I tried my sprouted grain cereal this morning without taking insulin and without any exercise and the results are impressive. I was 83 before I ate and had 75g of ceral (about 3 ounces). I skipped the strawberries and just added some nuts for flavor and a splash of milk. After an hour I was at 127 and after 2 hours at 110. I tested every 15 minutes to make sure I caught the spike and 127 was the highest number I saw. I looked back on my pre-insulin days and saw that an 3 ounces of (raw) oatmeal, as muesli, raised my BG to 160 after an hour. I did have a little yogurt with the oatmeal, so that was a factor, but it seems clear that the sprouted oats are easier on the BG. Also the nutrition can’t be beat. I am not getting any more leg cramps now I am eating more raw, sprouted food. I eat sprouted peas and lentils as a snack and a salad with sprouted leafy greens (alfalfa, etc.) for lunch and my energy level is much higher.
thank you so much for the info Jenny!
I appreciate it!
Between the cereal and the milk it’s a losing battle. Honestly I’d say start facing the day with a new breakfast plan. Breakfast cereals are deadly, I’m not just talking about the obvious culprits I mean the supposedly “healthy” ones. Thankfully I was not a breakfast cereal person before diagnosis so it’s no big deal for me. I’d say go for a more low carb breakfast. Sweetened grains doused in milk, yep you’ll lose that battle every time. Look at the boxes and read the ingredients. Once again I’m talking about the “healthy” all natural organic blah blah cereals. Second or third ingredient is almost always sweetener. It just might be a natural sweetener but for a diabetic that doesn’t help. I’m no foodie so Xing out a rather large list of foods is no problem for me. For some people it is. Unfortunately a lot of the “fun” starchy, carb laden foods are just like a little devil snickering on your shoulder. They make this balancing act very very difficult. For me personally I just don’t eat them.
I guess you’re right. It is a losing battle. Even the low carb cereals raise the levels. Thanks for all the info. Guess I’ll have to eat more eggs–although my lipids are high and I’m on Vytorin for that.
Diana
Diana,
If cereal is a pleasurable part of your life, you might try one more thing before you conclude that living without it is your only option. That would be exercise. And when I say exercise, I don’t mean a casual stroll a couple days each week, but a real exercise program that studies have shown can actually improve your insulin sensitivity. I hate to see any Diabetic give up an enjoyed food if they don’t have too.
Your profile says you’re retired, so scheduling daily exercise (something of the order of 45 minutes to an hour) should be doable. As your level of physical fitness improves, you may just find that you can add a little cereal back into your diet. It may be easier to eliminate foods from your diet than to persevere in an exercise program, but the benefits of the exercise program (especially if you’re able to continue to enjoy more of the foods you actually like) are well worth the effort.
Here’s an article that might help inspire you to try this:
Exercise Key in Control of Type 2 Diabetes
You are right. I need to exercise more. I’ve noticed when we are RVing we take lots of walks and hikes and my BG is much lower. I will try exercising more. And the article was really interesting! Thanks!
Diana
You might want to have that bowl of cereal for breakfast but pay attention to the carb grams in the serving. Its the carbs that are converted to glucose. Try a little less you don’t have to take a whole serving of a 1/2 cup or 1 cup. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on it add your milk and after eating take a nice long walk. Test your blood sugar and see if it’s less than 189.
I like to eat old fashioned oat meal a 1/4 cup of dry cereal cooked in 6 oz of water in the microwave. I sprinkle with cinnamon add a half banana and 4 oz of Lactaid Lo Fat milk. As a Type 1 I have to cover the Carbs with a bolus from my pump. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Florian (Type 1, dx 1967)
Animas 2020 + Apidra
I’ll have to try that too! Thanks for the info!
It’s the milk. Cow milk is not a good choice and especially if you are a diabetic. Try Soy milk. Cow milk is very fattening and if you’re trying to watch the weight lay off the cow milk. I don’t care what those commercials say about dairy and losing weight don’t believe it!!! I’ve had lows and thought eating cereal would help. Well it helps but it my bg level was sky high 1 our later. Lay off the milk if you can. Or you might want to try skim milk or watering down some 1 or 2 percent milk.
