The Oatmeal Experiment

For the first two weeks of January I tried a dietary experiment by eating half a cup of sugarfree oatmeal for breakfast every day for seven days, and then other things every day on the following week. The other meals I had were all according to my diabetic diet, so breakfast was the only thing I changed. I tested my blood sugar every morning, and here are my numbers.

The Week of Oatmeal

1/1: 132
1/2: 133
1/3: 112
1/4: 113
1/5: 115
1/6: 117
1/7: 127

Average: 121

The Week of Other Things (usually zero sugar yogurt or a whole grain English muffin)

1/8: 124
1/9: 125
1/10: 109
1/11: 143
1/12: 116
1/13: 108
1/14: 132

Average: 122

There are a couple of things to take away from this experiment. I started out the year with (for me) high blood sugar, which I know was partly due to holiday stress and partly to the fact I wasn't able to exercise. Once I got calmed down and back to my regular routine, my blood sugar dropped to the 112 to 117 range, which is where I usually land if I'm doing and eating everything I should. It could be lower, of course, but it's not horrible.

Not eating oatmeal during the second week didn't much affect my average, but it had me bouncing around a lot daily on the blood sugar scale. Disclaimer: the one morning I tested at 143 was another anomaly; I'd had a sore throat the night before and drank some lemon herbal tea with honey to soothe it. Honey is great for a sore throat, but of course jacks up my blood sugar.

During the week I did eat oatmeal, I noticed a couple of other side effects. I didn't have any indigestion, which tends to be a problem for me toward the end of the day. I seemed to sleep a little longer at night. I also wasn't as hungry, so I didn't eat as much and also lost a couple of pounds (which I promptly put back on during the week I didn't eat oatmeal.)

End result: I'm not convinced that oatmeal actually lowers my blood sugar, but it does seem to keep it more stable. Oatmeal also fills me up, which helps me avoid overeating during lunch and dinner. So I'm going back on sugarfree oatmeal daily for breakfast, but now and then I will have yogurt or an English muffin if I want to break up the monotony.

Comments

nightsmusic said…

While hubs is not a diabetic, he's noticed he stays fuller during the day after a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast as well. I have oatmeal occasionally, but not as often as I should. My mother was a Scot. I ate a lot of porridge growing up. A lot. Of porridge...

January 17, 2023 at 11:41 AM

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