Porridge!

[Jennyninja]

Pre T1(living with incorrect T2 diagnosis) porridge was my favourite breakfast. Only a small amount- 25g with a bit of milk with water and plenty of seeds. This was standard, shop's own make big bag for cheap as chips (not the instant variety). When I became T1 and knew what my BG was doing I noticed this breakfast gave me massive spikes despite careful insulin ratio calculation. Fast forward 2 years I'm trying jumbo oats with the same extras and insulin ratio and find I'm risking a hypo alarm before my BG creaps up again. Normally I leave about half an hour between insulin and breakfast. With jumbo oats I take the insulin just before I eat. I know this is all good and I just need to work things out myself but I was just wondering if it's just the extra fibre in jumbo oats that's making the difference or is there something else about these oats that people have worked out....? It's just such a massive difference.

 

[rebrascora]

I tried jumbo oats and still spiked badly even making it with water and then adding cream to try to slow it down. Nope! It still hits my blood stream like rocket fuel! I just stick with my yoghurt, berries and seeds these days but I still need about 45 mins prebolus time with Fiasp.

 

[nonethewiser]

Jumbo oats are less processed so don't digest as fast as instant cheap rubbish varieties.

Eat jumbo oats myself for breakfast, usually bolus 15 mins before if bg is good & that seems to produce consistent results for me, think speed how oats break down varies from person to person, but one thing is for sure they are full of goodness.

 

[trophywench]

I simply don't like the taste of porridge full stop, it's been disgusting every time I've asked someone else to try a taste of theirs - hence have no idea what it might do to my BG. My husband and his eldest daughter hate the smell of lamb cooking, makes em both heave. We really are all different!

 

[Lucyr]

If taking the insulin just before you eat is making you low why don’t you take it just after instead

 

[SimonP]

I don't like porridge but it's apparently good to reduce cholesterol, so I eat it. I eat jumbo oats, I get spikes. I'm debating the trade-off between spikes and doctors annoying me about cholesterol, I think the answer is to go for a run after breakfast.

 

[rebrascora]

I don't like porridge but it's apparently good to reduce cholesterol, so I eat it. I eat jumbo oats, I get spikes. I'm debating the trade-off between spikes and doctors annoying me about cholesterol, I think the answer is to go for a run after breakfast.

I use chia seeds and psyllium husk to help with my cholesterol and I also have some oat bran which I use to thicken soups and stews.

 

[nonethewiser]

I don't like porridge but it's apparently good to reduce cholesterol, so I eat it. I eat jumbo oats, I get spikes. I'm debating the trade-off between spikes and doctors annoying me about cholesterol, I think the answer is to go for a run after breakfast.

Oats are rich source of fibre called beta glucan, that is how it helps lower cholesterol & maintains good gut & bowel health.

But as @rebrascora says there are alternatives to oats.

 

[Mumpie_olgran]

I'm a porridge fan, always have been. And a lamb fan actually so I'd be unpopular with everyone in your house @trophywench !

I also sky rocketed 30 mins after eating but that's deadened massively by me now mixing with milk not water and adding some full fat yoghurt

 

[Drummer]

If it is the fibre you want, you could try searching for low carb or keto porridge, as it has seeds and fibrous flours which might help.
I don't make porridge myself, but I have most of the ingredients. Lidl sell broken up Chia seeds, and Grape Tree have lots of seed options.

 

[PhoebeC]

I have porridge nearly every day, at least 300/365 days a year, but pre pump I avoided it. My DP was insane anyway.
Now I am on the pump and I have worked out how my body reacts to porridge I have worked out my own insulin ratio based on my body and it doesn't make sense but if I have the same or even change the fruit (providing the carb amount is the same) it works.

I have 50gs oats (36g carbs), 10g barn oats (5g carbs), 150ml skimmed milk / 150 water and then walnuts and either raisins or sultanas (10g carbs) - this should be 51g carbs, and my ratio of 1u:10g should be 5.1u but I have 4.6u, 15/20 mins before and I stay level
I cannot tell you why this works, it shouldn't, if I have any other carbs at breakfast it is the 1u:10g

I even risked eyeball measuring in a London hotel a few weeks ago and managed to stay level over 2 different days.

Also I do really enjoy it, we had ready brek most days as children, and the fun game of cholesterol lowering and staying fuller for longer 🙂

 

[PattiEvans]

I use chia seeds and psyllium husk to help with my cholesterol and I also have some oat bran which I use to thicken soups and stews.

