Picking a cereal for breakfast can be an overwhelming experience. There are so many choices that it’s hard to know which one will work best for your body. You don’t want to get up in the morning and feel tired, sluggish, or hungry after eating breakfast.
But…….
Picking the best breakfast cereal for diabetics is a furthermore difficult thing to do. It is a fact that more than 25 million people in the USA have diabetes? And choosing a cereal which is diabetic friendly as well as tasty to consume is definitely a cumbersome task.
So, we have come up with 10 most effective tips for picking up the diabetic friendly cereal for diabetes management.
Relationship between Cereal and Glycemic Index (GI):
The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how quickly or slowly carbohydrates are digested, absorbed and used for energy. This is why it significantly impacts blood sugar level. The insulin index represents the increase of insulin in the blood after two hours of eating the food.
The lower the score on this scale, which ranges from 0 to 100 with 55-70 being considered low GI and 70-100 being high GI; foods that rank as low will have less effect on blood sugar levels than those ranked higher.
You can eat healthy and stay full all day with foods low on the glycemic index. These types of food are packed with fiber, protein, or both that will help you feel fuller much longer than a more sugary snack would. A good example is beans which have an incredibly high amount of protein in them!
Your body doesn’t produce or use all the insulin necessary to get that sugar where it needs to go (your muscles and tissues), which means there’s more floating around in your blood. This is why low-GI foods can be a great choice for people with diabetes, as they take longer to digest and absorb but release their sugars into your bloodstream more slowly than high GI food does, helping prevent spikes in blood glucose levels.
High-GI foods don’t do anything for you but make your stomach growl. They are comprised of simple carbohydrates, which will be quickly broken down into the body’s energy or stored as fat. This means that these types of food won’t keep hunger at bay and can actually lead to overeating because they cause blood sugar levels to spike unpredictably after eating.
A cereal is a food that can be found on almost any breakfast table, but with different ingredients and nutritional value. There are many factors to take into consideration when deciding what kind of cereal you want for your morning meal: the sugar content, the fiber in each serving size, or if it’s fortified with calcium and vitamin D. To make life easier though we have narrowed down some options by ranking them from high (GI 55) to low GI (<55).
A list of cereals ranked according their glycemic index will help figure out which one would work best for anyone trying to control blood sugar levels as well as pick something satisfying enough no matter time of day they enjoy eating it!
10 Tips for Choosing Diabetic Friendly Cereal
Here are the top 10 effective tips that help you select the diabetic friendly cereal and keep you stay healthy.
- Look for High Fiber Content
Read the label on the cereal box and look for cereal that has a high fiber content. High fiber content means less net carbohydrates per serving. Net carbohydrates is the carbohydrate count minus dietary fiber, which is not digestible but can be broken down by bacteria in your intestines for energy (a good thing since you don’t want all of that sugar passing through to your blood stream). Don’t be fooled by the term “fiber added” on some boxes either, since this is just a form of processed fiber made from wheat or corn.
- 3 Grams per Serving
Another important thing to consider is to look for cereals with at least 3 grams per serving.
- Go for Nutritional Content
Scan the nutritional information for information on fat and cholesterol content. The three main types of dietary fat are triglycerides, phospholipids and sterols. Triglycerides and phospholipids in your blood can cause your blood pressure to rise which may lead to heart disease. Sterols can change the structure of cells in our bodies, causing them to function improperly.
- Low Fat and Cholesterol
Look for products that are high in fiber and low in fat and cholesterol per serving. If the cereal contains fat, the label should say what types of fat are used to make it (such as soybean oil or canola oil). The ingredients should also be listed in order by weight using grams or milligrams. You don’t want to see any partially hydrogenated oils, which are trans fatty acids.
- Cereals with a Low GI Value
Look for cereals that have a low GI value. As mentioned above, the Glycemic Index is a ranking of carbohydrate-containing foods based on the effect they have on blood glucose levels after eating them. The lower the GI value, the slower the absorption into your blood stream. So, try to look for cereals with a low GI value of 55 or less per serving.
- No Added Sugars or Artificial Sweeteners
Look for cereals that do not have added sugars and have no artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose, saccharin). This is especially critical for diabetics as the addition of these substances can significantly change our blood glucose levels.
- Avoid Cereals with Sugar Alcohols
Avoid cereals that have sugar alcohols (polyols) in them since even though they may not raise your blood glucose levels; some people experience stomach discomfort and bloating from them. Even some sugar substitutes can cause problems, so only use artificial sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin) when part of a meal plan that has been approved by your doctor.
- Choose Products with Nutrition Facts Information on the Label
Look for products that have nutrition facts information on the label. Choose cereal with an ingredient list you can pronounce and understand (such as whole grains). Some examples of ingredients you want to stay away from are partially hydrogenated oils, refined high fructose corn syrup, and artificial coloring.
- Have Cereals Containing Whole Grains
Look for cereal with an ingredient list that contains whole grains (such as wheat, oats, bran) and can be easily pronounced and understood (such as brown sugar instead of sucrose syrup).
Avoid ingredients you don’t recognize such as Maltodextrin or Tricalcium Phosphate (a source of calcium). So, choose cereals that contain whole grains, are low in total fat and contain no partially hydrogenated oils.
- Cereals with Eggs & Dairy Products
Look for cereals that contain eggs or dairy products such as cheese, milk or yogurt. Some people with diabetes have a difficult time digesting oatmeal, grits and other grains. If this is true of you, it is recommended to choosing cereals that contain eggs or dairy products.
Conclusion
Cereal is the breakfast meal which is widely consumed all over the world. But selecting it without knowing the ingredients may lead you to an unhealthy lifestyle with health issues like diabetes. But With these tips, you should be able to find a cereal that is both delicious and diabetic friendly. We’d love to have your thoughts and feedback on the article in the comments below!
