The #1 Best Cereal to Eat if You Have Diabetes, Dietitian Says

There is no doubt that cereal it can be a tasty and convenient option for breakfast, or an anytime snack depending on your preferences, however, it is also something that often contains a good amount of sugar and carbohydrates that can raise a person’s blood glucose level. This can be a problem for people with diabetes that they should be careful with their blood glucose or sugar levels, depending on the Mayo Clinic.

At the same time, that doesn’t mean cereals are completely off the menu for those with diabetes—you just need to know which cereal is the best choice for people with diabetes, which in this case is “sugar-free cereals that are made from whole grains,” according to dana ellis hunnesPhD, MPH, DRsenior dietitian at UCLA Medical Center, assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and Cambridge University Press author of the new book, Recipe for survival.

The #1 best cereal for diabetes is sugar-free cereal.

“Cereals without sugar are the best [for diabetes] because you can have a larger portion, they have more whole grainsare more filling and are better for controlling blood sugar,” says Hunnes Eat this, not that!

“The best options are things like shredded wheat/bran, bran cereals, oatmeal cereals, traditional unsweetened cereals oatmealetc.”

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Beyond that, Hunnes notes that “you can also add peanuts or other walnuts to cereal for protein, healthy fats and to help it last longer” while filling you up and filling you up.

If you still want something sweet or aren’t completely satisfied with your breakfast cereal, Hunnes notes that “you can always add your own controlled serving of a sweetener, or better yet, Fruit— such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or Banana to make it fuller and add more volume.”

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The liquid you use in your cereal also matters.

Hunnes also “recommends using sugar-free, vegetable milk with cereal because cow’s milk naturally contains 12 grams of carbohydrate per cup (from lactose). So if you use an unsweetened cereal plus unsweetened plant-based milk that contains protein (soy milk, pea protein milk, flax milk) you get more bang for your carb buck.”

How much cereal should you eat if you have diabetes?

As for how much cereal to eat, Hunnes explains: “This depends on age, size, activity level, gender, etc., and also on the type of cereals. An unsweetened whole-grain cereal will allow for a larger serving than a sugary one because sugar takes up a large part of the ‘carb’ allotment for that meal.”

To learn more about other delicious and healthy options for the first meal of the day, keep reading The best breakfast foods to eat if you have diabetes, says a dietitian. So, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive more news about health and food!