Non refined grains causing BS rise

New to t2 but have noticed a greater rise in BS after eating grains like quinoa. I thought grains were good…

For many of us, whole grains are just as bad as white products for blood sugar. They all contain carbohydrates. Sometimes the BG increase doesn’t happen quite as fast with whole grains so the peak may not get quite as high, but one really needs to test that with one’s meter since what exactly happens varies from food to food and individual to individual.

Consult a chart of carbohydrate content and use that as a start for your expectations on what might happen with individual foods.

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I agree with @Uff_Da. You need to test for yourself the effect of any carbs whether they are whole grains, refined grains, complex, or simple carbohydrates. “Eat to your meter” is a philosophy that will educate you on how various types of foods affect your particular metabolism.

Many medical professionals, including dietitians, like to give the green light to whole grains and complex carbohydrates for people with diabetes, T1 and T2, but many of us have found that carbohydrates must be strictly limited in order to control post meal blood glucose excursions. Some people are more sensitive to carbs than others and some people produce more home-grown insulin than others, allowing them more carbs without the serious post-meal high blood sugars. “Eat to your meter” is a solid rule for everyone to live by.

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Ads you’ll see on this forum, YDMV - your diabetes may vary. For me, both whole grain and refined grains spike my BG equally; however, whole grains hit me quite a bit later. As a result, I find whole grains harder to manage, as “later” is often unpredictable, so I avoid them to some degree. (It helps that I don’t actually like whole grain…) I don’t eat a lot of breads, etc., but for me, it’s what works that I try and stick to (and quantity of course is part of that equation).

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I endorse all that has been said. When it comes to the effect on my BG, a carb is a carb is a carb. The source doesn’t seem to matter. The only exception I have been able to demonstrate empirically is a slightly slower absorption when carbs are consumed with fat.

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In my opinion the whole concept of “whole grains” is pretty much a myth unless you’re going out into a pasture and chewing wheat or oats that are growing from the ground— every type of grain we eat has some how been modified from what nature, evolution, God, whatever thought process one subscribes to, put here for us… They’ve all been ground to a pulp, cooked, de-shelled, etc etc , and made to digest far more rapidly than our bodies were ever designed to handle…

So it doesn’t surprise me at all that “whole grains” are spiking your blood sugar… They do the same to me.

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Thanks for the replies. Grains took me by surprise because, as you noted, the dietician recommended whole grains.

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A recent study confirmed the fact we’ve all been living for a long time – BG response is highly individual:

Scientists have released new results underscoring the importance of a personalized diet, prepared based on complex factors such as your gut microbes and lifestyle. Surprisingly, the foods that raise blood sugar levels differ dramatically from person to person.

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Bravo and amen. I have been preaching that gospel for about as long as I’ve been here.

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Actually quinoa is a seed. But it is still pretty high carb.

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Ironic to this discussion, quinoa barely shows up as a blip on my BG meter - unlike the LC “staple,” almonds.

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Carbs are carbs… honestly for me as a T1, plain sugar only hits my system slightly faster than a whole grain like quinoa would - quinoa is right up there with rice, I avoid it because it’s just too carb-dense. I can’t eat enough to actually enjoy it, so I just don’t.

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