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Cezzer

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent of person with diabetes
Hello, Newbie Mum of a 16 yr old T1 here. Could the experienced of you point me in the right direction of which breakfast cereals are ok/low carb. Also, if I am going to bake, is it better to go for diabetic recipes or adapt normal ones using canderel/sweetener, wholemeal flour etc?
Thank you x
 
low carb can help a T1, but is not necessary as insulin should cover carbohydrate. Common sense normally tells you that most cereals are nutritionally rubbish.
 
As a T1 you can in theory have what you want and adjust your insulin dose accordingly. The carb counting course is called DAFNE (dose adjustment for normal eating). In reality it's better to avoid sugary cereals. I have porridge but in the past I used to have shredded wheat. Everyone is different though and it's a case of doing plenty of checking on the meter to see how different cereals affect levels.
 
I tried weetabix with warm milk but it raised my level more than a couple slices of toast with peanut butter, I've also been eating Tesco Porridge Oats Instant Pots and they didn't really affect me too much either, there are quite a few flavours, or is it specifically cereal she will be having x
 
Breakfast for quite a few people seems to be the tricky one... personally I can't handle any cereal without a spike but I think porridge or oat based works for some.
Full fat yoghurt with berrys is low carb and surprisingly filling or my DSN always recommends a slice of toast with peanut butter (I can't stand peanut butter so that's not for me).
If you've got time maybe eggs or bacon as a very low carb option.
You may find it's just a case of trial and error to see what spikes and what doesn't.

Good luck x
 
My son eats any cereals he likes, but mostly Cheerios, Shreddies, etc. He weighs his portion (we have digital scales) and counts the carb content, adjusting his insulin dose to match. Since it's early days for you, you're unlikely to have established his appropriate insulin/carb ratios yet, so my advice would be to eat a consistent amount of carbs each morning and keep a note of how his blood glucose levels respond (ie if he has 2 slices of toast and jam one morning, totalling about 40g carb, get him to have an amount of cereal the next morning which equates to 40g carb - easy to work out from the nutrition panels on the box, and probably about 55-60g weight for many common cereals).

Cereals do tend to cause a spike in the BG level before it drops back down to normal - there are various techniques to deal with this, although my advice would be to initially just try the foods and keep a record of food eaten, insulin given and BG 2-3 hours later. Then this can be reviewed with the DSN. If he does have high spikes on a consistent basis after eating cereal, one technique to try is taking insulin ahead of time, e.g. 20-30 minutes before eating.

You will probably see lots on this forum about opting for lower carb foods or low GI foods. While these can help achieve a flatter blood glucose profile, they can seem very restrictive to a teenager, and good control can still be achieved while eating the diet he has always eaten. I do feel quite strongly that young people with type 1 have enough to contend with without feeling that there are things they can no longer eat!
 
All Bran bran flakes – 30g portion – 19g carbohydrate without milk

Asda Sultana Bran – 30g portion – 20.4g carbohydrate without milk

Asda Super Berry Granola – 30g portion – 18g Carbohydrate on it’s own

Asda Blueberry Wheaties – 30g portion – 21.6g carbohydrate without milk

White’s Toasted Oats Strawberry Banana Crunch – 30g portion – 20.4g carbohydrate without milk

there are a few that I've worked out for you sorry i can't help more x
 
All Bran bran flakes – 30g portion – 19g carbohydrate without milk

Asda Sultana Bran – 30g portion – 20.4g carbohydrate without milk

Asda Super Berry Granola – 30g portion – 18g Carbohydrate on it’s own

Asda Blueberry Wheaties – 30g portion – 21.6g carbohydrate without milk

White’s Toasted Oats Strawberry Banana Crunch – 30g portion – 20.4g carbohydrate without milk

there are a few that I've worked out for you sorry i can't help more x

The only thing is, Kaylz, that most 16yo lads need a bigger breakfast than a 30g portion of cereal 🙂. Mine would eat that as a light snack!
 
