Help Needed with Cereals

[Francesca01]

Hi there, I am currently trying to understand what can be eaten for breakfast if you are a type 2 diabetic, who uses insulin injections. My mother has diabetes and I want to help her understand what she can and can not have.
I have a couple of cereals in mind that i would like advice on, these are as follows:
1) Kelloggs All Bran Flakes with the Raisins. I have checked the list of ingredients and it sates that it has sugar. Does this mean that it is not suitable for a diabetic.

2) I bought Muesli from Holland and Barrats, unfortunately when I got home I realised that in the ingredients it states that it has honey. My question is, can A diabetic have cereal with honey?

3) The GP advised us that oats are suitable and also Weetabix, I checked the weetabix and it says low sugar, I am assuming this is okay?

I apologise if I am showing my ignorance, I have only been trying to get my head around it the last couple of days and I am struggling with knowing what would be acceptable and what wouldn't.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated as I really want to make sure that I am giving my mum the best support possible

Many Thanks in advance

Francesca

 

[Northerner]

Hi Francesca, welcome to the forum 🙂 Does your mother inject before every meal, do you know which insulin she uses? Unfortunately, cereals aren't great fr people with diabetes as they contain a lot of carbohydrate and often a lot of added sugar. Things can be a little easier if you can adjust the dose and timing of your insulin so that it peaks as the digestion of the food peaks, but this will depend on the type of insulin regime she is on.

There are some additional problems at breakfast time: in the mornings people are often at their most insulin-resistant, so a high carb breakfast can have a greater impact on blood glucose levels than later in the day. Some people find that porridge, made with real oats, is tolerable, but she needs to avoid the 'instant' variety as this is too processed and digested too quickly. Another possibility is toast made with Burgen Soya and Linseed bread - this is lower carb than most bread and also slower to digest as it contains seeds. Personally, I have avoided the cereals you mention when I saw how much they raised my blood glucose levels soon after consuming.

Some people avoid carbs altogether for breakfast, and go for something like eggs and tomatoes, mushrooms etc. or natural yoghurt with some berries added perhaps.

 

[Francesca01]

Hi

Thank you for your advice on cereals. I thought as much but the GP said that she would be okay, which I was rather sceptical about. I am not sure what insulin she is on, I will take a look tomorrow and make a note.

I feel totally lost really, I will buy her the bread you suggested and see how she gets along with that one. My mum is a creature of habit, I have tried to tell her about having eggs, yoghurt etc for breakfast but she says she prefers toast. I suppose, I will just have to get her to change and vary her breakfasts.

She usually takes her insulin before meals and then one a bedtime. I know this isn't much help. I just don't have all that information to hand.

I am thinking of making an appointment with a nutritionist to go through what my mum can potentially have for her meals and the best foods for her.

Thank you again, you have been really helpful. 🙂

 

[Sally71]

Hi Francesca

Northerner got here just as I was composing my answer

And he always gives great advice, but I just wanted to add that it isn't just sugar that you need to be looking at, all carbohydrates will raise blood sugar (it's just that sugars raise it a bit quicker). So on packets you need to be looking at the Total Carbohydrate content.

Can your mother test her blood sugar? The only way you will find out exactly what she can and can't tolerate is by testing before meals and then again a couple of hours later to see how much the blood sugar has risen. Although as she is on insulin it maybe a little easier for her than if she wasn't (somebody might have to help me here, I don't know so much about T2).

Incidentally I find porridge oats one of the hardest foods to account for, all cereals are a bit of a pain but that's one of the worst for us! But everybody is different so you just have to experiment to find out what works for you. Good luck 🙂

 

[Northerner]

Hi

Thank you for your advice on cereals. I thought as much but the GP said that she would be okay, which I was rather sceptical about. I am not sure what insulin she is on, I will take a look tomorrow and make a note.

I feel totally lost really, I will buy her the bread you suggested and see how she gets along with that one. My mum is a creature of habit, I have tried to tell her about having eggs, yoghurt etc for breakfast but she says she prefers toast. I suppose, I will just have to get her to change and vary her breakfasts.

She usually takes her insulin before meals and then one a bedtime. I know this isn't much help. I just don't have all that information to hand.

I am thinking of making an appointment with a nutritionist to go through what my mum can potentially have for her meals and the best foods for her.

Thank you again, you have been really helpful. 🙂

Some doctors have a very generalised knowledge of what is suitable. In practice, what needs to be done is to test her levels befre eating, then one or two hours after eating to see what effect the food has had. People's tolerances for the same things vary a lot, so the best way to find out if something is suitable fr you as an individual is to test. Have a read of Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S for a guide to efficient testing 🙂

You might want to also read Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter to gain a better understanding of what diabetes is all about and how to deal with it. In terms of diet, many people find that a low GI/GL diet is good as it is a method of selecting and combining food so that it has a slow and steady impact on the blood glucose levels - The GL Diet for Dummies is a good introduction and might give you some ideas 🙂

It sounds like your Mum might be on a 'basal/bolus' regime, also known as 'MDI' (Multiple Daily Injections). If so, it is possible with this regime to 'count carbs' - work out how many grams of carbohydrate there is in the food, then adjust the insulin dose to match. Using this method you can get away with some cereals, but you do have to know what you are doing. Do you know if your Mum uses this method? Diabetes UK have a guide to carb counting which should give you some idea of what it entails:

https://shop.diabetes.org.uk/store/literature/information-books/carbs-count-e-book.aspx

 

[Francesca01]

Thank you both Northerner and Sally. I am finding this really helpful.

I have a couple of low GI/GL cook books and diet book, so I guess they will be good for recipes ideas for her.

I was thinking the same as you both and just testing what works for her. I am not wholly sure what type her insulin is. I think she has a set amount each time she takes her insulin. I will ask her doctor on the next visit. We are also booked on a course which I think will be beneficial.

I guess the best bet is making an appointment with a dietician/nutritionist to gain a better understanding of the amounts of carbs she can have. I have printed all the information from Diabetes UK for my mum and will be going through this with her over the next couple of days.

Thank you again. I really do appreciate it. Now for reading all the blurb. Also thank you for the literature suggestions you have made.

Francesca 🙂