Oatmeal Question?

[f00die]

I eat oat groats, the least processed. No one can seem to answer this question. My doctor has noticed this over the years. I have always heard BG should never rise above 140 after eating. Does anyone else here have this problem? TC is great but the rise in BG has me concerned. I have noticed some light tingling in extremities.

your blood glucose after eating depends on how much glucose was eaten
simply checking your bg after eating oats or potatoes is not a glucose tolerance test
the number tells you nothing useful.

have you asked your doctor about these increases? or the light tingling?
are they concerned?
which brings us to the real question: what can be done for you?
you have no symptoms of diabetes.
you are not even prediabetic.
you eat a healthy diet and you exercise.
youre basically a healthy person with a blood glucose meter.

throwing away the blood glucose meter
is probably the biggest positive change you can make.
eating less starch is a step in the wrong direction.

[Skip]

Does this help?
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl ... abetes.htm

[LuckyMomma]

Poison ivy,

Some people need to eat starchy foods with lots of fiber to keep the blood sugar from spiking. For example I need to eat yams with a big salad. You could eat oatmeal with cooked vegetables.

[Poison Ivy]

My thoughts are low B-12 causing the tingling.

Also, your body produces all the cholesterol it needs. My TC was 110. My husband’s (when he was plant-based) was 99s.

Where is your HBA1C? You mentioned it going way up.

Maybe it would be a good idea to book a call with Jeff.

Thanks Lyndzie!
HBA1C = 5.8
It has been slowly rising.

[Poison Ivy]

I eat oat groats, the least processed. No one can seem to answer this question. My doctor has noticed this over the years. I have always heard BG should never rise above 140 after eating. Does anyone else here have this problem? TC is great but the rise in BG has me concerned. I have noticed some light tingling in extremities.

your blood glucose after eating depends on how much glucose was eaten
simply checking your bg after eating oats or potatoes is not a glucose tolerance test
the number tells you nothing useful.

have you asked your doctor about these increases? or the light tingling?
are they concerned?
which brings us to the real question: what can be done for you?
you have no symptoms of diabetes.
you are not even prediabetic.
you eat a healthy diet and you exercise.
youre basically a healthy person with a blood glucose meter.

throwing away the blood glucose meter
is probably the biggest positive change you can make.
eating less starch is a step in the wrong direction.

I am sorry but I do not wish to just ignore this. If this was happening to you, would you ignore? I may have to eat other starches and less oatmeal. Turning a blind eye w/o figuring out the cause or at least trying may make the problem worse.

[f00die]

I am sorry but I do not wish to just ignore this. If this was happening to you, would you ignore? I may have to eat other starches and less oatmeal. Turning a blind eye w/o figuring out the cause or at least trying may make the problem worse.

yes. i would and do ignore.
i dont test my blood glucose
and i eat a lot of oats, with sugar and fruit.

see about the B12 for the tingling
do you take B12?
low B12 can contribute to elevated hba1c

to explain further why i dont think its a problem:
the tests are supposed to help a doctor determine the effectiveness of treatment for diabetes
to see whether the doses of meds/insulin they have prescribed
are controlling blood sugars in a reasonable way.

for example.
the 140 after meals is for someone who got a shot of insulin before eating
and we are checking to see if the dose worked or they need more next time
a working pancreas will produce as much insulin as is needed to handle whatever the after meal bg is
so the number is irrelevant

the tests mean nothing to someone who is not a diagnosed diabetic under treatment
a working pancreas, in a sense, is continually checking and managing blood sugar
way way way way better than any blood glucose test or doctor

when the pancreas cant keep up,
then the glucose builds up and we begin to have symptoms
and then we get tested and the numbers show the consistent
and pathological elevations.
its why the cutoff is high at 126. not just a minor elevation.
coz we want to treat just the actually sick people whose pancreas
is not performing
not the healthy people. or slightly aged ppl.

[Poison Ivy]

I am sorry but I do not wish to just ignore this. If this was happening to you, would you ignore? I may have to eat other starches and less oatmeal. Turning a blind eye w/o figuring out the cause or at least trying may make the problem worse.

yes. i would and do ignore.
i dont test my blood glucose
and i eat a lot of oats, with sugar and fruit.

see about the B12 for the tingling
do you take B12?
low B12 can contribute to elevated hba1c

to explain further why i dont think its a problem:
the tests are supposed to help a doctor determine the effectiveness of treatment for diabetes
to see whether the doses of meds/insulin they have prescribed
are controlling blood sugars in a reasonable way.

for example.
the 140 after meals is for someone who got a shot of insulin before eating
and we are checking to see if the dose worked or they need more next time
a working pancreas will produce as much insulin as is needed to handle whatever the after meal bg is
so the number is irrelevant

the tests mean nothing to someone who is not a diagnosed diabetic under treatment
a working pancreas, in a sense, is continually checking and managing blood sugar
way way way way better than any blood glucose test or doctor

when the pancreas cant keep up,
then the glucose builds up and we begin to have symptoms
and then we get tested and the numbers show the consistent
and pathological elevations.
its why the cutoff is high at 126. not just a minor elevation.
coz we want to treat just the actually sick people whose pancreas
is not performing
not the healthy people. or slightly aged ppl.

