1. The Manufacturing Process of Corn Flakes
Corn flakes are a cereal made by making a dough from cornmeal, rolling it out thinly, and then baking or frying it until crisp. Many products are also coated with sugar or syrup to make them more palatable.
2. The ‘Convenient Breakfast’ Trap
While corn flakes are very convenient as you can eat them right away with milk, they can be one of the worst breakfast choices from a blood sugar management perspective.
– Highly Processed: The process of grinding corn into flour, rolling it thin, and baking it completely destroys the original structure of the corn. This makes it extremely easy and fast to digest and absorb.
– Very High Glycemic Index (GI): For this reason, the GI of corn flakes is very high, over 80. This is a level even higher than that of white rice.
– Added Sugar: Most corn flake products are coated with a significant amount of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. This is a major culprit for an explosive rise in blood sugar.
– Nutritional Imbalance: They are almost devoid of fiber and protein and consist mostly of refined carbohydrates and simple sugars, making them very nutritionally imbalanced.
3. The Result: A Morning Blood Sugar Roller Coaster
Having corn flakes for breakfast causes your blood sugar to spike sharply, and then crash again due to the insulin secreted to handle it. This ‘blood sugar roller coaster’ makes you feel hungry again soon, can lead to overeating at lunch, and makes blood sugar control difficult throughout the day.
Summary: Corn flakes are a food made from highly processed, sugar-coated corn that raises blood sugar faster and higher than even white rice. It is not a healthy breakfast, so people with diabetes should avoid it and choose something like oatmeal made from whole oats instead.
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