Being on a pump, Porridge is brilliant for me. Slow release & keeps me going at work. 🙂
 
S
The only thing is, Kaylz, that most 16yo lads need a bigger breakfast than a 30g portion of cereal 🙂. Mine would eat that as a light snack![/QUOTE
So true! I weighed out a 'portion' of cereal and J just looked at it an said "you're kidding right?" 😛
 
All Bran bran flakes – 30g portion – 19g carbohydrate without milk

Asda Sultana Bran – 30g portion – 20.4g carbohydrate without milk

Asda Super Berry Granola – 30g portion – 18g Carbohydrate on it’s own

Asda Blueberry Wheaties – 30g portion – 21.6g carbohydrate without milk

White’s Toasted Oats Strawberry Banana Crunch – 30g portion – 20.4g carbohydrate without milk

there are a few that I've worked out for you sorry i can't help more x
Thank you! x
 
I've ordered some digital scales 🙂 but we're not at carb counting stage! J had his chosen cereal for breakfast and when we did his BG before lunch it was 19.2! May do same again tomorrow and if it does that then we know to steer clear x
 
I was thrown in at the deep end diagnosed just under 3 weeks ago and was carb counting since last Tuesday my own fault as I'd decided to try it out straight away hope your son is ok x
 
I was thrown in at the deep end diagnosed just under 3 weeks ago and was carb counting since last Tuesday my own fault as I'd decided to try it out straight away hope your son is ok x
I'm hoping he can do a carb counting course - he wants to! But his sugars aren't stable yet ( no readings below 10 so far) so think we're a little way off adjusting insulin doses. Hope you're coping ok - it's such an emotional rollercoaster isn't it. I swear I have aged 10 years overnight cos I cried so much last night! x
 
It's a great thing he's interested in doing it some younger people wouldn't be interested at all and I'm doing ok at the moment thanks still trying to get my head around it all though it just takes time I suppose and I've found this forum a great help if you ever feel down or need advice there is always someone on here to give a helping hand so don't feel you have to deal with it all on your own we're all here to help 🙂 x
 
Protein Weetabix has 25g carbs in 2 biscuits, might be worth a try. I usually have one topped up with Lizi's granola. I find it more filling than other cereals.
 
I'm hoping he can do a carb counting course - he wants to! But his sugars aren't stable yet ( no readings below 10 so far) so think we're a little way off adjusting insulin doses. Hope you're coping ok - it's such an emotional rollercoaster isn't it. I swear I have aged 10 years overnight cos I cried so much last night! x
Good luck Cezzer ! Pls keep asking because you have joined a good site. 🙂
 
I've ordered some digital scales 🙂 but we're not at carb counting stage! J had his chosen cereal for breakfast and when we did his BG before lunch it was 19.2! May do same again tomorrow and if it does that then we know to steer clear x

Keep records of food eaten and insulin given. If you know he had x grams of carb and his BG rose from 5mmol beforehand to 19mmol 2hrs later, then he needs more insulin per gram of carb. It will take time to establish how much he needs, it's really early days. It's useful to do a mid morning test and a mid afternoon one, as these help tell you if you had enough insulin at your previous meal (meal (rapid) insulin has mostly finished working by 2-3 hours). If BG rises between the mid morning test and the pre-lunch test, it's likely to be the long-acting (background) insulin that is insufficient. But the best thing to do is keep detailed records that you can share with the DSNs. One step at a time! Eventually he should be able to eat his favourite cereals and still have in-range BG levels, don't let him feel he can never eat it again 🙂
 
My grandson's cereal dish was a Pyrex mixing bowl of his mum's. As she's a chef by trade it is naturally always the very biggest version of same that Pyrex make ........ Oh and more than a pint of milk to moisten the half packet of cereal. 6ft 6 and lanky, plays Rugger, size 11 feet from age 11 .......

He told me that my own portion of cereal on holiday was 'only an Elf's portion, Grandma!' LOL
 
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