Hi everyone! I wanted to share something I recently discovered that has helped me a lot in the am curb my insulin resistance in the morning. For me, even though I severely limit my carb intake during this time, my numbers would always spike. (And yes, this occurred even after adjusting my basal rates on my pump to account for the highs). Anyway, I recently discovered that consuming flaxseed in some form with my breakfast greatly reduces the amount of insulin I need to take with my meals AND my sugars are much more level vs. not eating it afterwards. I have a severe gluten intolerance but discovered these muffins from a company called Flax4Life that are gluten free but contain flaxseed. I will have one of these muffins with either an apple and/or a hard boiled egg with my drip coffee and not only do my sugars remain within better range after eating this breakfast but I require much less insulin than before when I would only have two hard boiled eggs, the fruit, and my coffee. I guess what I’m trying to say is if you have a lot of insulin resistance in the morning like I do (and this is starting with a normal reading before breakfast!) try incorporating some form of flaxseed into your diet to see if it helps! I reached out to my doctor to see if there is a correlation between flaxseed and helping glucose levels and she said there was. I’ve been a type 1 a really long time (30+ years) and wasn’t aware of the effect flaxseed could have on my blood sugar levels and in my diet. I am posting this in hopes it could help someone who might be struggling in the morning to curb their sugar spikes after eating breakfast. Thank you!
Hi @rvedt82 I am glad you found something that works for you!
I am going to try this! Thanks for the suggestion!
I had my hubby pick some up for me. I asked for the whole seeds but in doing some reading I’ve found that whole might pass through your system with little benefit. I know you’re not a medical pro - am just wondring if you were using whole or ground, and if you’ve used both have you noticed a difference? Of course I’ll check my own responses - I was just wondering about yours.
BTW, do the seeds affect the taste? Thanks!
So I believe what is used in the muffins is ground. I also bought ground flax seed off of Amazon to blend into whatever I think I can put it into that would work. It has sort of a pleasant, nutty taste to it. In my opinion, it’s not very strong and there’s no weird aftertaste. I haven’t tried using whole seeds in my diet yet either, just ground. I hope this helps!
Thanks for sharing! I sprinkled some on this morning and didn’t notice a taste.
FWIW, my daughter added some whole flaxseeds to her breakfast this morning; sadly, it didn’t seem to help her. Hoping others have better luck!
Hi! I would consider ground flaxseed. Someone earlier posted that whole flaxseed isn’t absorbed as well by the system and might not have the same affect in lowering blood sugars. To make it easy, you could look for some sort of food that already has the ground flaxseed incorporated to see if that works (like I do with the muffins). Or, look up a recipe that includes it as an ingredient. I hope this works for your daughter! I know that what might work for one might not work for others, but I noticed such a significant difference in my sugar levels which is why I decided to post. 
Thanks, we’ll give it another go. I have a huge bag of seeds — would you throw them in a food processor or grind by hand? Any idea what volume to try?
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-grind-flaxseeds
Courtesy of healthline.com - Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the link @rvedt82. Last night I poured some of my flax seeds into my grinder and tried pulsing them several times in my food processor. Of course it works on most foods right away but these seeds are tough! I’ll try again and see if sticking to it works without burning out my machine (it’s a cheap one) - but in future I will get ones that have surest been ground. I did use some whole to add a little texture to something. I don’t know that I’ll get much of any benefit that way but thankfully I only have 2 small bags so they won’t go to waste. Am planning to add some to homemade muffins. I made a batch a few days ago and used Truvia Baking Blend in place of sugar. That stuff is pricey in comparison but I used the recommended quantity - half the sugar the recipe calls for - which helps.
Ground flaxseed is available at my local (Kroger) grocery store. Sometimes it is $4/ pound, more commonly it is 8/#. A serving has been incorporated with my morning oatmeal for over a decade. I run low numbers in the morning so I do not know if the flaxseed gets the credit.
The whole seeds commonly pass through the digestive tract. It is recommended to use ground flaxseeds to appreciate their omega effect.
Thank you! I’m going to get ground next time I go to the store.
If you have a small coffee grinder, that works well for grinding whole flaxseeds. I always buy mine whole and then grind them myself. Not sure of the cost difference of whole or ground at the store