I have diabetes, I used to take cornflakes every morning, is it acceptable?

This is a very, very frequently asked question from people from all the countries. The children first like the colourful packs and then the sweet corn flakes with many tastes.

Corn flakes are made from maize and contain lot of sugar. More than 80% of corn flakes are carbohydrates and so it is not good for people who have problem with sugar.

During processing many minerals and vitamins are destroyed and only a few are added later as supplements. Processed food has more chemical additives.

Although corn flakes are sweet they contain lot of salt (sodium).

I am not telling that you must avoid this if you are healthy. If some food tastes you well first you must try to understand the risks from the food. Once you have the information you could decide what is good and what is not?

If you have diabetes I have no understanding for your food habits. You must eat fresh food with lot of vegetables and less carbohydrates. At the same time your body must get all the minerals, vitamins and other phytochemicals from your food.

Talk to your dietician and he could write a healthy and good diet plan.

Corn-flakes and Maize (corn)

We all know in the world corn-flakes. It has high carbohydrate content with much sugar. Now and then give your children or eat. Explain your child that it is not an essential food. Remember after eating corn-flakes do not brush your teeth and it is not healthy for your teeth.

Corn-flakes are processed food.

The nutrients in 100 g corn-flakes include:

• Water – 5.7 g
• Protein – 7.2 g
• Fat – 0.6 g
• Carbohydrates – 79.6 g
• Fibre – 4.0 g
• Minerals - 2.9 g – sodium 940 mg, potassium 120 mg, magnesium 14 mg, calcium 13 mg, iron 2000 micro g, copper 200 micro g, zinc 280 micro g, selenium 3 micro g, iodide 1 micro g.
• Vitamins - vitamins A, B1, B6, nicotine amide, pantothenic acid, folic acid (very low, no significance), vitamin E

Maize (corn) is milled and all the minerals, vitamins are lost. After processing not all lost minerals and vitamins are added but only few.

2.9 g minerals sound good. But out of this 0.94 g is sodium. Such sodium levels are typical for processed foods and it is not healthy for our heart. 2 to 3 g sodium are the recommended value for the whole day, imagine it is not good. It is so sweet you do not taste the salt at all.

Iron is added, well, but there is normally no vitamin C and so there is no use of this iron. Compare the mineral levels with other grains and you know what you eat. Because of fashion now and then yes, but it is not an essential food. The added milk cannot change this.

Maize (corn)
We have seen the corn-flakes and it is a processed food from the maize. Now, as a comparison we see the nutrient values of maize whole grains.

The nutrients in 100 g wheat whole grains include:

• Water - 12.5 g
• Protein – 8.5 g
• Fat - 3.8 g
• Carbohydrates – 64.2 g
• Fibre – 9.7 g
• Minerals - 1.3 g – sodium 6 mg, potassium 295 mg, magnesium 90 mg, calcium 8 mg, iron 1500 micro g, copper 240 micro g, zinc 1700 micro g, selenium 4 - 16 micro g, iodide 3 micro g.
• Vitamins - vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, nicotine amide, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, vitamins E, K
• Phytic acid - 940 mg

The difference between maize whole grains and corn-flakes are clear. Corn-flakes are a processed food which should be avoided.

See the difference in sodium, maize whole grains has 6 mg and corn-flakes 940 mg. Explain your children about this and they will surely understand this.

Persons with diabetes must avoid maize and maize products. If you want to eat then you must avoid completely rice and rice products.