You may not have a problem foodie with oatmeal. I have encountered a few other people on the internet where oats cause this spike in BG and it takes a long time for the BG to return to normal levels. This can not be good if it happens regularly IMHO.

[debknott]

"You may not have a problem foodie with oatmeal. I have encountered a few other people on the internet where oats cause this spike in BG and it takes a long time for the BG to return to normal levels. This can not be good if it happens regularly IMHO."

I think you need to ask a doctor, not just fellow followers of the McDougall plan. It's hard to imagine that oatmeal is a trouble food. But only a doctor or registered dietician can answer your question reliably. Best of luck!

Deborah

[Poison Ivy]

"You may not have a problem foodie with oatmeal. I have encountered a few other people on the internet where oats cause this spike in BG and it takes a long time for the BG to return to normal levels. This can not be good if it happens regularly IMHO."

I think you need to ask a doctor, not just fellow followers of the McDougall plan. It's hard to imagine that oatmeal is a trouble food. But only a doctor or registered dietician can answer your question reliably. Best of luck!

Deborah

I though this also. I do know it raises the BG sometimes over 200. I doubt if just a regular doctor will know the answer to this. I did post in Jeff's forum since he is a RD. If anyone should know, he should since he is a nutrition expert.

Thanks for your comment!

[Lyndzie]

I posted yesterday, but somehow it didn’t actually post, shoot.

I can see why your A1C number made you nervous.

My thoughts aren’t to cut out the oatmeal, because that’s not the problem, insulin sensitivity is. So, to increase your sensitivity, eliminate any high fat plant foods (nuts, tofu, avocado), no eating in restaurants, and maintain a healthy weight. I don’t know your details, but you’ll know if these are areas that could be improved upon.

And, as you’ve already stated, touching base with a health care professional will definitely give you the best answer!

[Poison Ivy]

I posted yesterday, but somehow it didn’t actually post, shoot.

I can see why your A1C number made you nervous.

My thoughts aren’t to cut out the oatmeal, because that’s not the problem, insulin sensitivity is. So, to increase your sensitivity, eliminate any high fat plant foods (nuts, tofu, avocado), no eating in restaurants, and maintain a healthy weight. I don’t know your details, but you’ll know if these are areas that could be improved upon.

And, as you’ve already stated, touching base with a health care professional will definitely give you the best answer!

I have basically done all that. The oatmeal ironically causes a worse spike than any other food. Worse than that, it is sustained also for a long time before it normalizes. I can not help but wonder if this is harmful. The tingle in my legs did not start until after about a year of eating copious amounts of oatmeal daily before I finally made the connection. Oatmeal might not be good for certain ppl IMHO. There is something in the oatmeal that causes my body to react like this for some reason. It is not the walnuts, blueberries, banana, or apple that I add to the oatmeal. It is the oatmeal. I have pinpointed it.

[SonjaK]

It's okay to stop eating oatmeal (or any other food) if it doesn't work for you. Potatoes are not the magical food for me that they are for others. I can eat them sometimes (which is a gift since before I started WFPB I couldn't eat them at all) but eating them all the time gives me serious digestive issues. So I eat more rice and oats and supplement with millet or other whole grains occasionally for variety. Doesn't mean they are evil, just not perfect for me.

[Willijan]

I am sorry but I do not wish to just ignore this. If this was happening to you, would you ignore? I may have to eat other starches and less oatmeal. Turning a blind eye w/o figuring out the cause or at least trying may make the problem worse.

yes. i would and do ignore.
i dont test my blood glucose
and i eat a lot of oats, with sugar and fruit.

see about the B12 for the tingling
do you take B12?
low B12 can contribute to elevated hba1c

to explain further why i dont think its a problem:
the tests are supposed to help a doctor determine the effectiveness of treatment for diabetes
to see whether the doses of meds/insulin they have prescribed
are controlling blood sugars in a reasonable way.

for example.
the 140 after meals is for someone who got a shot of insulin before eating
and we are checking to see if the dose worked or they need more next time
a working pancreas will produce as much insulin as is needed to handle whatever the after meal bg is
so the number is irrelevant

the tests mean nothing to someone who is not a diagnosed diabetic under treatment
a working pancreas, in a sense, is continually checking and managing blood sugar
way way way way better than any blood glucose test or doctor

when the pancreas cant keep up,
then the glucose builds up and we begin to have symptoms
and then we get tested and the numbers show the consistent
and pathological elevations.
its why the cutoff is high at 126. not just a minor elevation.
coz we want to treat just the actually sick people whose pancreas
is not performing
not the healthy people. or slightly aged ppl.

foodie, Thank you for this explanation. I have been following this discussion, and I don't have much understanding of blood glucose, since I have never had any sign of diabetes. Now I have a better understanding of the purpose of this testing.

[debknott]

Poison Ivy,

I just watched a MacDougall video where Dr. MacDougall specifically addresses the issue of a person watching their blood sugar levels. He says doing so is "wasting your life," as a person's blood sugar levels change all the time during the course of a day, and these changes are meaningless. He advises even diabetics to not do this, and that even type 1 diabetics should only test their morning, fasting blood sugar level.

I'm not a doctor, but I feel sure that Dr. M would advise you to go ahead and eat oatmeal as often as you like, and stop worrying about your blood sugar.

Deborah