Best Cereal to Have for Breakfast Type1Diabetes

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Humy

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Hi All,

Pre diagnosis of having Type 1 I would have only a banana daily. Post diagnosis I now have Weetabix with Berries.

I noticed my sugars tend to rise fairly quickly but I'm not sure if it's due to rushing to the bus to get to work on time. The moment I wake up around 6:30 on weekdays it's at 12 in bed. Then I get up and it jumps to 14/15. I have my levemir followed by Novorapid then breakfast at 7:30. Its at 15 then as I was it raises to 17/18 when I walk to the bus. Until 9:30 when I reach work then it settles down.

On weekends, this is the same only my sugars remains at 18 after Breakfast when i wake up at 9 since I'm at home and I usually have eggs on toast. It takes a while to settle down unless I walk.

Any advice on choices of Breakfast? I know everyone is different but would love to hear other choices for those with Type 1 and high blood glucose levels?
 
If your blood sugar is 12 when you wake up, what is it earlier in the night? There’s something called Dawn Phenomenon where your blood sugar shoots up in the early morning. This isn’t anything to do with what you have for breakfast. There’s also Foot on the Floor, where you blood sugar goes up when you get out of bed.

I’d deal with this by injecting a small correction bolus when you get up. Experiment carefully with how much you need.
 
Inka said:
If your blood sugar is 12 when you wake up, what is it earlier in the night? There’s something called Dawn Phenomenon where your blood sugar shoots up in the early morning. This isn’t anything to do with what you have for breakfast. There’s also Foot on the Floor, where you blood sugar goes up when you get out of bed.

I’d deal with this by injecting a small correction bolus when you get up. Experiment carefully with how much you need.
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Hi Inka,

It varies from 12 to 15 depending on what time I sleep. OK thanks for the info. How did you find this out, what resources would you recommend? OK thank you. I will try.
 
I inject my morning Levemir and breakfast bolus before I get out of bed so that they can get to work on my rising BG levels from my morning liver dump, be it Dawn Phenomenon or Foot on the floor, straight away. I also include a small correction for that liver dump unless I am going to burn it off straight after breakfast. What you have for breakfast is less important than having the insulin for it sooner. I tend to make my breakfast and a coffee as soon as I get up and the coffee tends to get consumed whilst I am getting washed nd dressed and the breakfast eaten as soon as the insulin starts to kick in.

I find creamy Greek style natural yoghurt with berries and seeds and a sprinkle of nutty granola and cinnamon works well for me for breakfast and I love it.
 
Humera.Turak said:
Hi Inka,

It varies from 12 to 15 depending on what time I sleep. OK thanks for the info. How did you find this out, what resources would you recommend? OK thank you. I will try.
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Apologies if this question is answered somewhere else. But, @Humera.Turak, do you have CGM such as Libre 2? If so your graphs from the previous 8-10 hours will give you a decent indication of the overall trend of yourr BG over previous evenings and nights.

If you are waking around 12 mmol/L, what is your BG as you fall asleep and typically what level and at what time for the lowest point of the night. From that general picture it is easier to offer views on what correction needs to be done, when and how. Your resources are your CGM or finger pricks, insulin, food or exercise.
 
Sounds to me like not enough basal insulin overnight. Do you have 2 jabs of Levemir a day?
 
Humera.Turak said:
Hi Inka,

It varies from 12 to 15 depending on what time I sleep. OK thanks for the info. How did you find this out, what resources would you recommend? OK thank you. I will try.
Click to expand...

Your on a no win situation for breakfast as those levels are far to high to start off with, if your on basal bolus then you need to increase your basal insulin to get those levels down overnight, if unsure what to do look online at basal testing or speak with your diabetes team.

My breakfast of choice is good old fashioned oats with Greek yogurt & berries.
 
Whilst I agree that you start your day higher than ideal, I would not be 100% convinced that your basal needs changing.
The idea of basal is to keep your BG stable(ish) in the absence of anything else that affects it like food or exercise.
If you go to bed at 12 and wake up on 12, your basal is doing its job.
However, if you go to bed on 5 and wake on 12, it suggests you need more basal.
I think you need to check your basal is correct before worrying about what to eat for breakfast. Otherwise, you are building your meal time insulin doses on dodgy foundations.
Bear in mind, if you wake on a higher BG than when you go to bed, it could be insufficient basal or it could be Dawn Phenomenon or it could be both. The shape of your Libre graph should help you work it out.