Do they work? I'm getting pestered to take statins too. I have been eating whole chia seeds with yoghurt and really like them. I've just bought a packet of milled chia seeds by accident, not sure what they are going to be like.

 

[PattiEvans]

Lidl sell broken up Chia seeds, and Grape Tree have lots of seed options.

Lidl also sell whole chia seeds. A recent thing I think.

 

[rebrascora]

Do they work? I'm getting pestered to take statins too. I have been eating whole chia seeds with yoghurt and really like them. I've just bought a packet of milled chia seeds by accident, not sure what they are going to be like.

I prefer the whole chia seeds as the milled ones don't keep so well and mine started smelling fishy (like cod liver oil) after a short while whereas the whole ones keep and never smell or taste of anything to me. Maybe I was unlucky but the way I look at it, the less processed anything is the better. The whole ones still soak up water very quickly to form a gel, so I can't really see a benefit in the milled ones.
As to whether they work, it is only ever going to be subjective at an individual level, but I do believe that soluble fibre is important for gut health, bowel health and cholesterol and my levels seem to have been pretty stable in the 4.5 region for the past 5 years having initially dropped from 5.2 at diagnosis. I eat a lot of cream and cheese and fatty meat and I cook my veg in butter so I eat much more saturated fat than I ever did before diagnosis and yet my levels have decreased, so to my mind they are clearly wrong about that element of cholesterol and therefore they may very well be wrong about what are healthy or risky levels.

They "encourage" me to take up the offer of statins each year too now but I am happy with my levels and don't feel I am significantly at risk despite their QRisk scores and I am not as convinced as others that statins are as "safe" as they would have us believe or that cholesterol is the evil they make it out to be.... within reasonable limits. If my levels were up at 6 or 7 I might reconsider but I personally don't think 4.5 is problematic. I am not against statins, I just don't think they should or need to be dished out on such a wholesale basis and risks need to be weighed up more carefully.

 

[SB2015]

Porridge is very spikey for me, so I switched to making mine with Quinoa Flakes. Much lower carb and less spikey. I then add flaxseed and nuts and yogurt. Really tasty replacement for porridge for me.

 

[Drummer]

Lidl also sell whole chia seeds. A recent thing I think.

I think it depends on the area and the size of the shop, and perhaps the managers' preference - I know that if I am a little further north the day offers start is different and the way the shops are laid out too. My local Lidl used to have milled mixed seeds, but not now.

 

[Martin62]

There is a recipe for keto porridge on www.sugarfreelondoner.com

 

[Yoshi]

Glad I found this thread as it answered my question - I've been testing meals and monitoring my BG 90 mins after and this morning, what I thought was a perfectly acceptable, low GI breakfast of jumbo oats had me reading at 15.8. I'm type 2 and just working things out at the moment... Just realising that no two people are the same and it's going to be a long road to finding out what doesn't spike and what does.

 

[Leadinglights]

Glad I found this thread as it answered my question - I've been testing meals and monitoring my BG 90 mins after and this morning, what I thought was a perfectly acceptable, low GI breakfast of jumbo oats had me reading at 15.8. I'm type 2 and just working things out at the moment... Just realising that no two people are the same and it's going to be a long road to finding out what doesn't spike and what does.

Whether you can cope with the oats may well depend on taking your gliclazide or not as it is encouraging your pancreas to produce more insulin and taking it 30mins before you eat can also influence how you would cope with the carbs in oats.
It is normal to test 2 hours after eating so it may have been a bit lower by then but unless you tested before you had then you would still not really know how your body tolerated them as you could have been quite high before hand.
So the oats may not have increased your blood glucose more than 3mmol/l which would be acceptable.
However it may be better to avoid something high carb if you are already at a high level or are intending not to take your gliclazide.
Some of the meals in this link may be suitable depending on what medication you are intending to take, it is low carb so take care. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

 

[PhoebeC]

Glad I found this thread as it answered my question - I've been testing meals and monitoring my BG 90 mins after and this morning, what I thought was a perfectly acceptable, low GI breakfast of jumbo oats had me reading at 15.8. I'm type 2 and just working things out at the moment... Just realising that no two people are the same and it's going to be a long road to finding out what doesn't spike and what does.

It took me years to work out my insulin and get to a stage where I could eat porridge. Some people never can. But give it ago and see if you can make it work for you