The 5 numbers to check on any breakfast label when you're managing blood sugar

If you are managing your blood sugar, breakfast is the meal that sets up the whole morning. It is also the meal most likely to be built on the wrong numbers. Here are the five I look at on any label, in order. This is the food side, not medical advice; if you have diabetes, the targets from your care team come first.

1. Net carbs, not total carbs

Take the total carbohydrate line and subtract the fiber. Fiber is a carbohydrate on paper, but your body does not turn it into sugar, so the total line overstates what a food will do to you. A slice of bread and a bowl of berries can show the same total and behave very differently once you take the fiber out. Most labels do not print it, so try to calculate this yourself.

2. Protein grams

Protein slows the rise after a meal and keeps you full until lunch. Most breakfasts are short on it: oatmeal, cereal with milk, or toast and fruit can come in under 10 g. Twenty grams is a good floor for a breakfast that holds you; what common breakfasts actually deliver is in how much protein breakfast really needs.

3. Fiber

Fiber helps in two ways: it comes off the carb count, and it slows how fast the rest gets absorbed. Anything under 3 g is a low-fiber breakfast whatever the front of the box says. Seven or more is doing real work.

4. Added sugars, and what replaced them

"Total sugars" includes what was in the milk or the fruit. "Added sugars" is the line that matters, and 0 g is the number to look for. Then read the ingredients for what is doing the sweetening instead. Monk fruit and stevia do not raise blood sugar. Erythritol does not, but maltitol partly does, and it is still common in "no sugar added" products.

5. The serving size

Every number on the panel is per serving, and the serving is whatever the company chose (for the most part). A "serving" of granola is often a quarter cup, which nobody eats. Check the serving against what actually goes in your bowl, then scale the numbers. An inexpensive kitchen food scale can be very helpful here.

Why plain oats surprise people

Oats have a healthy reputation, and a half cup of dry rolled oats is about 27 g of carbohydrate, 4 g of fiber and 5 g of protein. Run it through the five numbers above: 23 g net carbs, modest fiber, low protein. It is a fast breakfast, not a steady one. Eggs with vegetables, plain Greek yogurt with nuts, or cottage cheese with berries all score better. The full table of oats, by serving, is in Is Oatmeal Low Carb?

For the record, here's what one serving of Folk Revival hot cereal delivers: 12 to 13 g of total carbs, 4 to 5 g of net carbs, 7 to 8 g of fiber, and 20 g of protein. 0 g of added sugar. It's made from nuts, seeds and acorn flour instead of oats.

Start with the variety pack and try all four flavors.

Keep Digging!
David
Founder, Folk Revival