I agree with you. I drink soy milk nearly every day for breakfast and it is both filling, nutritious and low-carb. Good thing I live in Asia and I can get fresh soy milk from the market. But for a lack of time, I buy unsweetened pasteurized soy milk from the supermarket. But half a glass of 99% fat free milk does not really spike me unbearably high and I do have some of it every couple of days.
Actually it’s the carbs. Cows milk does have more carbs than soy but if you have soy milk on cereal you are still going to spike high because the cereal is very high in carbs. So it’s both the milk and the cereal.
Actually if you reduce your carbs it is very likely that your lipid profile will get much better. I have had a bad lipid profile for years on a high carb low fat diet.
Since i reduced my carb intake my lipids are now BETTER than perfect!!! (i.e. really low).
– Joel.
Yeah, mine too. In fact my tryglicerides were so off the chart low that they were recorded as under 42, instead of an actual number. I have a new favorite thing for breakfast that sounds odd but satisfies my craving for something sweeter than bacon and eggs. I make sugar free jello and add fruit, nuts and grated orange peel. It is really low carb, pretty nutritious and yummy. One really good combination is cranberries (unsweetened) and walnuts, but strawberries or any kind of berries are also good. I use 1/2 cup chopped cranberries and 1/2 cup of walnuts plus the zest of one small orange with a box of strawberry jello, but you can mix and match the flavors of jello and the additions. What I like about this is that it is easy to make ahead and is portable.
great recipe idea! i am a bit like George Costanza though - i like my jello by itself and i am not sure if i could do this.
but it sounds like it may be worth a try!
my fave breakfast at the moment is lambs fry (liver), mushrooms and a fried egg. and in the past that is something i would “treat” myself to every five years or so!!!
i think my triglycerides in September were like 83 (in the US scale: 1.4 in the Australian scale). but they had previously been between 300 and 800 (in the US scale).
– Joel.
Wow, liver is something I couldn’t imagine eating in the morning, though when I am home in England I do enjoy black pudding (but not for breakfast) which most non-Brits think is disgusting!
Yeah! i must admit that i do not like handling liver in the morning. so i have portions all cut up in bags in the freezer. so all i do is defrost overnight open the bag and let the liver slide into a hot pan.
i do not even need to look at it.
once it is cooked i am fine and the flavour is great with mushrooms and ham!
i would love to try black pudding and i am American (by birth).
actually anything cooked by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall always appeals to me and i know he loves making black pudding etc.
– Joel.
Those who wear the continuous monitors, although they are Type 1s, not Type 2s, have documented very high spikes in blood sugar after eating certal for breakfast. Even prebolusing cannot stop the spikes for many. My niece will be in 385 range two and a half hours to three hours after eating cereal. Prebolusing does not help all that much. Some, but not enough. You may want to try A&P brand Sugar Free maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal at 16 grams a packet. This has caused less of a rise in her. We don’t even give this cereal much anymore. We give her eggs, ONE slice of toast, one percent milk or yogurt and a little fruit for breakfast. On school days, when rushed, we substitute a mozzerella cheese stick instead of the eggs if she is not getting yogurt. As an adult, you can low carb it, and maybe that is what I would do. A rise to 180… We would be so happy with that! Type 1 children can really spike. I understand your targets are tighter than ours because you can achieve a tighter target. I would say strive to get as close to normal blood sugars as humanly possible. So my answer to you would be IXNAY on the cereal, LOL.
That’s interesting. I have started eating sugar free oatmeal with cinnamon on it and a handful of almonds and don’t get the high readings. Then sometimes I can eat cereal for lunch and that’s OK.
I cut out cereal completely. Same happens to me even with Almond milk.
Diana, go to blood sugar 101. and read about diabetes drugs.
Mel Wright