Once, you are confident with your basal and any Dawn Phenomenon corrections, you can look at breakfast. You should be able to continue with your weetabix or go back to a banana if you want. However, you may need an longer prebolus time and/or a higher insulin to carb ratio than other times of the day as it is not uncommon to be more insulin resistant in the morning.
 
Humera.Turak said:
Hi Inka,

It varies from 12 to 15 depending on what time I sleep. OK thanks for the info. How did you find this out, what resources would you recommend? OK thank you. I will try.
Click to expand...

Do you have a Libre or Dexcom? Are you saying your blood sugar is high (12 to 15) all night? If so, that’s not Dawn Phenomenon, that’s not enough basal insulin. If your blood sugar is ok overnight but then shoots up from around 3/4am, that’s Dawn Phenomenon and it’s due to the release of certain hormones.

I’ve had Type 1 for more than 30 years. I found it out in a book I read years ago, probably out of print now. There are a couple of books often recommended for Type 1s on this forum:

Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner.

And Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (ignore the title - it’s great for adults too).
 
Proud to be erratic said:
Apologies if this question is answered somewhere else. But, @Humera.Turak, do you have CGM such as Libre 2? If so your graphs from the previous 8-10 hours will give you a decent indication of the overall trend of yourr BG over previous evenings and nights.

If you are waking around 12 mmol/L, what is your BG as you fall asleep and typically what level and at what time for the lowest point of the night. From that general picture it is easier to offer views on what correction needs to be done, when and how. Your resources are your CGM or finger pricks, insulin, food or exercise.
Click to expand...

I use Libre 2 and I have attached my average glucose in last 7 days. OK great thank you.
 

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trophywench said:
Sounds to me like not enough basal insulin overnight. Do you have 2 jabs of Levemir a day?
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Yes I have one when I wake and one when I sleep. The nurse is easing me into the correct doses. May discuss with them on the next appt
 
Inka said:
Do you have a Libre or Dexcom? Are you saying your blood sugar is high (12 to 15) all night? If so, that’s not Dawn Phenomenon, that’s not enough basal insulin. If your blood sugar is ok overnight but then shoots up from around 3/4am, that’s Dawn Phenomenon and it’s due to the release of certain hormones.

I’ve had Type 1 for more than 30 years. I found it out in a book I read years ago, probably out of print now. There are a couple of books often recommended for Type 1s on this forum:

Think Like a Pancreas’ by Gary Scheiner.

And Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas (ignore the title - it’s great for adults too).
Click to expand...

Initially I was on high dose at night but the sugars would go down fairly quickly so the dose currently is average. When I sleep its roughly the same as to when I wake up.

Thank you for sharing the information
 
So it IS hat high all night. Hope you're seeing that nurse very soon!
 
30g of porridge made with water and 40g blueberries. Teaspoon of mascarpone. Works every time.
 
I only know one breakfast cereal that doesn't contain sugar and that's grape nuts.
 
JonathanGi said:
It's tasty, filling, healthy.
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So, it suits your personal taste and activity and matches your healthy needs.
But, your definition of “ works” does not include the impact on your BG.

Sorry, I know that I am being pedantic again.

But, if someone does not enjoy food the texture of wallpaper paste, is very very active throughout the morning and has a dairy intolerance, it will not “work” for them.

We are all different so it will take some time to find what “works” for each one of us and, having Type 1, the “working bit” is not just what we eat but also how we dose our insulin (how much and when).

Personally, my go to breakfast changes daily depending upon what I ate yesterday, what I am doing this morning, my waking BG and what I have in the house. Then my bolus timing and amount depends on all the same things plus how much exercise I did yesterday.
But, as I have insulin, it is never low carb, always contains some carbs and is always more than a cup of tea. Never coffee but that is just part of my “weirdness” of a coffee intolerance.
 
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I have to admit I've never chewed the wallpaper and I could easily miss out the mascarpone!
 
JonathanGi said:
I only know one breakfast cereal that doesn't contain sugar and that's grape nuts.
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Not sure where you got your info from but my box says 68g carb per 100g and 8.6g sugar.
If you want a low carb cereal then there are Keto ones which have only about 9g carb per 100g and 3g sugar per 100g.
 
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