afternoon snack, or a very small amount of cereal last thing at night if I am lower than target. which seems to work much better than in the morning.

Porridge does not need long cooking unless you are being very Scottish and starting with oatmeal.  Rolled oats, including jumbo ones, will cook in just over 5 minutes for one portion with very acceptable results.  Just time to chop a very small apple to go in it, or get the berries out, and make a coffee!  I am not over keen on unsweetened, so put a few saccharine tablets and a tiny bit of salt in at the start.  Just stay well away from the golden syrup!


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